Caring for Your Art

Thank You!

Thank you for considering a fine art piece from Munson Photographic! Your artwork will be produced using only the highest quality materials and greatest meticulous care to ensure your purchase provides lasting beauty.

We appreciate your interest and we sincerely hope that you appreciate the quality, attention to detail, and meticulous care that goes into the production of our fine art.

Displaying Your Art

Art should be displayed out of direct sunlight and in locations that are not subject to extreme variations in temperature or humidity. An environment with low light, moderate temperatures, and low humidity will help ensure your art lasts a lifetime.

Quality Materials & Workmanship

We are sure you will appreciate the lasting beauty of our artworks for many decades. Our prints are mounted using only acid-free mat board or 100% cotton archival mat board. The print itself is produced on photographic papers that will last for many decades without any noticeable degradation in color or image quality. We also ensure that all adhesives, tapes, and other materials used in the production of our art are both acid-free and of the highest archival quality.

Our goal is to provide you with excellent images, reproduced on outstanding print materials and then matted and framed using only the highest quality archival materials so that you are the recipient of a truly fine art product.

Framed Art

Framed Art pieces should require a minimal amount of care, but there are a few things to keep in mind to ensure the lasting beauty of your art piece.

Caution: Frame edges and corners can be very sharp. Use care when handling frames to avoid cuts.

Cleaning should be done only with a feather duster or damp soft cloth. If required, a mild soap may be used to remove spots. The cloth should be barely damp to the touch; avoid a wet cloth that can drip water between the frame and the glazing as this can cause permanent damage and discoloration of the matting and print.

Avoid using glass cleaners such as Windex as these will permanently harm the glazing. Also avoid contact with sharp or abrasive objects as these will scratch the frame and glazing materials.

Canvas art pieces should only be cleaned with a feather duster and should never be placed in direct contact with moisture. Our canvas art pieces are coated with multiple layers of a moisture and UV barrier, but avoiding excess moisture is still a wise course of action when dealing with fabric materials.

With only occasional care and cleaning your framed art piece should last a lifetime.

Unframed Art

Art that has been purchased without a frame must be treated carefully to avoid damage to the artwork. Here are a few things to consider to prevent damage of your art.

Prints can be easily scratched, so avoid touching the print or rubbing it against anything that has sharp edges or that may be abrasive. Prints can also be damaged by acids, especially acids that are naturally present on human skin. Always wear cotton gloves if the print portion of your artwork must be touched for any reason (an activity we discourage). Avoid hot cars and other locations that can generate high temperatures.

Mat board is easily scuffed, smudged, or scratched, and can be discolored or disfigured if it comes in direct contact with moisture.

It is best if your artwork is kept in its protective plastic enclosure until the artwork is ready to be placed into a suitable frame. Use care when removing the print from its protective plastic enclosure to ensure the adhesive strip does not contact and mar the print. We usually cut the adhesive strip off with scissors when removing prints to minimize the risk of the adhesive contacting the print and causing irreparable damage. To ensure protection of the artwork, cotton gloves should be worn when placing the artwork into a suitable frame.

Please feel free to contact us if you have questions about how best to frame and handle your artwork.

Framing Artwork Pieces

Artworks should be placed into a suitable frame as quickly as possible to avoid accidental physical damage to the art. Here are a few things to consider when selecting a suitable frame.

The frame should have the same dimensions as the outside dimensions of the mat board. We use common sizes so it should be easy to find a suitable frame. It is standard in the framing industry for frames to be 1/8" larger than the artwork size. So, if you purchased a 16x20 artwork from us, you would normally request a 16x20 frame from your framing retailer. The 16x20 frame will normally measure 16 1/8" x 20 1/8" so that the artwork easily fits into the frame with a little bit of wiggle room.

Either acrylic or glass can be used as glazing material. Keep in mind that glass becomes quite heavy for larger art pieces. Any aluminum metal frame should work well to preserve and display your art piece. If a wood frame is used, the inside edges of the frame should be coated with acid-free tape or covered with several coats of varnish to ensure acids in the wood do not come in contact with the artwork (matting). Failure to provide such protection with eventually lead to discoloration of the matting and potential damage to the print.

We would again like to thank you for your interest in our art. We are confident that any artwork you purchase from us will provide you with years of lasting pleasure. Please feel free to contact us if you should ever have a question about our art or its proper care and maintenance.