The Framers Forum

Hello. I am setting up a framing business on the Isle of Man. I’m having a bit of a nightmare getting glass delivered from the UK. I can get Acrylic from Lion or use a courier company (obviously at an extra cost) to bring over glass. The acrylic is lighter, less likely to shatter but scratches easier but most framers prefer glass. Do I use acrylic or pay more to bring over glass?

I would always choose glass although it might depend on the actual figures.

Acrylic is a very good alternative and it doesn’t scratch as easily as styrene in my experience. Many framers will tend towards acrylic for very large frames as it is safer and lighter. It also has a greater inherent UV protection than ordinary float glass and you could market it to customers on that basis too. If acrylic is easier for your particular situation then in your position I would be happy with that.

How much are we talking if you ordered from Wessex for example?

How many other framers are there on the island and how do they manage? Could you team up with one or more to share shipping costs?

It's a problem but it's your problem and the solution should not be to make your problem, the customers' problem or the artworks' problem.

Acrylic is more expenisve than glass, it may not scratch as easily as styrene, but it still scratches very easily. You can get abrasion resistant stuff but that's even more expensive.
It may also filter more UV light than standard glass but to get to conservation level (over 97%, absorptive) it's expensive and then add optical coatings, which are very popular with glass, and the shipping of glass pales in to insignificance!

You'd also need thicker stuff for larger pieces, 2mm glass is OK up to about 1 Sq M but you'd want more than 3 mm acrylic before that ........ which is expensive!

(Note for mods - sub forum????)

The question is, what will the customer be willing to pay for the equivalent product (regular, vs UV filtering, vs anti-reflective), glass vs acrylic glazing. This is a consideration while maintaining your same CGS(cost of goods sold).

They both have their uses as well as pros and cons. If you are having your finished product being shipped, there is one clear leader - acrylic.

Thank you for your responses. I have asked another framer on the island and he uses glass from a local supplier - but it’s not framers glass. Wessex will not deliver glass to the island. It seems glass is definitely the better option. I will continue to search for a solution. If I get it shipped through our local shipping agents - I’ll still need to add the shipping fee in to the price - I’ll keep searching for a way. Thank yoh

Centrado? According to their website their own vans deliver there, it doesn't specifically say they deliver glass there but if it's their own van????


https://centrado.co/services/#in-house-delivery-team



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barrulestudio wrote: ↑Fri 29 Mar, 2024 12:15 pm I have asked another framer on the island and he uses glass from a local supplier - but it’s not framers glass.

If you are only using "standard, not UV filtering glass", I disagree. Float glass is float glass and it all comes off of the same plate glass making machine with the same chemical properties. This is also true if you are referring to "low iron (water white)" glass products. The only caveat is there might be a stricter grading standard for defects with some, not all, picture framing sources as it is a "commodity" product. The difference is in the "value added" properties such as coatings that are applied to the stock glass.

If Centrado does deliver in their own vans then sounds like the solution, I have found that glass merchants are too expensive for 2mm, maybe because pretty much all the picture framing wholesalers buy is 2mm it is more competitive.
I would use glass as it is what the customer expects, otherwise every job has a conversation attached especially if you're competition can offer glass
I seem to remember the ferry is expensive, is borrowing a van and collecting 50 sheets from, for example Wessex at Oldham, out of the question?