Picture Framings in Maumee, OH

One of the oldest in town... these guys are "old school" photographers and they have a lab: [http://www.thompsonphoto.com/](http://www.thompsonphoto.com/)

I’ll be the third person to recommend Thomson Photo. They were the only place in town that could develop an old disposable camera from about 12 years ago that I found in my junk drawer (completely irrelevant to what you need). But, yeah, super nice guys and decent pricing!

f/32 did an excellent job scanning, retouching, and large format printing of some old family black and white photos for me... 7838 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37919

I believe there is one on papermill across from Frank’s barber shop

Costco is the cheapest we found.

I think Staples/Office Depot can do stuff like that.

PrintEdge on N Cedar Bluff

I would do it, but I can only go up to 13" by 19" if you want to go for a smaller size I would be happy to help. How many images do you need?

knoxblueprint

I don't know about online or shipping but https://www.twitter.com/michaelsstores isn't bad with framing prices. Sry not much help lol

http://www.americanframe.com/ does great quality work, a bit expensive but not too bad for the final product.

They can be ordered from The Graphic Edge in Carroll, Iowa

I like AmericanFrame.com for custom matts and framing. For prints WHCC.com is good, and they do some mounting and canvas printing, not sure about framing. Costco also makes high quality, archival color prints from digital files, on real photo paper that goes through chemistry (Fuji Crystal Archive C print paper last I checked).

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Pro DPI, although you need to basically apply to get an account. They print really carefully and pack things well when they ship.

There are so many choices for online printing now a days. I've used White House Custom Color and Black River Imaging with great results. As for the framing best advice is look around in your area, there is probably a shop other than Hobby Lobby. While we are talking local shops you might look around at who is printing images locally. Go in and make a friend could be better than an internet experience.

Mostly I buy standard frames and mattes at my local art store (Michaels). I wait to buy when frames are on sale (this week at Michaels, actually). If I have something of an odd size, I will buy mattes and frames online. I have used Americanframe.com, they send you all the pieces and you assemble it yourself. Back in the day, I had a matt cutter and I'd cut my own, but I don't really have a good workspace these days for it. It helps that I have my own printer, so I can print to whatever size I need. Custom framing from frame shops is ridiculously expensive.

For really cheap, check out stores like Gordmans. I went into Hobby Lobby recently and they had a really impressive selection.

Keep in mind, cheap mats are usually not archival--they contain chemicals that will eventually damage the print. Not always a big deal, but for important photos make sure you use archival, acid-free, "rag board." Also, as kickstand said, Americanframe.com is a good source.

Without knowing what the print is or whether it is archival or not, you would probably want to decide if it is worth properly framing/preserving or not. $700 is reasonable for a large print that size if it is using UV glass/acid free materials/etc. But you wouldn't want to spend that kind of money if the print is just going to yellow on its own after a year or two.

If you live in Boston or Berkley, there's a place called the Framers' Workshop that is a DIY framing place. I'm not sure if the two stores are related or just have the same name. Google says there might be one in Arizona, too. If you aren't there or want something cheaper, try something like this: http://www.americanframe.com/ I know that Utrecht art stores (and probably other chains like Blick) have a similar DIY framing sections where you can select 4 pieces of metal and a matte, then get the glass cut at a local hardware store. Still not cheap, but definitely cheaper.

Hot glue it to a piece of tempered hardboard? Build a frame yourself out of molding purchased from your local home center? Not sure what you're expecting here.

I'm what you might call an experienced amateur. I've framed probably 30-40 pieces. So take my advice as you will. There's quite a few online stores that sell framing. It's not tremendously hard to do framing but there are one or two bits of specialized equipment needed (e.g. mat cutter that does the beveled edge). And if you're doing this yourself you'll need to trust your taste and sense of color. You'll need a frame, glass, mat board for the front side (you never want your art to actually touch the glass), and some board behind the art (can also be matboard). You'll need some way of mounting it on the wall: picture wire, and eye hooks if you have a wood frame or if you get a metal frame it will probably come with bits that you thread your picture wire into. You'll also want a good big piece of butcher paper for sealing the back. Frame: It kinda depends on how fancy or not you want to go. If your art is modern, a minimal metal frame has a good clean look. For a wood frame, 54x75 (minimum; you generally add several inches in either dimension for the mat) is pretty darn big and is going to be heavy; it may need some supplemental structure like a pair of vertical slats screwed to the top and bottom pieces. Matboard: If you're not investing in a mat cutter the frame shop will cut one for you. There are various grades of mat paper (acid free archival blah blah) and you'd choose one appropriate to how you value the art. Same goes for your backer board, is also touching the art. Since your standard matboard is 40x60, expect this to be expensive and hard to find. This may be the show stopper here and make it worth your $700 to have someone else have the headache. Glass: can be plain ol window glass. I haven't dealt with any pieces as large as yours (the largest I've done was 42" long), but I'd consider acrylic/plexiglas as the better choice. Assembly: Your mat and backer board will be the same dimensions; your art smaller. The art gets sandwiched between the mat and the backer board. You tape it along its top edge to one of the boards with hinging tape. As you do this you want to minimize the amount the tape touches your artwork. 1/4" is normal for small to medium art, probably 1/2" for yours. Measure twice, tape once. Put the glass in the frame, put the mat+art sandwich on top. If you have a metal frame it will come with little springy arcs that will press it to the front of the frame. A wood frame uses little metal things called framing points which stab into the inside of the frame. With the frame face down and your artwork in, you lay the point with the flat side on the backer board, pointing toward the frame edge. Use a flat screwdriver against the back of the point and tap it in with a hammer. Sealing the back: this is basically to keep bugs out. If you have a wood frame sealing is easily done with plain ol' white glue. You want to mist your butcher paper lightly, apply glue to the frame, and lay the butcher paper on, pulling it out so it's smooth and unwrinkly. It's ok if it looks a little baggy - the paper will tighten up as it dries. When dry, trim the edge so it's not visible from the front/sides. For a metal frame, double sided tape is better. Hanging: You'll want to double up your picture wire. Maybe triple it.

Thanks for all the tips. Fixing it myself sounds easy but I'm not sure I'm willing to risk it. Maybe I'll just pay and be done with it.

Ikea. Or your local community house (council centre) might have a weekend course on how to make a picture frame. Or you might buy picture frame wood from a hardware store, they'll cut it to size for free. Ikea uses plastic sheeting sometimes, instead of glass - cheaper to buy, lighter to hang. We bought $60 prints and ikea frames, and got a picture frame store to cut white mats to fit.