Glass Options for Framed Art

Choosing the right Glass for your Framed Artwork comes down to a few factors: Art placement. Budget. Taste. I will dive into each factor to help potential Collectors decide which Glass option is right for them.

Art Placement

Even before a budget is considered, I would ask a Collector where the Art piece will be placed. More specifically: How many windows are in the Space? Where will the Art be placed relative to where the windows are?

Glass is typically quite reflective. When you hang an Art piece, a reflection of the room can clearly be seen and this becomes a distraction to the Work. If a Glossy Float or an Acrylic Float Glass is chosen for the framed piece, the Artwork blends with the environment's reflection.

Another issue is the amount and intensity of natural light coming through windows. If sunlight is too intense in the Space, the Artwork will reflect much of this light. Sections of the Work will not be seen at all.

My advice is to place the Art on the same wall as the windows and a good distance away from them. Often times, this is not possible. At the very least, I would not place the Art on the opposite wall directly in front of the windows. With Glossy Float or Acrylic Float Glass, a clear reflection of the windows will make the Art tough to see.

Budget

While there are options to decrease the amount of reflection in Glass, these options are more expensive. The first option is a Matte Float Glass, which is the default choice for Framed Prints on the Studio website. The Matte coating significantly decreases the amount of reflection on the glass.

However, the Matte coating also adds a bit of a haze over the Artwork. Some Collectors find this 'haze' to be just as distracting, if not more so, than the high reflectivity of Glossy Float Glass.

With Art Prints that have high Color Saturation, the Matte Coating can also diminish the Saturation seen by Viewers. Ultimately, this is an option that works well with some Prints and not as well with others. If the Space has tons of natural light, the Work may not be clearly viewable otherwise.

The next option: Anti-Reflective Museum Glass. The best of both worlds. Museum Glass is crystal clear, even more so than Glossy Float Glass. However, it's Anti-Reflective property does not include the Matte Coating 'haze' that will cover the entire Art piece.

The downside: Cost. The Museum Glass is another option for Framed Prints on the Studio website. Collectors will notice the significant increase in Price when comparing the Matte Float Glass vs. the Museum Glass option.

Taste.

While some Collectors only Select the Matte Glass option, others would not even consider it. They will work around the reflections included with a Glossy Glass option. Then, there are Gallery Curators. The Anti-Reflective Museum Glass option might as well be the only option that exists.

If Taste is the primary focus, the budget is less of a factor. Collectors simply allocate more funds towards the Art Selections. My role is to simply explain the pros and cons of each Glass option and let the Collectors decide what is most important to them.

All available Print Options are not included on the Studio website. Feel free to send questions through the Contact form. We can discuss customizing an Order that works best for you.