Paper, inks, mount board & tape....

Let's talk materials! They are one of the most important parts of my prints. In fact there are a collection of  components to one of my pictures: the design, the printing, the paper, the mount, the mounting tape, the framing and the packaging. The first is usually all one thinks about and to be honest when selling via a website it is really all the potential customer can see. The beauty of the print quality and the paper is difficult to show on a screen. So I am going to try and explain it here!

Paper & Ink

This is a photo of my robin design. Hopefully you can see the texture of the paper and the clarity of the colour. 

On top of the look of the paper and its ability to hold the ink, one also has to think about how long the print is going to last. I don't want you to put my print up and phone me a year later saying it has gone yellow!! The paper I use is of archival quality which means it has a neutral pH and won't yellow over time or affect the ink. The inks in my painfully expensive printer are pigment inks which means they hold their colour over time and the fading effect of exposure to light is minimised. 

​Mounting

The mount boards I use are also pH neutral to minimise the effect of the board on the picture. If one does not use an acid-free board it can have an impact on the longevity of the print and the paper. In addition I use specialist mounting tape which retains its cling and also won't cause yellowing of the paper.

Framing

All my frames are made by a local framer who has the same high standards as I do! Website here: http://www.shearartpictureframing.com. The frames are solid wood and glass. I tried perspex glazing for a while to try and reduce postage costs but it is a nightmare for static and collects all the dust in the local area! I don't want my customers constantly having to dust their pictures.

Packaging

You may occasionally find a piece of bubble wrap in one of my parcels, but that will be recycled from a parcel I have received! Generally speaking I wrap my pictures in recycled brown paper which not only looks good, it is a tad greener than bubble wrap.

The boxes I use to send out framed prints are specially designed for keeping pictures safe and in all the time I have been doing this I have not yet had one picture frame broken in the post (touch wood!). 

If you order an unframed print I will usually mount it and put it into a plastic envelope with a backing board. Even if a picture is unframed it should look good and be well packaged! For larger unframed prints I wrap them in tissue paper and carefully roll them into a wide diameter poster tube. Why a large diameter tube? Well it means I don't have to roll the print so tightly and reduces the chance of creases.

​Hopefully that gives you a little insight into the care I take with all my pictures!