Guides

What Size Frame for Common Photo Sizes (4x6, 5x7, 8x10, 11x14, 16x20)

A UK guide to what size frame each common photo print needs, from 4x6 to 24x36, with and without a mount, plus aperture, border and glazing guidance.

Should You Wash a Football Shirt Before Framing It?

For a match-worn or signed shirt the answer is no, and the reasons are not sentimental. The marks are part of what the shirt is, heat sets protein staining permanently, and hot water lifts heat-applied numbers. Where cleaning does make sense, and why the answer is the opposite for a wedding dress.

Framing Sports Memorabilia: Shirts, Balls, Gloves and Boots

Depth is the decision that drives everything else when framing a sporting object. What internal depth each type of item needs, how each one is held without damage, what the different constructions cost, and where a framer like us is the wrong answer.

How Much Does Giclée Printing Cost in the UK?

What a giclée print costs, what moves the figure, and how print and framing prices stack up. Includes our own starting prices, the point at which pricing switches from a flat figure to an area calculation, and what a cheap giclée is usually cutting.

How Long Do Giclée Prints Last?

Pigment ink sets carry display permanence ratings measured in hundreds of years, but those are lab figures under stated conditions. What decides the life of a print on a real wall is light, glazing, mounting materials and where it hangs, roughly in that order.

Best Paper for Giclée Prints

A reference to the fine art papers used for giclée printing: weight, fibre, surface and what each one suits. Includes what gsm does and does not tell you, why optical brighteners matter for archival work, and which paper to proof for which kind of original.

Signs Your Picture Frame Is Damaging Your Artwork

Mount burn, foxing, cockling, fading at the rebate line, artwork stuck to the glazing and perished tape are the six signs a frame is harming what is inside it. What each one looks like, what caused it, and which can be reversed.

How to Frame Medals

How medals are framed properly: reversible mounting with no piercing or adhesive, correct military ordering, UV glazing to protect ribbons, parade access.

Extra Deep Box Frames: Options and Costs

What counts as an extra deep box frame, which objects need the depth, how the build changes past 50mm, and what glass and acrylic options cost.

How to Frame a Wedding Dress

How a wedding dress is framed properly: cleaning first, a padded form with no stitching through the fabric, UV glazing as standard, fully reversible.

The Largest Picture Frame You Can Buy in the UK

How big can a picture frame actually go? The size ceilings for ready-made and bespoke frames, what limits them, and how frames beyond 4.5 metres get built.

What Size Frame for an A-Sized Print? A Sizing Guide for A6 to A0

A UK sizing guide to frame and mount dimensions for every A-series print size from A6 to A0, with a ready-made shortcut, bespoke outer sizes and worked examples.

How Are Extra Large Picture Frames Delivered?

Extra large picture frames are delivered in three tiers: UK-wide courier multi-drop up to two metres, dedicated single-trip courier for urgent jobs, and the Harten specialist van with two staff for anything over two metres. Delivery and installation together can approach or exceed around £2,000 at the top tier.

Extra Large Picture Frames: A Complete Cost Guide

Extra large picture frames start from around £500 and scale to past £8,000+ at the high end. The cost steps non-linearly at the two-metre threshold, where construction, glazing and delivery all change at once. A UK cost reference from the Harten workshop.

Standard Mount Sizes for Picture Frames: A UK Reference

A reference to standard mount sizes used in UK picture framing, covering outer mount dimensions matched to A-series and imperial frames, aperture sizes for common artwork, mount thickness, window styles and custom sizing.

Standard Canvas Sizes UK: A Complete Reference

A complete reference to standard canvas sizes in the UK, covering imperial and metric retail sizes, stretcher depths, gallery wrap considerations and bespoke options up to 4.5m × 3.5m.

Standard Mirror Sizes UK: A Complete Reference

A reference to standard mirror sizes in the UK, covering rectangular and round retail sizes in centimetres and inches, sizes by room, full-length mirror sizes, glass options, and bespoke sizing for any size or shape.

What is a Welded Picture Frame?

A welded picture frame is a frame whose mitred corners are joined by welding rather than mechanical fastening or adhesive. Used at sizes and weights where traditional timber joinery would fail. Aluminium-led, made in our dedicated metalwork department for oversized work up to 4.5m x 3.5m.

How Much Does Museum-Grade Framing Cost? A UK Cost Guide

Museum-grade framing starts from around £300 for simple A4. The cost difference over conservation framing comes from materials and aesthetic choices, not from construction complexity. A breakdown of what does and does not add to the bill, with cost ranges by size.

Floating Frames for Canvas: A Complete UK Guide

A complete UK guide to floating frames for canvas. What they are, how they differ from a tray frame, sizes, finishes, made-to-measure options and cost.

What Is a Tray Frame? (And When to Use One)

A clear explanation of what a tray frame is, how it is built, what it is used for, and when it is the right choice for a canvas or rigid panel.

Conservation Framing: Museum-Grade Protection for Valuable Art

What conservation framing means in practice: the five materials and methods that make a frame museum-grade, when valuable artwork needs it, and what it costs at Harten.

Framing Architectural Drawings and Blueprints

How to frame architectural drawings and blueprints without causing damage. Covers oversized formats, light sensitivity, preservation options, and display considerations for offices and studios.

Best UV-Protective Glass for Picture Framing: Maps, Watercolours and Original Art

Which UV glass to choose for an antique map, watercolour, or original artwork. Direct recommendations for Tru Vue Museum Glass, Optium Museum Acrylic, and Artglass UV92 from a working framer.

Lacing vs Hinging for Textile Framing: Which Technique Is Right?

A practical guide to the two main techniques for mounting textiles in frames. When to use lacing, when hinging works better, and why reversibility matters for valuable pieces.

Fire-Rated Framing for Commercial Interiors

What fire-rated framing means for artwork in hotels, hospitals and commercial buildings. Materials, compliance requirements, and how to specify framing that meets fire safety standards.

Condensation Inside Picture Frames: Causes, Prevention and Fixes

Why condensation forms inside picture frames, how to spot the early signs, and what proper framing techniques do to prevent moisture damage to your artwork.

Protecting Heirlooms with Conservation Framing

What conservation framing is, how it protects irreplaceable items, and when you need it. A plain-language guide to acid-free materials, UV protection, and reversible mounting.

How to Frame a Football Shirt

A practical guide to framing football shirts properly, covering mounting methods, glazing, signed shirt protection, and what to look for in a professional framer.

How to Choose the Right Frame for Your Artwork

Practical guidance on matching frame styles to different types of artwork, from oil paintings and watercolours to photographs, canvas, and three-dimensional objects.

What to Expect from a Bespoke Framer

A step-by-step guide to the bespoke framing process, from your first enquiry through consultation, production, and collection.

Standard Picture Frame Sizes: A Complete UK Guide

A practical reference to standard picture frame sizes in the UK, covering metric, imperial, and photo print dimensions with tips on when bespoke framing makes more sense.

Shadow Box Frame Ideas: Displaying Objects That Matter

Creative shadow box frame ideas for memorabilia, sports shirts, wedding keepsakes, baby items and artwork. See how bespoke shadow box framing brings treasured objects to life.

How Much Does Custom Framing Cost?

An honest guide to custom framing prices, what drives the cost, and starting prices for every type of framing we offer at Harten.

Walnut Frames vs Oak Frames: Choosing the Right Wood for Your Interior

A practical comparison of walnut and oak picture frames, grain, colour, durability, and how each wood works in contemporary and traditional interiors.

Maintenance & Cleaning For Custom Mirrors

Tips on how to keep your oversized mirror looking flawless for years to come.

Will Acrylic Display Boxes Turn Yellow?

Explore what causes acrylic to turn yellow, and why our frames use premium materials for custom made frames by specialists at Harten.

How to Measure for Oversized Frames: A Practical Guide

A practical guide to measuring artwork for oversized framing, from flat prints to stretched canvases, plus what changes once a piece passes two metres.

Things to Consider for Oversized Artwork

As art gets bigger, there are more things you need to consider such as structure, glazing and fixings.

What is a Large Canvas Frame?

How large canvas frames are made; where and how to hang large canvas frames; what materials are used and techniques that are applied to ensure your high quality art is perfectly framed and properly protected.

Box picture frames for wall design

Our favourite colours, a great piece of furniture, that cushion that starts the design, a rug, glorious curtain fabrics, lighting ...