How do you judge a good framer?

Questions, Questions, Questions. You got 'em? We'll answer 'em!
Post Reply
User avatar
Wheels
Posse
Posts: 331
Joined: Wed Aug 18, 2010 8:49 pm
Location: Lost in the Midwest

How do you judge a good framer?

Post by Wheels »

Looks like bits and pieces of this topic exist, but nothing solely dedicated to it.

Kicking off a framing extravaganza with a DW Rising Sun gift for my brother. I've been asking around and was recommended to local, small town framer. Brought in the print and found it to be a nice, clean, big shop. I asked and she's run this framing business for over 20 years and even had to move out of a smaller shop that was down the street. She jumped right in with an excellent frame (pics will be posted) and had good suggestions for matting. I asked if she uses archival, acid-free materials and she said yes with a look like 'you've got to be kidding' and then assumed I wanted museum glass. Remembering an earlier post about walking out if a framer doesn't know how to float mount, I asked if she could do that for my large format Mandalas. It wasn't an immediate yes/no but when I showed her their approximate size, she wrote down the contact info for another framer. She's local, seems honest, and the price was good and so I'm considering having her frame most of my prints. But how can I be sure that she's good when I know almost nothing about framing?

Is it proper to ask a framer to take me through the construction/structure of a framing job? Is it proper to ask, "Your practice isn't to drymount something like this, right?" What skills should serve as a litmus test and if they have the professionalism to refer you to someone else if it's not something they do, do they get at least partial credit? Thanks!
You're not to be so blind with patriotism that you can't face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it or says it.
~Malcolm X
User avatar
conartstudio
Sergeant Politeness
Posts: 10771
Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2007 6:37 pm
Contact:

Re: How do you judge a good framer?

Post by conartstudio »

the post about walking out of a frame shop when the framer didn't know about float mounting was me. when i talk to a framer i talk in their language. i ask what exact techniques they do everything in, like how they float mount the paper, how they make their spacers, what are the differences between the glasses and frames, at what size does the frame need corner supports, how to reverse the process if i want to take it out of the frame, etc. etc. It's easy for someone to nod their head and act like they know what they are talking about but i find comfort in having them explain all the steps, materials, etc. - i believe if they can explain everything and answer all my questions then they truly know what they are doing.

so yes, ask them to take you through the process and let them tell you things even if you already know. DEFINITELY talk to them about drymounting and that you absolutely do not want that.

i personally would rather go to a smaller shop because the person you speak with is most likely the one doing the actual job - my framer flat out told me that he personally does all the limited edition stuff and he has other employees who do the more basic stuff like photos, awards, certificates, posters, etc... but the size of the shop doesn't really matter (unless it's a chain store), what matters is their knowledge and experience.
User avatar
JErikR
Giant
Posts: 1788
Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2006 11:41 pm
Location: Jet City

Re: How do you judge a good framer?

Post by JErikR »

Also, be aware of framers trying to upsell you on specially colored/textured matting and wood frames vs. synthetic frames. In other words, just think about if you want a clean-classic-simple look or if it's your thing, something more unique. See if the framer is going to work with you on your vision or sell you something that will look terrible in the end.
JErikR
User avatar
Wheels
Posse
Posts: 331
Joined: Wed Aug 18, 2010 8:49 pm
Location: Lost in the Midwest

Re: How do you judge a good framer?

Post by Wheels »

Thanks for the advice! The pics are posted here: http://forum.thegiant.org/viewtopic.php ... 59#p365559

When I picked it up today, I asked if she'd take a minute to walk me through the construction of the job. She didn't hesitate. Took me through it piece by piece and "acid free" practically a prefix to name of every part she pulled out. She remembered my asking and said I wouldn't find anything that wasn't acid free in the shop. Basic I guess, but it was reassuring. She explained things like why you don't anchor (or was it "hinge") the print on all sides is because it makes it prone to developing waves/ripples over time. I asked if she ever drymounts anything and she said, "A $16 photocopy of a painting that someone bought from Wal-Mart and isn't worth any more than the paper it's printed on, sure," and then she pulled one up to show me. Referencing the Wal-Mart poster, "It would be a waste to mount this with archival materials. But you never, never, never, NEVER drymount anything that's got a name or a number on it. You'd destroy it! It would be worthless!" It was kind of cool, like she was almost angry at even the thought.

Anyway, she was open, patient, and informative even through I'd walked in at the end of the day and it was now well past closing time. She was honest in giving me the name of someone who could handle the large format float mount that she couldn't do. I've found my framer, at least for prints. :-)
You're not to be so blind with patriotism that you can't face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it or says it.
~Malcolm X
User avatar
conartstudio
Sergeant Politeness
Posts: 10771
Joined: Fri Jan 12, 2007 6:37 pm
Contact:

Re: How do you judge a good framer?

Post by conartstudio »

Wheels wrote:Thanks for the advice! The pics are posted here: http://forum.thegiant.org/viewtopic.php ... 59#p365559

When I picked it up today, I asked if she'd take a minute to walk me through the construction of the job. She didn't hesitate. Took me through it piece by piece and "acid free" practically a prefix to name of every part she pulled out. She remembered my asking and said I wouldn't find anything that wasn't acid free in the shop. Basic I guess, but it was reassuring. She explained things like why you don't anchor (or was it "hinge") the print on all sides is because it makes it prone to developing waves/ripples over time. I asked if she ever drymounts anything and she said, "A $16 photocopy of a painting that someone bought from Wal-Mart and isn't worth any more than the paper it's printed on, sure," and then she pulled one up to show me. Referencing the Wal-Mart poster, "It would be a waste to mount this with archival materials. But you never, never, never, NEVER drymount anything that's got a name or a number on it. You'd destroy it! It would be worthless!" It was kind of cool, like she was almost angry at even the thought.

Anyway, she was open, patient, and informative even through I'd walked in at the end of the day and it was now well past closing time. She was honest in giving me the name of someone who could handle the large format float mount that she couldn't do. I've found my framer, at least for prints. :-)
awesome! glad everything worked out for you.
User avatar
admonkey
King of the Jungle
Posts: 11316
Joined: Sat Nov 25, 2006 6:01 pm
Location: The Ad Jungle
Contact:

Re: How do you judge a good framer?

Post by admonkey »

I judge a good framer by their degree of obsessive-- truly obsessive-- attention to detail.

If your framer has full-blown OCD, you'll naturally get archival materials; you'll naturally get Japanese hinges on pieces that float; you'll naturally get a well-constructed dust cover (or two); you'll naturally be able to reverse everything at some point in the future.

I have a really, really great framer. An artist himself (photography and photographic manipulation), his full-blown OCD also naturally leads to having filled and sanded joints in the frame; naturally using homemade, non-petroleum-based stains (mixtures of tea oils and cinnamon and God knows what else, a side benefit of which is they smell great years later in addition to looking fantastic); naturally coming to the table with ideas of his own about how a piece should be framed (in the case of my way, way, way OCD framer, the ideas are based on the art, my house (yeah, he's been out to see it-- he's OCD), the light in my house, my preference for hanging height, and my preference for how the pieces are displayed); naturally taking far, far, far longer to complete the Full Monty process than the craft store on the corner will.

You probably have to have a bit (ok, a lot) of OCD yourself in order to find an OCD framer. You have to know how to spot a kindred spirit, I suppose.
"I'm a drinker with a writing problem." -- Brendan Behan

The Mad Monkey Campaign.
User avatar
strangeloop
Swindler
Posts: 197
Joined: Tue Apr 22, 2008 4:10 pm

Re: How do you judge a good framer?

Post by strangeloop »

Insurance.
Post Reply