What exactly is Conservation Framing?

It's time to frame your piece, and someone say are you going to do it up to conservation standards? Conservation framing? This article will take the mystery out to help you make your choices.

At The Frame Room, our core philosophy is to educate and inform our customers during the picture framing decision process and empower them to make the best decision for their personal needs. For many of our customers, they are picking out framing and/or matting for a highly personal, sentimental, and valuable object. To some, they are simply framing a poster, print, sports jersey, or diploma to protect it from the elements and ravages of time. This article will sum up and answer the question; what exactly does conservation framing mean?

Throughout this series of articles you've been introduced to the numerous matting, frame, glazing, and mounting options available for your custom picture frame project. In very simple terms, conservation framing is:

Conservation framing is the use of techniques and materials in the framing process to protect, minimize, or stop the degrading effects of the environmental influences, i.e. sunlight, heat, humidity, and gravity, that constantly attack your framed piece. There are different levels of conservation framing, ranging from a minimum of using uv glazings and acid free mounting boards to a more through use of higher end uv or museum grade glazing, pure cotton rag mats, acid free mounting boards and the use of encapsulation. Encapsulation is a technique whereby using tape we literally seal the inside of the frame from any air actually touching your piece. Air is the enemy, as is light. We need light, but we can stop the uv. We don't need air inside your frame.

That is pretty much, without the use of extreme technical jargon, what it means when during the picture framing process we refer to Conservation Framing.

We hope you have found this article informative. This article is part of a 6 part series to introduce you to all the components and levels of framing. The series includes:

1. Picture Frame Matting. How do I Choose?
2. Wood or Metal Frames. How to Choose a Frame.
3. How to Choose the Correct Picture Frame Glazing.
4. How to Choose Custom Frame Mounting.

5. What exactly is Conservation Framing?
6. What the Heck is a Shadowbox Frame Anyway?

We look forward to being there to serve all your custom picture framing needs.