The Framers Forum

I have been asked to frame 3No. giclee prints which have been printed on to canvas. They are all limited edition prints of just 5, have all been mounted on to stretcher bars, and are all different sizes.

The client wants all 3 to ultimately be the same size so I'm proposing to mount the 2 smaller prints.

They are to be hung in the garage, which houses a classic bike and car but is more like a garden-room, with one wall fully opening to the elements.
I have been asked to glaze the prints to protect them from any excessive moisture, but I have read a lot about not glazing prints on canvas because of moisture build-up within the framing package.
Clearly this location is unusual and not ideal.

Please could I have any comments and advice from anyone who has more experience than me.

Glass will keep them clean and protect them from sharp implements to some extent. But they should be quite robust enough without - as long as them have been properly printed and coated with a protective substance.

It's a matter of how the customer wants them to look. Personally, I would go without glass.

The customer has requested glass so I assume that look is fine, but has the customer seen AR glass, or rather, head on, in normal lighting conditions, not seen it?

If you've decided to mount the two smaller ones, and you mean normal aperture mounts, they will need glass.

bsaunders wrote:I have read a lot about not glazing prints on canvas because of moisture build-up within the framing package

Where?

I ask customers what they would rather clean, the artwork (and in time that could read "pay someone to clean") or a piece of glass. If you glaze then you'll need to seal the back and if it's on canvas stretched over strainers, you'll need a frame with a rebate deep enough, or to extend one with a rebate not deep enough, more materials and more work.

So, protection from dust and airborne pollutants, protection from sharp things, ease of cleaning, no difference in viewing if AR glazing is used, further protection from fading if UV (or UV AR) glass is used and a whole wad more profit.

Apart from that I can't see any reason why you shouldn't talk the customer out of the request.

".... to be hung in a garage"
Glazing will protect the front from pollution. It will not protect the art from climate changes. Climate change from summer to winter will run havoc on the art, expansion and contraction of the art from temperature changes and humidity changes. This not a prime place for the display of original or limited edition art.