The Framers Forum

Does anyone have any tips for sourcing individual sheets of mountboard of a specific colour? (not white/ivory/black)
Are there any art stores, art store chains that carry quite a range of colours?

When I need one sheet of a specific colour my only option I know of is to order from Wessex which then lands me with a £7.50 delivery charge which drives me nuts if its the only thing I need!

Do Simons do individual sheets?

They must be close to you. (Says a Northerner!)

I'm pretty sure that Simons don't, how do you safely pack one sheet for delivery by a courier?

Rose and Hollis?
http://www.roseandhollis.co.uk/products/product-20/

Or I've bought single sheets from another local framer before now when I've needed something quick?

Again how do you pack anddeliver a single sheet by courier?

You're right you can't really. But I'm thinking when times are normal again you can collect if close enough.

Simons do a mixed pack of 10. So you could order 9 of your best selling white and one colour.

I was thinking the OP could collect from Simons. (Next week obviously)

Sorry to be clear I mean that I would like to find somewhere I could collect them myself. Hence wondering if anyone buys from alternative suppliers that are not picture framing related?

For example cass art are a chain that sell some but they are v limited colour selection. Wondered if theres anywhere with more of a selection but I think I know the answer

Wessex deliver a single sheet as they do their own deliveries.

R&H etc all will do a mix of 10. I just don't actually need 10 as I'm pretty stocked up due to doing this in the past & am v limited on space (at home).

So when someone wants a small frame with a very small olive green mount I want to bash my head against the desk! The mount will cost me £15.

They're not full size agents but The Range and Hobbycraft both have a reasonable selection of colours and often do 3 for the price of 2.

I would contact your local retail picture framer. Obviously they will want a mark up, but pretty easy for them to add your requirements to their weekly order

I don't know about Hobbycraft, but I understand that the Range only sell smaller sheets of What appears to be Colourmount 800 mountboard, which is definitely not acid free and not conservation quality. As far a Hobbycraft iss concerned, their prices are no going to be very helpful. I am led to believe that they are very expensive for just about everything which they sell.

Most framing suppliers will supply individual sheets in various colours subject to what's currently in stock, but there is a small processing and picking charge for breaking down full size packs a removing individual sheets. It is often necessary to pack mountboard in qualities which will survive delivery by courier, but some companies operate their own weekly van delivery survice and may not insist up on minimum quantities of board board per delivery, if part of a larger order which satisfies their minimum order value required to be viable for making van delivery economically viable.

Wessex Pictures operate a van delivery service to very many parts of the country and their are not always insistent on minimum quantities for van delivery for customers who order from them sufficiently regularly. The are a very together and thoroughly reliable company to deal with, and very friendly and easy people to deal with. I've used them for many items, over many years with complete satisfaction and I would fully recommend them. In particular I buy my glass from Wessex, They have to come about 200 miles to get to me, but you can almost put your watch right by time of their delivery. They are super nice people and a very friendly family run business.

Art shops tend to sell mountboard in half sheets (at least they used to) which are often thinner (4ply) and as Mark says, cooking grade.

Wessex van delivery minimum order is £30 ex vat

Thanks Justin,

I know about the minimum order, but I was not sure about how much. Thanks for confirming the actual figure. Most heplful.

Mark.

I called into my local independent art shop to see what they sold in the way of mountboard, and they only had "cooking" grade as prospero calls it - love that description! I asked if they sold "acid free" board and I was told that it wasn't available in this country Hmmm.....

When I were a lad.....

Mountboard came in packs of 10. No splitting packs. Some were in 25s. Then suppliers started doing 5s and
offering mixed packs of 5. The latter sounded good but in practice the sheets were often damaged in the picking
process. Finger prints and various marks. Buying a pack of five just to get a small piece may sound a bit harsh, but
you can always use the remainder in other ways. Undermounts, etc.

When I first bought mountboard 'Trade' it was from Daler. They insisted on trade references (tricky when you're starting out)
and wanted a 'decent' order, about £100 worth if I remember rightly. That was a fair wedge of cash back in the early '80s.
Wholesalers tended to do one thing - moulding - mountboard - sundries. We are fortunate nowadays to have 'one-stop' suppliers
such as Wessex so you can order all your stuff in one delivery.

I was fortunate to have a wholesaler (Mitrecraft) only 10 miles away. I was always there fossicking though the stock.

Some of my mountboard stock is at least 25 years old and was bought from a framing shop which is long gone. Amoung all this stuff was 850 sheets of Tru view mount board and all very new then, the was also some Aquarti neutral pH mountboard and over the years the Aquarti stuff was slowly deteriorating, but what remains of the Tru-view stuff which was good quality white core stuff is looks like new. A very interesting object lesson in the merits of today's superior grades of mountboard.

I now only stock conservation boards, or when I cannot obtain conservation boards in the colour required, it is always the white core equivant. Mountboard quality has come a very long way in the last 20 years! I still keep literally hundreds of shhets of mountboard in stock, if you buy good quality consevation boards a store them properly they don't deteriorate and are in perfect condition when you come to use them and even the left over scraps are kept and used as normal for cheap jobs and ready made frames. Yes, even my ready made frames are supplied with conservation mountboards as well.

Thanks everyone all very useful info. Agree Wessex are absolutely fantastic company & amazing delivery service. Can't fault them. I am buying my glass, backing board and mount board from them. I just have periods where I don't need anything other than a piece of mountboard!
Very good point about trying a local framers. Will also investigate hobbicraft when shops open next week.