Conservation Framing

At Germotte Photo & Framing Studio we use the most up-to-date archival preservation methods and materials for the safety of your artwork. We stay up to date with the technology, and we constantly sharpen our skills so that we can offer you the best possible protection for your precious art.

In consultation with our clients, we use preservation methods and materials appropriate for each project. Inside each framing package is a unique preservation support system. We include the use of different preservation materials to suit each piece of art. Materials may include the following:

Acid-free matting
• Acrylic spacers
• Reversible hinging tapes and papers
• Conservation corner mounts & strips
• Barrier tapes, rabbet tapes, and fillet tapes
• Ultraviolet protecting glass or Plexiglas™
• Museum Glass or Museum Plexiglas™
• Acid-free backing, Coroplast and barrier papers

Matting

The motive of matting is visual and protective. Mats keep the glass from coming into contact with the artwork. This provides an air space to prevent damage due to condensation behind the glass. For other design options, we use liners, mat walls and acrylic spacers to separate the artwork from glass and acrylic.

At GPFS we use only conservation-quality acid-free and lignin-free mat boards to protect your precious art. These mats are available in solid core rag board (100% cotton) or with coloured and textured surfaces over acid-free centers. Bainbridge has a unique technological advantage with its ART CARE line of mats. Embedded in their mat boards and acid-free foam core boards are microchambers, which trap impurities and protect art from the effects of pollution, paper degradation and the by-products of the art´s own ageing.

Mounting and Hinging

Fine art must be secured in a way that will accommodate changes in the art itself. Most of the time, we hinge artwork from the top so that the art will not buckle as it expands and contracts. In all cases, we do our best for invisible and reversible methods, and we discuss all the options with our clients.

We also mount economical posters to the Foam-Core board using a press. The main benefit of this mounting treatment is to prevent the waving of the poster behind the glass.

Glazing Options

Ultraviolet light is present in nearly all forms of light, including sunlight, incandescent light, fluorescent light, and halogen light. UV light exposure causes artwork to fade, yellow, and become fragile. Although UV protective products will slow such deterioration, it is still important to hang valuable art away from direct sources of ultraviolet light.

At Germotte Photo & Framing Studio we carry a variety of U.V. protective glass and acrylic in both clear and non-glare options. For budget picture framing needs, we also feature equivalent products without UV protection.

New from TRU VUE

Optium Museum Acrylic® delivers all the features worthy of your craftsmanship.

Anti-Reflective
Scratch-resistant
99% UV Protection
Shatter-resistant
Anti-Static
Lightweight

Optium Museum Acrylic® is the ultimate glazing product that performs more like glass than acrylic. This state-of-the-art acrylic product provides 99% UV protection to protect against fading and is optically coated. Tru Vue’s proprietary coating process using

Magnetron Sputtering technology creates a nearly invisible surface. Like most acrylic products, Optium Museum Acrylic is half the weight of glass and is shatter-resistant. However, unlike typical acrylic sheets, Optium Museum Acrylic performs like glass with its anti-static and abrasion resistant features.

Only Tru Vue offers glazing products specifically developed to meet preservation standards. Our Conservation Grade glass and acrylic products provide up to 99% UV

Blocking capabilities and surpass the 97% UV standard.*

Institute, guidelines from the International for Standardization, ISO 18902, recommend using glazing that blocks at least 97% of UV energy.

For the very best glazing choices available, look to Museum Glass® and Optimum Museum

Acrylic.® These Conservation Grade UV products offer up to 99% UV protection from the irreversible damage caused by light exposure while offering maximum anti-reflective viewing for amazing clarity.

Museum Glass

Museum Glass is our finest grade premium glass. Is truly an extraordinary product. It provides the same UV blocking protection of Conservation Clear and Conservation Reflection Control in that it blocks more than 98% of the ultraviolet rays. In addition, Museum Glass has a very special anti-reflective surface far superior to a typical non-glare glass. A special coating is used in extremely thin layers to break up the incoming light rays so that they don't bounce back off the glass, producing a glare. Because the rays don't bounce off, the picture is actually more illuminated than with clear glass. Museum Glass transmits more than 97% of light to the artwork. This improves the colour and clarity of the artwork

Tru-Vue Conservation Clear Glass

Tru-Vue Conservation Clear Glass (U.V. Glass) filters 99% of damaging ultraviolet light. This is the glass you see on most of the art in our gallery and is our number one selling glass.

Tru Vue Conservation Reflection Control

Tru Vue Conservation Reflection Control (Non-glare U.V. Glass) has the same U.V. filtering quality as clear glass but has an etched surface to reduce glare. This surface softens the image with a resulting slight loss in clarity and colour intensity.

AR Reflection-Free^®

Ideal for reflection-free viewing when conservation-grade UV protection is not a concerto to enhance colours, brightness and contrast levels of all types of artwork, such as photographs

Tru-Vue Premium Reflection Control

Non-Glare Matte Finish, Ideal for minimizing glare and reflection when conservation-grade UV protection is not a concern, Use on any framing project with up to two mats away from artwork without significant resolution loss

Tru-Vue Premium Clear Glass

Tru-Vue Premium Clear Glass is a quality clear picture framing glass for budget projects that do not require U.V. protection