Whether it be sports memorabilia, family photos and heirlooms, important certificates like diplomas, valuable art, collectibles or any number of other objects that are deserving of framing, conservation materials are very important to the preservation of your cherished object. Once you have decided to frame something you have taken the first step toward protecting it. The next step is to make sure that the materials that are being used to frame your project will preserve and more importantly not damage the piece.

Improper framing can actually damage your art. The most common forms of damage done to artwork are caused by acid, light and moisture. Everything made with wood has acid in it, which can spread to your art causing it to turn brown and brittle and eventually disintegrate. Most older mat board and backing board is made of paper, like cardboard. Paper and cardboard are made from wood pulp, which contains the acid I mentioned. If you look at the inside edge of the mats in question you will see that as they get older they start to turn darker and darker brown. This is spreading to the picture underneath. If you have any older pictures that you are concerned about, take them to a framer that you trust and have them assess the materials. Most framers will do this for free. At least I know I will.

As I mentioned earlier, light can also damage your art. Regular glass offers little protection from ultraviolet rays (the most damaging kind of light). Conservation glass minimizes the amount of ultraviolet light that reaches the art. This kind of damage presents itself as fading. A good framer should be able to identify whether your frame has conservation glass or not. In most cases I can tell without taking the frame apart, but in some cases the frame must be disassembled. I highly recommend conservation glass for custom framing.

Another type of damage that can occur is caused by moisture. Moisture in the air can pass through glass. This is why we recommend that artwork never come in direct contact with the glass. Using an archival quality mat to separate the art from the glass is a good way of preventing this damage. Moisture damage happens in several ways. Sometimes it shows up as brown spots on the art. This is actually mold. Sometimes the artwork will attach itself to the glass. Moisture can also cause rippling in the art. Rippling might also be caused by improper mounting or an ill-fitting frame.

Take a look at the art you have hanging on your walls right now. If the pieces are important to you and you are now wondering if the colors aren’t quite as bright as they used to be or, if the edge of the mat is not as white as it was or, just want to know for sure that it was originally framed properly, bring it in to one of my shops and we can assess the framing for you. Most independent custom frame shops these days use conservation materials, but every once in a while a customer has brought in artwork that they thought was conservation framed only to find out that it was not.

I have to mention that sports memorabilia shops are notorious for improperly framing autographs. They have to cut expenses in order to sell their product at a reasonable rate so they have things framed as cheaply as they can. If it was framed when you got it from the seller take it straight to a framer.

Don’t get me wrong. I know that sometimes there is a poster that you just want to throw into a frame and don’t care about preserving it. That’s why we offer the $49.99 special. We always give you the opportunity to upgrade to archival quality.