MYTH: Custom picture framing is expensive. Custom framed art and heirlooms are as important to the comfortable look of your home as your furniture, wall and floor coverings, and window treatments. Furthermore, the things you choose to hang on your walls are a true reflection of your personality. (If you want to know what is important to someone, study what hangs on their walls.) Custom framed art and heirlooms cost less than many other items in your home. Certainly, custom framing costs more than a ready-made frame, just as a custom window treatment costs more than one ready-made, and custom furniture costs more than factory-made. Either way, you get what you pay for, and there is a time and place for each alternative. Custom framing is an excellent value for items you consider important in terms of presentation or preservation -- presentation of your personality, or preservation of precious memories or collector's value.

MYTH: "Acid-free" means museum / conservation / preservation quality.

Standard matboards and mounting boards are made of wood pulp paper, which inherently contains acid. (That is what causes yellowing and deterioration.) During manufacture now, a chemical buffer is added to matboards, usually calcium carbonate. Does that name sound familiar? Calcium carbonate is a main ingredient in stomach antacids. Its purpose is to absorb or neutralize acid, which it does in the paper board just as it does in your stomach. Therefore, the board is "acid-free". The problem is that it works only for a limited time; then the acid, still in the board, begins its damaging effects.

The only museum / conservation quality boards are those made of 100% rag (usually cotton) or alpha-cellulose (highly purified) paper. These boards are inherently non-acidic, and meet the standards of every museum and conservation authority. Just "acid-free" isn't good enough.

MYTH: Non-glare glass stops fading.

Non-glare glass has no more preservation qualities than ordinary glass. Fading is caused by ultraviolet (UV) rays common to sunlight, fluorescent light, and some other light sources. This ultraviolet light can be filtered out by means of a thin, invisible coating on the inside surface of the glass. It is the UV filter that stops fading. Custom picture framers now offer ultraviolet filtering glass in both standard and non-glare types.

MYTH: Drymounting is the best way to mount art.

Drymounting is best only if your art is on non-porous paper (like a photo), and has no collector's value. If the paper is porous (like most posters), then wetmounting under vacuum is generally better because it does not involve potentially-harmful heat, and water-base paste is more stable than heat-activated adhesive over a long time. If your art is collectible, it should be preservation mounted using special materials and reversible methods. There are several ways to do that, but drymounting and wetmounting are not among them.

MYTH: Art comes in standard sizes.

Art can be any size. Photographs come in standard sizes, and ready-made frames are made to go with them. However, original art and art prints - including posters - are made to the dimensions the artist or publisher decides; there are no standards. Custom frames are made to fit, allowing a wide range of visual effects and unique features.

MYTH: "50% OFF" Custom Framing is a good deal.

The promise of deep discounts is a common advertising ploy, intended to lead customers to believe they are getting an exceptional value when, in reality, descriptions of products and services may be misleading. Also, the discounts are often based on inflated retail prices. Unsuspecting customers may be fooled until it is too late.

When you purchase a custom picture frame, you are buying more than just a frame. You are also buying the benefit of the framer's design knowledge, refined skills, training, and experience. Consultation with an experienced professional framer can result in a finished project that is an attractive focal point instead of just a picture on the wall. If your art is collectible, then special methods and materials must be used to preserve it. These benefits have value.

Custom picture framing companies decide their own prices; there is no standard pricing. Be sure to compare bottom-line prices, and not just discount amounts or percentages. Also consider the framer's reputation, quality of materials and workmanship, range of services, and advice as well as price. Low price does not always mean good value; a slightly higher price might be a much better value because you get much more for your money.

MYTH: The frame should cost less than the picture.

If you are talking about an original painting worth hundreds or thousands of dollars, that is probably true. However, most artworks sold these days are not originals; they are relatively inexpensive, mass-produced prints. Whether the piece of paper you want to frame cost you $30 or $3,000, the frame could look -- and cost -- essentially the same. Custom framing cost is determined by size, features (such as mats or fillets), mounting, and moulding choices. Whatever materials you choose for your project, about half of the total cost is for labor to cut, fit, and assemble the various parts.

Remember that custom framing is not a mass-produced factory product (like an art print is), but a one-of-a-kind hand crafted item designed and built to your order, to suit your needs and preferences.