All about good picture framing

Framing Know how

This month I am continuing my theme about “useful things to know” when you are mounting a picture yourself for framing.  In previous months I have covered ways to space the glazing from the surface of the picture and the best way to attach a picture into a window mount.

This month I will cover tapes for mounting artwork.  You may think that tape is just tape, but when it comes to picture framing, if you get it wrong, the tape can fail in the mount and damage the picture.  You need to use one designed for the job.

General household repair or mending tapes (e.g. cellophane, parcel or masking tapes) are not suitable.  The adhesive will dry out and fail in a relatively short period of time causing the picture to drop in its mount. When it does, it will leave a stain / residue of the adhesive which is very difficult (if not impossible) to remove.  The staining to the paper is caused by acidity in the adhesive.  The picture shows a re-framing job I did where the incorrect type of tape had been used when the picture was originally mounted.  You can see the staining on the old mount where the masking tape has become detached.  The other mistake illustrated in this photograph is that the tape is attached incorrectly for mounting (see July’s “Framing Knowhow” to see how to correctly secure a picture into a mount)

There are two main types of tape designed to mount pictures, but in either case, you should use a pH neutral tape:

• Self-adhesive (pressure-sensitive) picture framing tapes are fine to use when the picture is for decorative purposes only and does not have any particular value. This tape is convenient to use, but is not designed to be removed in the future. 
• Gummed picture framing tape (where the gum on the tape needs to be moistened to activate the glue) is reversible, so can be removed (by moistening again) leaving very little residue on the picture. At Pure Framing, I favour using reversible tapes to enable mounts and frames to be changed easily in the future.

You can easily purchase tape designed for picture mounting online – if you put “pH neutral(or acid free) hinging tape” into a search engine you will see a selection of pH neutral self-adhesive and gummed tapes from a variety of suppliers in the UK.  They generally cost around £8 to £11 a roll and are worth investing in if you are mounting pictures yourself.

Next month I will take a look at “float mounting” a picture onto a back mount.  This method allows the viewer to see the whole picture without covering the outside edge with a window mount.

If you need any advice or want some framing done for you, please feel free to contact me – my details can be found on my website www.pureframing.co.uk