The Framers Forum

Hi all,

grateful for some input from the hive mind!

A customer came in today with a large shadow mount that is has started to bow out, so is touching the glass. I was worried about the effects of the glass touching the print.

My concern is that undoing this large (80cm square) frame is potentially likely to result in him need to have the the thing reframed.
I'm know we aren't meant to put art against glass, but does anyone have a view on this, where it is only a bit of the art?

Also if anyone can point to me to any guidance on the pros/cons of art touching glass that would be great.

Based in the UK, so no great temperature changes, as appreciate that is also factor.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Well, you have already indentified a potentially harmful situation and it's possibly not good for the presentation of the print. Given the fact that you are seeking opinions on the forum, I'm guessing that maybe you are thinking that this problem is a bit of a borderline issue at this stage, so I would present the facts to your customer and see if he, or she is happy to have the problem rectified, probably with a new double mount , which will increase the spacing of the print from the glass, as well

Problems like this may well have the potential to continue getting worse with time, this may well be a good time to nip this problem in the bud, instead of waiting for the problem to become more serious. Involving the customer in taking the decision, makes a lot of sense and if you keep a record of the fact you have notified the customer, you have cover you own back as well.

Personally, I normally recommend fixing issues like this as it is good professional practice. Nobody can reasonably complain when you are pointing things like this out as potential trouble, but just ignoring the problem does not really help your reputation, if the problem has adverse results at a later date.

What's a shadow mount

Art touching the glass will do no harm at all, unless moisture has condensed on the inside. The nature and
properties of glass make this liable to happen and can cause the paper to stick. If this happens it causes big
problems and the damage is likely to be irreparable.

Still don't know what a shadow mount is

Shadow mount is artwork floated on foam board.

So in other words 'Float Mounted' , who is making up these techniques names

"who is making up these techniques names "


I don't know but I wish they'd stop - I feel foolish enough without their help

Everybody has their own definitive nomenclature.

My understanding is that a shadow mount is a mount that sits directly against the glass with a hidden spacer behind the mount, typically used at the front of box frames. It's a bit of a loose term, I'm not convinced that it means exactly the same thing to all people. I've only ever seen this name in one book, which was an American textbook on mount cutting and I suspect that the term was created for use in that book. I've never seen that term used anywhere else, so I'm not all that sure that it is anything definitive.

Totally agree Mark, it sounds like it should be the mount next to the window in a box frame, also agree with your other points

Going back to the original post, it's not a massive job to undo the frame, add a few V hinges and refit is it?

What's a V-Hinge

But seriously, if there is some misunderstanding what a 'Shadow Mount' is, then what is causing the bowing or how it's bowing, or how the artwork is attached, then a remedy not going to be easily recommended, if mounted on foamcore , is the foamcore bending/ coming away from the mount, or a mount up against the glass, how is the work attached to the mount, is it surface mounted, so is the mount bending or the work coming away from the mount.
Take the frame apart and have a look, take some photos and post on here

Does the backing of the mount have sufficient size allowance to allow for the expansion and contraction in the rabbit (rebate)? If not that could cause the bending of it with humidity changes.