The Framers Forum

Can KLB be used as a backing board without the need for an undermount?

I saw this on the manufacturers website.

HotPress KLB2 Kraft Lined Board?!- Ideal board to double up as mounting board and frame back! KLB2 Kraft Lined Board?! is coated with white acid free facing paper made of 100% alpha cellulose. HotPress KLB2 Kraft Lined Board?! is 2500 micron thick. The centre of the board is a tough grey card and the rear of the board is coated with brown Kraft paper. This looks very similar to an MDF frame back on the finished product.


Or would this be very bad practice?

Put it this way, it's not what I would call 'Best Practise', the white acid free facing paper made of 100% alpha cellulose is only paper thin, Our Backing Mount / Under Mount (I call it Barrier Board) is the same board as the window mount , so minimum thickness 1400 microns

Compleeeeeeetely agree with Steve N. Why would you want to mount your artwork to the backing board? This is your basic frame package and should be your standard go to method for art on paper. Whether or not you mount work with hinges there should always be an undermount.

That's what I thought but was slightly surprised to see it...

As mentioned, you could do it. But on things that don't demand full-on preservation treatment.

Think of the hinged mount/art/undermount as a unit in itself. The glass/backing is a little cosy nest that
protects this unit. Public collections will bookmount artwork so that they can store it unframed. They will
have far more stuff than can be displayed at any one time. This way the mounted art can be put in drawers and
be handled/examined at any time without it getting dog-eared.

Of course if the framed item is of no real value and price is an issue, you can be forgiven for cutting a few corners.

Well.... Your backing bord is taped in place this prevents movement....

Well, there are times when a customer chooses a frame with not enough rebate depth, so sometimes this causes problems if they choose a double mount and there is no longer any space left for an undermount, but it is always possible to do something better in such situations such as adding a layer of Mylar between the artwork and backing board.

If you are a framer who really cares about protecting the customers artwork, you will find ways of increasing barely adequate, or less that adequate levels of protection, in cases like this. Also the cost of the Mylar required is not really significant to do this. I have a massive roll of Mylar and in reality the cost of the Mylar used per frame, when the need arises is next to nothing.

In many cases the undermount will be utilising unwanted mountboard left overs from other jobs and if you don't have any suitable left overs, many suppliers sell off damaged sheets of mountboard at very tempting prices enabling you to cover such eventualities.

Thanks all for your input. I really want to use acid free Foam-Board but am worried customers might think the work feels cheap when they pick up their frame and it feels too light!

Try stabbing a piece of foamboard with a sharp implement. Or even you finger.

Try creasing a piece of thick card. Or putting a kink in it.

Then try the same with 2.5 MDF.


QED.