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Lamination

Laminating photographs is one of the best framing techniques for photographs.

Lamination removes almost all glare and reflections from photographs.

Looking at a laminated photograph is almost like looking out of a window.

One of the best ways of displaying our photographs is to laminate them.

Laminated photographs are covered with a very thin, strong, invisible sheet of lamination material. This covering is anti-glare, anti-reflection and anti-UV, yet it perfectly protects the photograph so that it can be shown without being covered by glass. Of all the methods to eliminate reflections and glare, this is by far the best. A laminated photograph looks so real and so vibrant it almost seems as if you are looking out a window. In the larger sizes, these laminated photographs make you feel as if you are right there, in the scene. We have had many people tell us that it looks as if you can walk right into these images.

Even though glass isn't used, the photograph is completely protected by the lamination material. In fact it protects the picture better than glass does since the lamination seals out all moisture and dirt and also provides additional UV protection. The lamination can easily be cleaned with a damp rag.

Mats are not used when framing laminated photographs. Since no glass is used, and since mats need to be protected by glass, you can't use mats . One down side of this is that laminated photographs look smaller than matted photographs since mats add size. One way to get around this is to simply buy a larger photograph to begin with; in general it will cost less to buy a larger photograph than to buy mat and glass.

If you do want to frame using mat and glass, you should buy one of our plain photographs, rather than a laminated one.

One way to end up with a liminated picture is to have us laminate a loose print and then ship it to you or your framer. Use this option if you want a laminated picture framed with a traditional frame but your framer doesn't laminate.

When your framer gets the laminated photograph, he will mount it and then surround it with some kind of traditional frame. This is the way the picture above has been framed. Basically, laminated photographs are framed much like oil paintings are framed. No glass is used and wide frames, two or three or four inches wide, work very well. Fillets and linen liners also work well. You can discuss these options with your framer.

If you take this route to lamination, there are a couple of things to watch out for. Since some framers are not famliar with mounting and framing laminated pictures you need to inform them of a couple of things.

First, your framer needs to mount larger laminated photographs onto very rigid foam board like Gator Board, or Rhino Board or Mighty Core, not the standard flimsy foam core. If they don't, the picture may warp. Second, they need to mount the picture using a cold mount technique or the lamination on the picture can be ruined. If your framer doesn't understand what all of this is about, you need to find a new framer.

The best way to find good framers is look in your local yellow pages, rather than online, and choose someone who looks local and prominent and professional. Local businesses are generally better than the large chain framers. We have had a lot of problems with large, corporate, chain framing outlets. Locals have a reputation to uphold and take pride in their work. Large chain framers often rely on minimum wage employees who could care less how your picture turns out. This is not always true but it servers as a general rule of thumb.

However there is a good way to bypass all this hassle. We think that the best and least expensive way to end up with a laminated and framed picture is to buy the photograph from us, have us send it to Reed Photo in Denver and have them laminate and frame it as a Gallery Mount. Gallery Mount is Reed's name for a special laminating and framing service they offer. Here are examples of various kinds of Gallery Mounts on their web site.

You can call Kelly Reed at 303-573-7801, extension 350. Kelly is very personable and can answer any questions about the Gallery Mount process, costs and shipping. Be sure to tell her you are our customer. Once she knows you are our customer, she will give you a 25% discount on framing. To the left is a picture of just one of the several Gallery Mount styles that Reeds can do. At the bottom of this page is another one. Click on the link to Reed's Gallery Mount page above to see the rest.

During our annual holiday sale that begins this week you will get 25% off on any of our images. Plus you will save money because you don't need us to laminate your image. Plus you will save money because Reed's prices are very resonable in the first place and also because they give our customers a 25% discount. Plus you will save money because we will ship your photograph to Reeds for free.

With all these savings is quite possible that you can save enough to pay for the crating and the shipping of your framed photograph. Crating and shipping is not cheap, especially for large pictures. But you are saving a ton on other things and you may end up paying far less than you would by having a local framer do the job.

At any rate, it is something to consider. If you want a very professional job on a laminated picture without much hassle, I would at least give Kelly a call and see what kind of deal she can give you.

Of course, if you live in the Denver area and can just pick up the picture from Reeds (they are located at 888 Federal Blvd) then you can make out like the proverbial bandit.

A further option is that you don't necessarily have to have this Gallery Mount process done at Reeds. This is a process that is now done all over the country under various names. Call your local framer and ask about it. If your local framer doesn't do this kind of job, look in the yellow pages and find another large, local framer and ask him. You can almost always find someone to do this job for you very quickly.

If you can't fnd someone in your area who does this kind of laminating and framing, call me and I will find someone in your area who does do this.

If you have any questions about all this please don't hesitate to email or call me at 505-404-8299.

Go to our framing page to see all of our information about framing. There is a lot of additional information about framing and lamination toward the bottom of this page.

This is the Gallery Float Style that Reeds does. I floats 3/4 of an
inch above the wall. It is a very modern look that I like a lot.