EB Forum

Hey guys,

I recently acquired a couple dozen prints, but I only intend to display 2 at a time in a specific area of my house, rotating them monthly.

The frames I current have are glass, and the prints (as currently set up) would be mounted in direct contact with the glaze.

All prints not being displayed would be stored flat and protected in an Itoya portfolio, away from harm.

I've been reading about humidity moisture buildup with glass, and how prints should generally not be mounted in this way. However, since each print will be only framed for 1 month at a time, and it would take about a year to go through my collection before repeating, I'm curious if you think that keeping it in glass would be okay. How long does direct contact take to cause issues with prints?

it probably isn't an issue with that short a display time ...but considerations to take into account are local climate in your area as well as within your home (central AC or dehumidifiers?), sun exposure, etc. even the type of inks used in printing can be a determinate.
I'm assuming you have the frames already but if you don't, invest in frames deep enough to accommodate spacers and the issue is mute.

Yup, all of the above. Sometimes it may not be a matter of how long so much as an inopportune time (like a particularly humid day) and direct contact can be unfortunate. Spacers are definitely worth considering.

Thanks for the responses. I think I'll replace my frames with acrylic ones I can use matting on, and get some spacers for my larger prints that can't be matted.

If you're rotating art in and out of the same frame, why not rotate the glass out and replace it with Acrylic (plexi). Unless you splurge on Optium Acrylic, buying a few pieces of UV plexi is not that expensive.