How we make our pictures

We take great care in making your pictures and ensure that everything is done professionally and accurately. You are getting a handmade, bespoke product. 

Paper

Our fine art pictures are all printed on Somerset Enhanced Velvet paper made by St Cuthberts Mill in Somerset. The paper is of a nice weight (255gsm) and has a slightly textured surface. It is acid free, archival and calcium carbonate buffered which means fade resistant prints can be produced with pigment inks. Which leads to the next point.

Printing

We use a Canon ProGRAF 2000 printer with pigment inks. Pigment inks consist of solid colours suspended in liquid and are more resistant to fading than the alternative dye based inks. The combination of these inks and the archival paper means your picture is as resistant to fading as we can make it.

Mounting

Our pictures are mounted using either Colourmount Conservation or Larson Juhl Conservation mountboard. These boards will not discolour with age and have a white bevel which will stay white. They are also buffered with calcium carbonate which means they are acid free which will aid in the preservation of the print.

We use a technique called "hinge mounting" when mounting pictures. This is an archival method which is commonly used on original art or limited edition prints. It essentially means the mounting is reversible; so the picture can be removed without damage. It also means that the picture is sandwiched between the upper mount, in which the aperture is cut, and a lower board which is also made of mountboard. This keeps the picture safe between two archival quality mounts and ensures it sits flat in the frame.

The tape we use for creating the hinge mount is also of archival quality and is non-yellowing and pH neutral.

Unframed Prints

Our small unframed pictures are mounted as above and then put into a plastic free sleeve for presentation. Our large unframed pictures are carefully rolled between two pieces of tissue paper and put safely in a large diameter cardboard tube.

Framing

Our picture frames are all made in our own workshop. We have a Morso mitre guillotine on which to cut the mouldings and an A++ underpinner which is used to join the pieces of moulding. The mouldings we use are made from FSC certified wood. 

The backing board for the frames is not just a bit of MDF, it is a specialised board called Corri Cor WR Conservation. Which (you've guess it!) is acid-free and water resistant. All of which helps to keep your picture safe when it is in the frame.

The backs of our frames are fully taped with paper framing tape and strung with brass fittings and picture hanging cord.

Certificate of Authenticity

All the fine art pictures are signed by Gillian and numbered if they are part of a limited edition. She also hand writes and signs a certificate of authenticity for each print. This is usually taped onto the back of the frame for safe keeping.