The Framers Forum

Does anyone know if there are suppliers here in the UK that can produce these according to a specific size or would these need to be manufactured abroad?

I'm specifically looking for a hinged style heavy duty cardboard strut back with a rear access door to hold a 6x4" photo/picture within a hand made ceramic frame...other smaller sizes may also be required. I've explored a variety of ideas and these would seem to be the most practical.

I can only find a single supplier in the US and they offer only limited options that don't fit the size of frame.

What quantity? For a company to make custom strut backs they would have to spend a considerable amount
'tooling up' which would mean making thousands or hundreds of thousands of backs to make it financially viable.
It's more involved than you might think.
The alternative is to make them yourself in small batches using a number of jigs. I did some years ago using MDF
and using bars and clips. I think I used over 1000 bifurcated rivets, all set by hand. It was a bit tedious.
But they were fairly basic and didn't have the opening 'door', which would have been even more complicated.

I fear there is no simple way of doing this.


** Card struts are apt to 'wilt' over time.

I used to do this.
What you have to do first is design the sort of back you wish to use.
In your case it would be a board which covers the back of the ceramic frame and has a hinged back door to access the artwork. The door will be partially cut out and hinged on one side by a pressed crease in the board.
The strut will be attached by either a press-on metal hinge or even a glued canvas hinge.
The board should be about 2.5mm thick.

Next is to get into conversation with a 'die cutting services' company who will die cut the patterns you need and advise on the best source of board to use.
We used a black fibre board which car manufacturers used for their dash-boards. It had a very fibrous consistency which gave a firm grip on the hinges and came polished on one surface.
It was made then by a company called Olympic Varnish, but they are now extinct.
When you get the shapes back from the die-cutters, you can attach the hinges in-house together with a little press-on closure tab.

What sort of quantities and quality are you looking for?

I can probably do them for you