bright idea for framing

I wish I were a programer or knew someone who was. I just took a piece in
to get an estimate on framing. It is going to be close to $120. That is
probably the most I have ever spent to frame anything and almost half of
that is in labor for designing the layout to cut the mat. I am framing
Fireworks from Creative Reflections. This is a four way bargello and was a
class piece from CATS. I want to do it in a way that is similar to the
cover photo which shows the bottom mat cut to the same outline as the
stitching and the top mat cut with a circlular opening. I did not like the
color choice for the top mat (silver metallic) or the frame (cherry) so I
went with a midnight blue suede bottom and a deep mauvey kind of pink for
the top with a gold frame. Now for my bright idea, why can't someone come
up with a program which will let a framer scan in a piece of art then add
mats and frames in the shape and color of the customers choosing? This way
I would feel much more confident about my choices and about spending that
kind of money for a 12 inch square piece of stitching. I know that there
are programs like this for other types of things like changing hairstyles
etc, why can't someone come up with something for framing artwork. I will
be doing the lacing and other labor involved in the framing. My framer just
has to cut the mats and assemble the moulding for the frame. I told her to
give me a day or two to think about it since I may just have her do a plain
diamond in a circle instead of the outline cutting for the bottom mat. That
would save me at least $40 or $50 but I might always regret losing the
effect of fireworks in the night sky that the outline cutting would give me.
Beverly B

why can't someone come
up with a program which will let a framer scan in a piece of art then add
mats and frames in the shape and color of the customers choosing?

You can scan in the stitching and then use any paint program to add layers
representing the matting. You can possibly even scan in the matting to get
the colors right.

This may sound like a silly question, but I have often wondered where
the exorbitant cost comes from myself. So.....where would one go to
learn the art of framing needlework?

Maureen In Vancouver, B.C.

Nerak wrote:

why can't someone come
up with a program which will let a framer scan in a piece of art then add
mats and frames in the shape and color of the customers choosing?


You can scan in the stitching and then use any paint program to add layers
representing the matting. You can possibly even scan in the matting to get
the colors right.




--
Maureen Miller

From Treasured Photo to Charted Heirloom

On 11/23/03 10:36 AM,"Beverly B" posted:

*snip*
class piece from CATS. I want to do it in a way that is similar to the
cover photo which shows the bottom mat cut to the same outline as the
stitching and the top mat cut with a circlular opening. I did not like the
color choice for the top mat (silver metallic) or the frame (cherry) so I
went with a midnight blue suede bottom and a deep mauvey kind of pink for
the top with a gold frame. Now for my bright idea, why can't someone come
up with a program which will let a framer scan in a piece of art then add
mats and frames in the shape and color of the customers choosing? This way

Well, any graphics program would let you play with shapes, border around
your scanned image.

My guess, based on experience in the frame shop, and talking about such
things, is time, money, space doing that in a shop. The reason in my
friend's shop we don't have a computer set-up for people to browse the
Hoffman catalog (which is on CD). When we lay a piece out to work on the
frame, we do indeed work with the mat samples, trying colors, textures, and
on all the corners. Something might look great in one quadrant - but not
work at all in another. It's a nice idea, but I think it's unlikely that
most framers would be interested in investing in such. And really, even if
you did that - you still have to lay out all the mats, play with frame
moldings in combination, until you're confident with what works right.

The texture and color resolution that you see in person, well to get that on
the screen you need a truly expensive monitor. In choosing mats, well, color
shades - the subtlest differences matter. Also, frame moldings are
constantly changing, being updated - new ones come in, old ones go out. New
mats come up - new textures, colors, and some go away. Just my thoughts.

But, I understand your frustration. Why it's important to have a framer that
you really like, and trust.

Ellice

On 11/23/03 1:51 PM,"Russell Miller" posted:

This may sound like a silly question, but I have often wondered where
the exorbitant cost comes from myself. So.....where would one go to
learn the art of framing needlework?

Well, it's really not so much in the labor. For custom mats, there is a
labor charge - because you're relying on the skill of the framer to cut some
odd shape. Even if using the circle cutter, and a straight cutter, it's no
easy thing to do a compound cut mat, and have all the corners come out
properly.

There are a fair amount of hidden materials costs, that add up. And moldings
aren't cheap. Most framers use the same "book" for pricing - with suggested
retail prices for glass, mounting, stretching, mat boards, etc - and a
matrix of pricing for frames (by size & grade/category). Framers have some
wiggle room in there. Sometimes if we've bought molding in bulk on special,
so we cut the lengths ourselves - then we can drop a price category. In a
shop like ours, we rarely use the SRP for stretching needlework. If we're
doing the framing, a normal (moderately sized) piece we might only charge
$12, instead of $25, only $5 for a small piece. With mats, sometimes you
just have to order in because you don't have stock, or aren't going to use
the left-over for a long time. If it's a good framer, you might also save on
glass - we frequently reduce the price for small pieces. At the same time,
you have to account for the cost of breakage, ruined frame moldings (if
someone is careless), marks getting on a mat, all the little things - glue,
nails, hanging hardware, little frame bumpers, etc. The biggest cost really
is the molding.

You can take courses at most comm. Colleges - in framing. And sometimes an
LNS or guild will teach "mounting needlework" . There are things you have to
learn to become a Certified Professional Framer (CPF), and you have to take
an exam for that ticket punch. There are professional seminars where you can
take classes on framing techniques, etc.

Hope that helped,
ellice

Nerak wrote:

why can't someone come
up with a program which will let a framer scan in a piece of art then add
mats and frames in the shape and color of the customers choosing?


You can scan in the stitching and then use any paint program to add layers
representing the matting. You can possibly even scan in the matting to get
the colors right.

the top with a gold frame. Now for my bright idea, why can't someone come
up with a program which will let a framer scan in a piece of art then add
mats and frames in the shape and color of the customers choosing? This
way

http://www.pictureframes.com/scripts....woa/wo/53.0.5.
1.0.0

is the closest thing I think you'll find Just click on Personal Frame
Shop - and as long as you have a scanned image of your piece on your
harddrive, you can play around with various frames and mats. I use this
quite often when I just can't envision anything for one of my pieces. I have
not ordered anything from this site - but from the people I know who have,
they've been happy with the service.

As for why more framers don't do this, or go one further to show cut mats,
etc. - it's the cost. My SO does programming of this sort for several
industries - but the costs involved in programming the site, etc. make it
out of reach for most framers.

Shannon L.

this site has a free demo disc that lets you design your mats and order them
as well. this is a pretty neat program.
http://www.fletcher-terry.com/framing/software/
"Beverly B" wrote in message
...
I wish I were a programer or knew someone who was. I just took a piece in
to get an estimate on framing. It is going to be close to $120. That is
probably the most I have ever spent to frame anything and almost half of
that is in labor for designing the layout to cut the mat. I am framing
Fireworks from Creative Reflections. This is a four way bargello and was
a
class piece from CATS. I want to do it in a way that is similar to the
cover photo which shows the bottom mat cut to the same outline as the
stitching and the top mat cut with a circlular opening. I did not like
the
color choice for the top mat (silver metallic) or the frame (cherry) so I
went with a midnight blue suede bottom and a deep mauvey kind of pink for
the top with a gold frame. Now for my bright idea, why can't someone come
up with a program which will let a framer scan in a piece of art then add
mats and frames in the shape and color of the customers choosing? This
way
I would feel much more confident about my choices and about spending that
kind of money for a 12 inch square piece of stitching. I know that there
are programs like this for other types of things like changing hairstyles
etc, why can't someone come up with something for framing artwork. I will
be doing the lacing and other labor involved in the framing. My framer
just
has to cut the mats and assemble the moulding for the frame. I told her
to
give me a day or two to think about it since I may just have her do a
plain
diamond in a circle instead of the outline cutting for the bottom mat.
That
would save me at least $40 or $50 but I might always regret losing the
effect of fireworks in the night sky that the outline cutting would give
me.
Beverly B

I was just checking www.americanframe.com the other day and they now allow you to upload a digital image from your computer, put it in a frame, with mat, and I believe paint the wall a color of your choice that the finished product will hang on, on your computer. So if you have a scanner and can scan your work you are suppose to be able to see how it would look in various frames and mats. I haven't tried it myself as I just found out about this the other day so if someone does try it, could you please post to the group and let us know how you like it.

I don't work for americanframe I just have ordered from them a few times and have been satisfied with their products and was checking out some frame prices when I noticed their new option.

Judi Canaan
Kalamazoo, MI

Try www.americanframe.com. There you can select a frame, mats (single or
double or triple or none), colors, widths, etc. and it shows you how it
will all look together interactively. You can even select a wall color so
you can see how it would look on your wall (although I did not figure out
how to make this work). They will cut a mat in a square/rectangle,
circle/oval or arch (which might be what you describe).

You can upload your picture (you would need to have an electronic image of
your stitching) so you can see the combination of selections with your own
artwork.

I order all my mats and frames from them (quite affordable) and put it all
together myself. Even if you don't buy from them you can get what you are
looking for from them.

--
===========================
Magda

"Beverly B" wrote in message
...
I wish I were a programer or knew someone who was. I just took a piece in
to get an estimate on framing. It is going to be close to $120. That is
probably the most I have ever spent to frame anything and almost half of
that is in labor for designing the layout to cut the mat. I am framing
Fireworks from Creative Reflections. This is a four way bargello and was
a
class piece from CATS. I want to do it in a way that is similar to the
cover photo which shows the bottom mat cut to the same outline as the
stitching and the top mat cut with a circlular opening. I did not like
the
color choice for the top mat (silver metallic) or the frame (cherry) so I
went with a midnight blue suede bottom and a deep mauvey kind of pink for
the top with a gold frame. Now for my bright idea, why can't someone come
up with a program which will let a framer scan in a piece of art then add
mats and frames in the shape and color of the customers choosing? This
way
I would feel much more confident about my choices and about spending that
kind of money for a 12 inch square piece of stitching. I know that there
are programs like this for other types of things like changing hairstyles
etc, why can't someone come up with something for framing artwork. I will
be doing the lacing and other labor involved in the framing. My framer
just
has to cut the mats and assemble the moulding for the frame. I told her
to
give me a day or two to think about it since I may just have her do a
plain
diamond in a circle instead of the outline cutting for the bottom mat.
That
would save me at least $40 or $50 but I might always regret losing the
effect of fireworks in the night sky that the outline cutting would give
me.
Beverly B