"How To" Guides > Sharing Images
Sharing Possibilities Expand With Digital Images
Framing and Albums to Display Images
Depending on your budget, tastes, and project objectives, there are many framing and album choices.
Framing
If you have prints or originals to display, a local frame shop or other source of ready made frames may meet your needs. If you have digital images, the possibilities are expanded. With advances in digital printing technology, it is now possible to easily upload an image to be printed using different print technologies. Prints can be ordered in many sizes and on a broad selection of paper types and qualities. You can then order custom framing by viewing your image against different wall colors, using varied mat colors, and see your image in several frame types until you find the combination that looks most attractive to you.
Custom Framing
Imagekind.com is an impressive site that allows you to upload your digital image in order to experiment with framing options. No special software is needed. You simply browse your computer for the image you are considering printing and upload the image with a press of the upload button. Once the image is at Imagekind, you may experiment with different crops, print sizes, aspect ratios, background wall colors, mat sizes and colors, paper types, and frames. Imagekind also offers several other display choices including canvas prints, story frames, fine art paper prints, posters, and greeting cards.
Ready-Made Frames
Dick Blick Art Materialsis a good source for
quality and moderately priced ready-made
Frames and Framing Supplies.
If you plan to do your own framing, Dick Blick offers a wide selection. Noteworthy among their
offerings are Nielsen Bainbridge "ArtCare Archival" black metal frames.
ArtCare frames are made of Archival materials, and are used by many leading museums.
Plain black metal frames can be used effectively to frame a collection of several
similarly sized images as a wall grouping or to develop a framing theme
within a room, home, or museum. DickBlick.com also carries a broad line
of Storing and Organizing Supplies,
and other framing
supplies and tools. For more information on using ready-made
frames, read our article with additional
Tips and Suggestions.
Canvas Prints
Recent advances in digital printing have now made it possible to print enlargements on canvas, which is then wrapped over a frame. These large canvas prints can be used very effectively to create a dramatic focal point in a room. Again, your digital image can simply be uploaded to a provider such as CanvasOnDemand.com - Turn Your Sentimental Photos into Canvas Art! Click here!
Albums for Photo Prints
Photo print albums and scrapbook supplies are available in many sizes and styles. The best advice, if you choose to organize your photos and other documents in albums or scrapbooks is to be cautious about the archival qualities of the materials. Many albums and scrapbooks are described as "archival", but the qualities can vary. Therefore, it is recommended that you purchase your supplies from a reputable vendor, stick with name brand materials, and learn a bit about archival materials before you make a major purchase. Good online sources of archival albums and scrapbooks are the major art supply retailer Dick Blick Art Materials at DickBlick.com and ArchivalMethods.com.
