Buying a print framed means the frame arrives around the print rather than in a separate box from a separate shop. That sounds like a convenience and it is mostly a measurement problem solved in advance: the print was made to the frame's internal dimensions, so there is no gap at the sides, no trimming, and no discovering that the size you own and the size you can buy are two centimetres apart.
What you avoid
Framing a poster yourself is not difficult, but it is a sequence, and each step has a way of going wrong.
| Step | Doing it yourself | Framed on arrival |
|---|---|---|
| Matching the size | Convert the print's format to a frame that exists | Already matched |
| Sourcing | Two orders, two deliveries, two chances of a delay | One |
| Handling the print | Unrolling, flattening, fingerprints on the margin | Never touched |
| Assembly | Backing board, clips, glass, dust between the two | Done |
| Waste | Two sets of packaging | One |
The dust line in that table is the one people underestimate. A single hair or speck sealed between glass and paper is visible from across the room, and it is not removable without opening the whole thing again.
Why the measurements match
Our five formats are 21×30, 30×42, 50×70, 70×100 and 100×140 cm. The two smallest are A4 and A3; the three largest are Nordic centimetre sizes and are not A-formats, which is the source of most mismatches when frame and print come from different places.
| Sheet | Actual size | In a 50×70 frame |
|---|---|---|
| Our 50×70 | 50 × 70 cm | Fits exactly |
| A2 | 42 × 59.4 cm | About 8 cm short at each side, 11 cm at the bottom |
The ratio point is worth stating on its own. Frames made to other national standards run between 1:1.25 and 1:1.5; ours are 1:1.4 throughout. Even scaled to the right height, a print made to another standard will not have the right width, and there is no mount in our range to absorb the difference — we do not sell passepartouts. What one does, and why a mismatched print needs one, is explained in the mount guide. All the exact dimensions are in the size guide.
Solid oak frame 21x30 cm
Black wooden frame 50x70 cm
Black wooden frame 30x42 cm
Black wooden frame 21x30 cm
Solid oak frame 30x42 cm
Solid oak frame 50x70 cm
What you choose
Two things: the format and the finish. Oak and black exist in all five sizes. White, dark brown, blue, green, red, yellow and pink are made up to and including 50×70, and above that size the choice is oak or black — a limit worth knowing before planning a wall around a colour. The finishes are shown across the frame range.
When to frame it yourself instead
Three honest cases.
- You want a mount. A white margin between print and frame changes the whole object, and it is a legitimate thing to want. We do not make one, so a local framer is the answer.
- You want something we do not stock. A wide gallery moulding, museum glass, a box frame, an unusual colour above 50×70. Our range is deliberately narrow.
- The print is not ours. Something inherited, bought abroad, or an original poster on odd paper. Measure it before assuming anything fits — old sheets almost never land on modern formats, and a framer can cut to the sheet.
There is also the case for no frame at all. A print pinned or clipped to the wall in a bedroom or a study is a perfectly good arrangement and costs nothing to change your mind about. Framing earns its place where the paper is at risk — kitchens, bathrooms, hallways where people brush past — and where the print is meant to be permanent.
Once it arrives
A framed piece is heavier than the same print rolled, and from 70×100 upwards it needs two people and a fixing rated for the load rather than a pin. Hang the centre at 145 cm unless it is going above a bed or above a table, both covered in the hanging height guide. If you want to see which prints most people frame, start with the bestsellers.