Framing cibachromes in UK

[Kevin Thomas]

Hi,

I'm looking for recommendations for picture framers for my cibachrome prints. I live near Plymouth in Devon but also work in London & Bristol.

Thanks,

Kevin

[turtle]

Kevin,

I would suggest just dropping into a few quality framers and chatting with them. I have had a few cibachromes mounted in the UK and had no problems at all. Like you I was concerned about heat mounting (can cuase orange peel effect) and also damage to the ultra gloss surface. Some framers might try to mount them on self advesive mountboard, but a chat with the framer will reveal the method he intends to use. This sort of tacky mount borad is very praactical but an archival no-no (if that is a concern). now that I frame my own work, I did a few cibachromes using archival gummed tape and just suspended them, but this might not be possible if the prints are large as slight rippling might occur. any quality 'art' framer should be able to deal with this with no trouble at all. Look out for those which are members of the guild of master craftsmen. The ones that do framing as a sideline while they sell thousands of ready made frames and posters are generally of a far lower quality. A dedicated framery is the best bet. If struggling, many private commercial art galleries also frame and have framers used to dealing with valuable work rather than posters and prints.

[bob carnie]

I have been printing and framing cibachromes since the early 80's.They are very difficult prints to frame.
Things to watch out for, no heat unless you are using the RC pearle surface.
Use high quality dibond aluminum with a very high quality adhesive which is then cold mounted in an extremely clean enviroment.
We prefer to hinge mount all our cibachromes with archival tape from behind the print, and only when they are over 20x24 inches will we consider cold mounting to dibond.
Cibas really do lay flat within the matt. give a generous border so that the over matt and the backing board creates a very snug fit.
Gloves should be worn at all times and hardly breath and you should be alright.