What is Museum Glass and When Should I Use It? — El Framo | Picture Framing Auckland (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between museum glass and regular glass? ›

Conservation Glass filters out 99% of the harmful UV rays that cause light damage and looks like regular glass: clear and shiny. Museum Glass also filters out 99% of UV light, but has the added feature of being clear and virtually non-reflective because of a special coating.

Museum archival framing refers to the strict use of materials and techniques that provide protection to framed works of art on paper. Paper is sensitive to its surroundings as it can be adversely affected by dampness, changes in temperature and humidity, restriction of movement, and exposure to light.

Museum glass is usually pretty obvious, other than the reduced glare. If you look at the face of it from one side, so the light reflects off, you'll see a purple tint or coating.

Museum Glass: This is the most effective glass to protect your art. While also the most expensive, it allows less than 1% light reflection and blocks 99% of damaging UV rays.

The 2.5 mm thickness is standard for most framing glass, including coated glass that protects your artwork from fading, such as conservation and museum glass.

Picture framing glass ("glazing," "conservation glass," "museum quality glass") usually refers to flat glass or acrylic ("plexi") used for framing artwork and for presenting art objects in a display box (also, "conservation framing").

Conservation Glass

Conservation or museum-quality glazing has a special coating that eliminates 99% of the UV light that can cause fading. This offers the highest level of UV protection. This premium glazing is also optically very clear and will keep framed pieces looking brighter for many years.

Taken literally, museum-quality simply indicates that the material can be used within a museum; however, when considered within the context of conservation and col- lection care, the term implies that conservators can use these materials because they are safe for long-term preservation.

Factors like age, item type, size, colors, and condition affect the value of carnival glass. Pieces dating before 1940 are more valuable, as are complete sets of items and larger objects. Colors like ice green (which is sold for over $16,000) and marigold are rarer and highly prized.

How do I choose the right glass for my project? ›

Key Recommendations for Design

Understand the project and the characteristics of the glass: Location, orientation, function, and specific hours of use, among other variables. The bigger the glass, the wider it should be: Or, at least, it should come with the necessary treatments to ensure its mechanical resistance.

An oil painting needs to breathe, so finding the perfect frame should not include glass. Glass will suffocate the art and possibly damage the paint.

Acrylic is lighter than glass, thus more affordable to ship. It also is more durable, which makes it ideal for frames ordered online. Glass is heavier and more fragile, but some people prefer it for the aesthetic, or because it's less susceptible to scratching. It can still shatter easily, though.

Use UV protecting glass.

Switch out the glass in your picture frames, whether they are custom framing or inexpensive box store frames. UV protecting glass will help block 99% of UV rays that cause fading.

When it comes to custom framing, museum glass is unmatched with its amazing clarity and uncompromised protection. Museum glass virtually eliminates reflections, and blocks up to 99% of UV rays. This glass also provides optimal light transmission to protect and brighten the colors in your artwork.

Corning Museum of Glass

Commercially, Ivory Liquid Clear is a suitable soap. One should avoid any soaps or detergents with color (dyes), perfumes, and ammonia, including Windex.

Conventional picture framing glass typically reflects 8% of incoming light, distracting the viewer with mirror-like reflections. With Artglass AR, light reflection is as low as 0.5% thus offering 16 times less reflection and eliminating any mirror-like effects.

Glass thickness

A picture glass should be at least 2 mm thick, preferably a little more, depending on the material and requirements with regard to stability and break resistance.

Optium Museum Acrylic is an excellent alternative to conventional glazing materials used for protecting and displaying artwork. Durable and strong, this acrylic sheeting is produced using patented Tru Vue technology to ensure long-lasting protection against oxidization and degradation over time.

MUSEUM MATTING

Typically white, black or pale neutral colors. The art is often placed in the upper area leaving a very large lower margin. Often museums use this style when mounting a collection of different size pieces using frames of uniform size.

Can you use window glass for picture frames? ›

One of the most common misconceptions in framing today is that picture framing glass is the same as any other window glass. While they may look the same, there are some major differences to consider, such as reflection, clarity, weight, and UV protection.

Protection from Ultra Violet (UV) rays from tinted windows will last as long as the window's tinted film remains in good condition. Top quality products are suppose to last from ten years to a lifetime maintaining their efficacy for UV protection. Tinted windows are both protective and energy efficient.

The UV rays of the sun can cause colour fading. This can happen even through double glazing.

It is very important that your exhibit be easily accessible as well as easy to maneuver. If your visitors have trouble navigating through your exhibit or do not know where to go next, they will most likely leave unsatisfied. Use good mapping signage and appropriate design. Visibility is important.

In this article, museums are classified into five basic types—general, natural history and natural science, science and technology, history, and art.

Some of the most collectible types & styles of antique and vintage glassware include Depression Glass, Carnival Glass, Milk Glass, Moonstone, Hobnail Glass, and Jadeite. One of the most popular styles of antique glass was a Hen on Nest, also known as Animal Dishes because of the variety of animals they come in.

Look for pink, blue and green glassware

Pink tends to be the most valuable because it is more rare. Yellow and amber colored depression glass is more common and therefore less valuable.

A simple way is to compare any glass you think is antique with a more modern glass item. Antique glass is usually heavier. Other indicators to look out for are: The patina: older glass tends to show signs of use and passing time - so see if there are any small flakes, scratches and chips, or missing gilt.

What type of glass has no reflection? ›

Anti-reflective glass, also known as museum glass, AR glass, and invisible glass, offers crystal clear transparency. It eliminates reflections to a fraction of standard glass.

Invisible Glass^™ consisting of anti-reflecting coatings minimize light reflected from the glass. In contrast with the luminous reflectance of bare glass on one side, which is approximately 4%, that of the invisible glass is only 0.08%.

Tempered glass is one of the strongest forms of glass. Not only does this help guarantee your investment in windows, but it can help protect your family from broken glass. Tempered glass doesn't break into large shards when it cracks, but rather small pieces. This type of glass is defined by its manufacturing process.

Soda-lime glass is the most common (90% of glass made), and least expensive form of glass. It usually contains 60-75% silica, 12-18% soda, 5-12% lime.

The effectiveness of the toughening/tempering/heat process applied to glassware can be assessed using a variety of techniques, including polariscopic assessment, fragmentation assessments, impact, scratch or centre-punch testing.

Generally, warm-colored frames can make you appear younger. Warm tones suit most faces, especially browns, burgundies, berry tones, and jewel tones. Of course, you should choose a color that suits your skin tone. It can also be helpful to choose shinier materials to give your eyes an extra sparkle.

The thickness and type of glass used in windows and doors are generally determined by design criteria, performance and building codes. Most standard residential windows are fitted with clear float glass, in thickness ranging from 3-5mm. Doors are generally fitted with 4mm or 5mm clear toughened glass.

If the artwork in question is an oil or acrylic that has been painted on canvas, panel or board, there is no need to frame it under glass. Glass is used in framing to protect the artwork from moisture and harmful UV rays which can fade the colours.

How do you frame a picture without sticking to glass? ›

If you don't like the idea of putting some distance between the photo and the glass, then you could wrap your photo in archival-quality clear plastic before setting it in the frame. Not only will this method keep your photos from sticking to the glass, but it will also preserve the picture itself.

Consider purchasing Masking Liquid H20 and applying the liquid to the glass. Don't panic, it will dry clear! Then paint the wall around the window.

Cost: Depending on the type of glass, acrylic is generally more expensive. However, installing glass can often be expensive, and the long-life expectancy of acrylic can lead to a more cost-efficient option in the long-run.

Safety and Strength

Acrylic plastic sheets have 17 times the impact strength of glass, meaning, it takes a lot more force to shatter acrylic than glass. When you use acrylic sheeting as your window panes, you no longer need to worry about someone getting injured if a pane is to break.

Picture framing glass ("glazing," "conservation glass," "museum quality glass") usually refers to flat glass or acrylic ("plexi") used for framing artwork and for presenting art objects in a display box (also, "conservation framing").

Clear glass transmits 91% of light to the artwork, while Museum Glass and Optium Museum Acrylic transmit more than 97% of light to the artwork while filtering out the harmful UV wavelengths. This improves both color intensity and clarity.

For the highest degree of protection, opt for laminated glass. It is manufactured by bonding together two or more sheets of glass with a plastic interlayer, usually PVB.

Acrylic, or plexiglass: Clearly better than glass.

Today, acrylic is significantly better. Here's why: Acrylic is lighter than glass. It makes hanging framed artwork easier and less risky.