Our Recommended Product Range

 

Glazing: We all know the dangers of ultraviolet radiation.  Light can damage organic materials, cause fabric, paper and other textiles to fade and break down, and over time the damage caused is irreversible.  Prevention is key to ensuring that your artwork lasts for future generations. 

 

We recommend the Tru Vue range of Conservation glass, with its exemplary uv light filtering qualities.   Whereas the International Standards for Imaging materials (ISO 18902) recommends glazing blocks at least 97% of UV light, Tru Vue surpasses this by blocking 99%, the maximum that anyone has achieved within the industry. 

 

Conservation or Museum Glass?

Within the range is either the Conservation Clear, or Museum Glass option.  The difference between these two products is a nifty thing they call ‘Light Transmission’.  In a nutshell, glass, despite being clear, interferes with how well we can see what is behind it. Standard glass has 84% light transmission.  Conservation Glass attains 89% light transmission.  While Museum glass has 97% light transmission! Images look crystal clear, which is why it is popular with educationalists and fine art connoisseurs.  

 

Matboard: Matboards functional purpose is to place a distance between the artwork and the glass to prevent moisture damage, mould and mildew.  Cosmetically a mat enhances the visual presentation of your artwork, and are available in a large range of colours and qualities. 

 

In bygone days Matboards were made of wood pulp paper which was buffered with calcium carbonate to a ph neutral content.  However with time the treatment regresses – visible signs of your matboard deteriorating is evident with the yellowing of the cut edge, the acids can then leach into artwork in a term called acid burn. If you see any signs of this happening on your framed artwork is is important to have it remated before   

 

The framing industry has risen to the challenge to make mat products that will not harm your artwork, and have turned to cotton for the solution. The archival properties of cotton are unrivaled, as well as being a renewable resource.  Cotton contains no wood pulp material, and in museum grade has a lifetime warrantee. 

 

Here at Harrisons we entirely use Cotton mat boards, our range of choice is Crescent Ragmat which is 100% cotton fibre providing optimal archival protection.  In keeping with the Fine Art Guild specifications for Museum framing we recommend a cotton backing board behind your artwork, so that your artwork is never in contact with materials that might cause it future harm.

 

Our range of Crescent Rag Mat has a lifetime guarantee.

 

Frames: In the modern age we have more choice than ever before in the range of frames available, with new styles being continually added to keep up with the changing face of fashion. At Harrisons we can give you expert advice, whether you want to have industrial style, sleek modern, french-provincial, something traditional or timeless.

 

In order to frame your artwork responsibly, we need to treat the different framing choices correctly to ensure that no harmful gasses or by products migrate into your artwork.  Wooden frames require a frame sealer, which is a tape-like product that separates the artwork behind the glass from coming into contact with lignin.