What are the different types of picture frames?
In this article we will delve a little deeper into the picture frame industry as a whole to answer this question: What are the different types of picture frames? We will start with the simplest, a type of “picture” frame all of us of a certain age will have come across at some point in our lives.
Clip Frames
The better question to introduce this section would be this: What can I use instead of picture frames? A Clip Frame is the answer. They were an 80s favourite, and these were really good for framing small certificates and sometimes also prints and photos. However, the quality was variable. Some had glass coverings, others various grades of acrylic or styrene. They were great for framing on a tight budget. The artwork is sandwiched between the clear cover and backing board by metal clips (hence the name “Clip Frame”).
A major plus point was that being frameless, they didn’t suffer the drawbacks of other economical framing solutions. However, larger ones were flimsy and the lack of rigidity and the overall impression of looking smart and modern diminished the larger they became. A4 and A3 was an ideal size. Not seen much at all anymore but sometimes we still receive requests for where to find them. They are in fact easy to make yourself. All you need is a backing board (MDF or Hardboard) a clear panel of either acrylic or glass (if glass the edges must be polished or at least the sharp edges smoothed with a glass filing pad) and the clips, of which various types can be bought cheaply online (they are called Frameless Frame Clips). We can supply glass and / or acrylic and backing boards if needed.
Glass On Glass Frameless Floating Frames
We like to think of this type of picture frame as the modern version of the clip frame. The concept is exactly the same. It’s a frameless picture frame, the artwork again sandwiched between, in this case, between a high quality acrylic front panel and a backing board. In this case the artwork is bonded to the inside of the acrylic panel using optically clear adhesive. It is a specialist process. The frame is held together by an adonised aluminium studs in each corner. These studs often come in different colours. It’s a nice look for certain design situations. That said, just like a clip frame they can look a bit “office”, and as if something is missing (which of course there is!) as the link or transition between the edge of the artwork and the wall is missing. They are most popular for signage rather than art.
A Note About a Custom Made Picture Frame
A picture frame is not just something to fix an artwork to the wall with. A fine quality picture frame such as the those that we make here at SohoFrames, becomes a part of the artwork too, amplifying the overall viewing effect. A well designed picture frame can turn something ordinary into something spectacular.
We do not recommend Clip Frames of Glass On Glass Floating Frameless Frames for archival framing of valuable art or for football shirts.
Ready-Made Picture Frames
This was how SohoFrames began some 20 years ago. We bought a pile of ready-made picture frames from Germany and a £25 Mr. Site website package from Curry’s in Tottenham Court Road. The rest, as they say, is history.
Ready-made picture frames come in all sorts of standard sizes and qualities. They are easily available online as well as on the high street. Most are not of a terribly good quality despite the price. Some of the best ones are available from Nielsen, which is also a wholesale picture framing supplier. They are great for certain things, but not recommended for the framing or fine art or football shirts, etc.
DIY Picture Frames
So, can you make your own picture frame? The short answer is yes, you can. However, how the finished picture frame turns out in terms of quality and beauty depends on skill, time, moving along the learning curve, available materials and tooling. There are plenty of resources online for people who wish to learn how to make their own things, picture frames included.
Antique Frames
These are often of fabulous quality and often found in bric-a-brac shops, antique shops, market stalls as well as specialist dealers. Specialist dealers usually deal with frames from the 16thc century onwards. There is a big market for these types of picture frames. Many of these antique frames of the Baroque and Renaissance style. The craftsmen were often as famous and as sought after as the artists that we all know about from that period. Just pop into a National Gallery be it in London or Berlin, Paris or Florence or one of the other fine art museums found around the world to see real-life examples of these masterpieces.
As a side note, when speaking once with just such a dealer client of this type of picture frame, they mentioned that you can pick-up a gorgeous beautifully painted piece of art and frame from the 16th century (and onwards) for less money than you might think. It won’t be a Leonardo or a Michelangelo, but it would still be extremely finely painted and often with a frame to match.
Antique frames bought from markets etc often need refurbishment, or at least some cosmetic attention to make them serviceable. This may include cleaning, rejoining open corners and minor damage repair. Worth checking out if you are looking for a particular style for an interior design project. They are usually of fantastic value for what you actually get.
Professional Picture Framing
There are two categories of picture frame type. These are pre-finished frames and bespoke or custom frames. The source material for both is the same. It is generally timber of various qualities and value. The difference is the construction technique. Here we explain.
Prefinished Frames
Almost all high-street picture framing stores use prefinished lengths of picture frame moulding to make their picture frames from. They purchase the material from wholesalers. There is a great selection in terms of profile size and design. They usually originate from specialist factories in Europe and the Far East. The quality varies, some are great, others not so. One draw back is that it is difficult to make a frame have what we call here at SohoFrames “The Illusion of Perfection” due to the limitations of the material. This is because having the finish (lacquer, colour, metallic foils, etc) applied before the framer makes the frame limits what can be done in terms of finish quality at each mitre join. Most framers will only put a little wax in the corners to camouflage a poor join. These types of frames often don’t join particularly well, which is partly due to the skill of the framer and partly due to the timber quality, profile design, and finish.
We also stock various pre-finished moulding lengths that we have carefully selected to ensure that any frame that we make with them is of super quality. We call these frames Standard Frames. However, we also offer a few selected pre-finished frames in our Luxury Frames section.
Gallery Frame
A plain black frame made from prefinished frame mouldings. Often used for commercial exhibitions but also often in the home where cost and simplicity are in order. We make every Gallery Frame beautifully and they are therefore of super quality.
Canvas Floater Frames
L-shaped pre-finished profiles for the framing of stretched artworks on canvas and di-bond panels etc. Some of these mouldings are very high quality.
Shadow Box Frames
Shadow box frames require moulding with deep profiles, often for framing artworks and objects that need depth. Examples could be anything 3-dimensional like a musical instrument or a heavily textured artwork.
Bespoke Or Custom Frames
The making of custom or truly bespoke frames forms the majority of our work at SohoFrames. These frames begin life in our workshop as raw timber planks that we select ourselves from a local FSC timber yard. We then make them into the requested frames according to the client’s exact specifications. The design variations are virtually limitless. You can even design your own picture frame, either using ChatGPT, for example, or just putting pencil to paper and sending us a rough sketch. We will do the rest. We make everything from high-end simple square profile frames from various timber types and with a huge range or gorgeous finishes all the way up to intricately carved frames.
With this type of framing, we can frame almost anything. The finish always reflects our philosophy of perfection. Our bespoke selection includes the following frame types.
Gallery Frames
We offer something called Enhanced Standard Frames, which are the bespoke equivalent of the types of frame profiles you can see in the pre-finished standard frames section of our website.
Hand-Finished Frames
All the frames in this range begin life as raw timber that we mill and finish to exact specifications. The quality of these bespoke picture frames is superb.
Double-Sided Frames
We make beautiful double-sided frames, both to stand and to hang. Each frame is customised to the client’s exact requirements. We make frames small enough to stand on a desk or mantlepiece, as well as giant floor standing double-sided frames. We even frame football shorts in double-sided frames.
Vinyl Frames
Specialist frames made for the framing of records and other music.
Round & Oval Frames
We are probably one of Europe’s finest makers of round and oval picture frames. But that’s not all. We also make frames in any other shape too.
Football Shirt Frames
Specialist frames with specialist techniques. We frame all our shirts to something we call Premier League Standard and employ a technique called Minimum Intervention.
Tray or Canvas Floater Frames
We offer these types of picture frames in almost any timber type, profile size, finish and colour.
Gilded Frames
We can gild any of our custom carved and hand-finished frames in 22k gold as well as silver. Gilded picture frames can be as simple or complex in terms of the design as you like.
Ornate Frames
Our custom carved frames fall under this general description. They don’t necessarily have to be gold, and the term even includes such exclusive SohoFrames contemporary designs as our Punk Rock profile as well as more traditional types such as frames in the Baroque or Renaissance style. We often experiment by taking traditional ornate frame designs and bringing them into the 21st century with subtle twists. Some of our picture frame also include designs inspired by the geometric beauty often scene in Islamic art.
Panoramic Frames
Long letterbox shaped frames for the framing or group photographs, like those from colleges and schools, but also for the military and other group shots. Also sometimes used for scenery.
Taberbacle Frames
The Tabernacle Picture Frame dates back centuries. Originally designed and constructed to reflect the architectural beauty of a house of Christian worship, a church, a cathedral. They consist of a base plinth, which support columns and a roof. Often highly ornate and decorated, these frames are still very popular today. The picture aperture is usually arched but there is a lot of leeway in what can be done to reflect modern design tastes. For us here at SohoFrames as makers of fine picture frames, we find them a true delight to design and make.
Conclusion
So, there you have it, a pretty comprehensive run-through to answer the question of what are the different types of picture frames? Now you have an idea. To explore further please just contact us.