A guide to picture sizes, mounts & frames
My Prints
All prints are produced using exceptionally high quality Giclée printing and are supplied on 310gsm Canson Infinity Aquarelle Rag.
When ordering prints, A1, A2, A3 and A4 represents the size of the printed image and the paper size is typically 25mm larger than that on all sides to give the pieces space.
Mounts
A picture mount is the card border that surrounds your artwork in the frame. We have discovered it can be unnecessarily difficult to get the right size mount.
The aperture (the area that has been cut out) should be the size of the artwork ‘plus’ a few millimetres to stop the artwork falling out. Typically 4mm all the way around. So if you order an A3 mount, the aperture will be slightly smaller than 420mm x 297mm (you won’t need to specify this, they just make it slightly smaller).
The outside measurement of the mount entirely depends on the size of your frame.
If you order an A2 frame with mount for an A3 picture, the outsider measurement will be A2 but the aperture will be slightly smaller than an A3 so it fits perfectly.
What if you don’t want any of the white art paper to show?
My prints are typically supplied in A sizes with 25mm white border added on all sides. If you do not want to see any white space when you come to mount and frame the prints then the aperture of your mount should be the size of the artwork (e.g. A1, 2, 3, 4). If you do want to see white space then increase the size of your aperture accordingly (but only up to around 22mm so that the print doesn’t fall through the aperture).
Frames
An ‘A3’ frame will fit ‘A3’ print size but have in mind if the frame is being supplied with a mount, the mount may obscure a lot of the outside of the print. Alternatively get a bigger frame such as an A2 (with a mount to fit an A3).
If you want it unmounted then A3 for an A3 or A2 for an A2 is perfect. Please have in mind however the end finish will be much nicer mounted!
“I just want a frame with a mount”
An A2 frame with a mount to fit an A3 would fit A3 artwork
An A1 frame with a mount to fit an A2 would fit A2 artwork
An A0 frame with a mount to fit an A1 would fit A1 artwork
