Your Guide to Glazing

Glazing refers to the transparent material used to cover and protect your artwork when it’s framed. The most common query is: plastic or glass?

Before you answer, it’s important to consider the options available and, more importantly, the utility and aesthetics involved.

What's Up With Your Art?

Here are the four primary issues to consider before making your selection:

• Cost
• Aesthetics
• Safety
• Preservation

You have more options than ever before when it comes to glazing. From basic glass to the highest quality Optium Acrylic, there are glazing options available that will provide just the right level of protection while allowing your art to shine through.

Choose Wisely- Basic Tutorial

Standard Glass – is appropriate for poster art or any piece that has no investment value. It provides basic protection from foreign objects like dust and fingerprints. It is heavy and is limited to pieces 40” X 60” or smaller. Standard glass provides no UV protection and has no non-glare properties. It is the least expensive option.

Conservation Clear- is a UV filtering glass that will protect your artwork from fading.

Non-Glare- is an etched glass that has a foggy appearance. Not as widely used since the introduction of Museum Glass, there is too much loss of clarity due to its foggy appearance. It is especially poor when matting artwork, because the farther away the glass sits from the image, the more clarity is lost.

Museum Glass- Museum glass, as the name suggests, is top quality glazing. It protects against light damage and has an anti-reflective quality with out any distortion. People often never see the glass or suspect it’s there.

Plexi-Glass: Plexi glass is often used on larger pieces because it is much lighter than glass. Many hospitals and public places require the use of plexi in their frames for safety reasons. While noticeably lighter than glass, plexi scratches more easily. Generally, though, glass costs less.

All of these plexi-glass glazing options mirror their glass counterparts:

• Standard Acrylic
• Conservation Acrylic- OP3
• Non-Glare Acrylic- P99
• Museum Acrylic- Optium Acrylic

I encourage you to call us or come in so we can help you select just the right material for your project, saving you time, money and your artwork. .

By Chris Andrews
Tony's Custom Framing