I've had interest lately in some of my astrophotos printed big - 44 x 66 inches big. WinkFlash does a pretty good job at this size, and the prints come shipped in a tube.
The people who want these images at this size are willing to pay for a good frame. My problem is trying to figure out how to provide that... A big glass custom frame costs 6 times what the print costs, and there's almost no hope of shipping such a thing without it breaking.
So... I'm faced with asking the customers to frame it themselves locally. They seem willing to try that, but still ask for advice.
Have you framed anything this large? Have any secrets to share?
As a former picture framer, I've got a few options (mostly pricey though)
The best bet is to forward the print in the tube and have them frame it. A lot of our larger family portraits are going out this way when the customer sees the cost of framing - and yes, custom framing is very expensive.
You could buy aluminum frame kits (or chops) from a frame supplier, wrap them carefully and slip them inside the tube with the photo. That way the customer only has to mount the photo and buy glass - still pricey but at least you've made a bit of profit on the frame. Aluminum frames could in a huge variety of styles and colors - matte or gloss black might work well.
You can have the image printed onto canvas type paper and then either stretch it yourself or have the lab stretch it. Shipping gets costly for this too and I'm not sure your images will look best on canvas.
You can have the print mounted and put a gloss spray or a gloss hot laminate on it. I would not use laminate myself (especially a cold laminate) as your dmax will get destroyed by it. Laminate also makes your print worth less if you consider it as fine art.
Around here there are companies that do a glossy laminate then mount the print onto a large piece of 1" or 2" foam board with edges painted black. They look decent enough and are the cheapest way to go. Shipping should be cheap. You could probably get the lab (or do it locally) to put on a glossy laminate then you could glue the print onto the thick foamboard. There are a wide variety of foamboards. The local companies just use SM Blue foam insulation (cheap) but you can get gatorfoam in various thicknesses.
Selling larger prints is getting increasingly difficult for the past few years when customers start to realize that framing doubles or triples the overall cost. I haven't found a solution to this either except that flush mounts and very simple frames are preferred these days.
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
I have no idea what the process is, but I've some photographic work in New York galleries where the image appears to be embedded in what looks like a solid and very rigid block of dipped, polished white plastic or ceramic. (That's probably not what it actually is, but that's what it looks like.) I can't say the image quality is necessarily ideal, but it makes for a very clean-looking artifact: no framing is necessary, you just mount it on the wall like it was a piece of plywood.
What about high-quality plexiglass?
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
neilson frames are good, aluminum cut to size. for anything 20x24", go with acrylit vs. glass much lighter and safer. i only deliver framed stuffed locally never shipped, that would be alot of work. i photographed framed art for an artist once and they were in 1/4" plywood cases with house insulation foam making a tight fit. great, but very heavy.
not a bad idea to mail the frame disassembled, but not in the same tube as the print that would really scare me! the almost razor sharp edges of the frame when cut...
glass is preatty cheap from a glass shop. acrylit is more expensive but a friends says he gets it from home depot, but i would go over it with a fine comb for minor defects.
i have 3-30x40s, 2-30x65s and 1 48x60"- all on 1" gator (they come from the lab that way or i have the larger than 30x40s mounted locally), in aluminum frames, no glass or anything, inside only.
I have to admit I haven't framed anything that large, but I get my supplies from Framing Supplies dot com. I use acrylic exclusively, which cuts down on the weight a lot, but I also put a stick-on on the back advising of care in cleaning so as not to scratch the acrylic.
I haven't had to ship a framed job yet, but it occurs to me that those people who are willing to pay for a good frame job would not mind paying the price to ship it.
__________________ Dennis
White Balance so easy, even our 5 year old can do it.- Melissa Strickland
Another option is a gallery wrap -- print on canvas or other material that can be wrapped onto a wooden frame. It can be hung as-is, or mounted in the kind of frame used for paintings. No acrylic or glass cover required.
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