When I had to frame a show for somebody back in the 80's, I bought the cut frame pieces en masse from the area's largest shop, and sourced the glass from a large distributer - It cut the price down to a third the cheapest quote from a framer, and it only took a evening with a flat-blade screwdriver.
...and in the end, she turned a profit on the show because of it. Probably not something you need to worry about(since you actually have talent.), but worth thinking about.
IIRC, I wound up using aluminum frame edges, and single-pane unfinished (Sharp edges, but lots cheaper) glass cut to size from the largest dealer in the area - and the prices varied quite a lot. Plexiglass just didn't look as good in my opinion - But that was a while back, and it might have changed.
Clips are a bajillion times cheaper than frames, but get the glass edges finished if you're using them, or somebody WILL get cut. Leather gloves would be a good investment for whoever handles the glass.
A quote at the art store involving pre-made frames from their sources, and some healthy discounts for the bulk, worked out to a little more than the low four figures I'm gonna be paying to print the stuff. Mats are NOT really an option.
Reminder: I'm speaking from a limited dataset which may not be applicable to your market. Do the gallery people have an opinion on prep/whatever as far as what sells? They probably know their market best, and might even have vendors that would be willing to cut you a deal.
I'm going to be discussing framing with 'em soon. And really, I wasn't intending for this to be a hunt for solutions - I thought I hit the 'no comments' switch when posting this, as I just wanted to record the fact that even if you can get it down to $5 apiece with cheap commodity frames, framing 78 pieces is NOT CHEAP.
Ahhh, Male Answer Syndrome (http://www.geocities.com/heartland/plains/6271/heshe061.html) strikes again. On behalf of my gender, and for myself personally, I apologize.
Man, it's too bad you aren't on the west coast. I work for a frame store, and there's a big sale going on right now. All the frames are basically 50% off, in every store in the whole chain. None out east, however. It's something I could make happen, but shipping would make a big dent in the savings.
Probably black; it'll go with everything and unify them a little. 56@10x15", 22@20x30".
(Approximate sizes - I'm looking into coercing them to fit into mass-marketed sizes but the actual images are drawn at 5.5x8.5" so it turns out they don't quite fit anything.)
Yeah, I'm gonna have to juggle the sizes around. The little ones may go to 8.5x11 or 11x14.
Some calculating shows that if I can find a cheap source for edges in arbitrary inch lengths (I've seen those on the market, but not so cheaply) I can get pretty exact fits to the images (with no need to fudge borders) at 9x14 or 11x17 and 20x31. But then I have to get involved with cutting and transporting glass or plexi, ugh.
It is, indeed, expensive. Good thing I don't need to worry as much about it turning a profit.
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no subject
Date: 2008-06-23 09:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-23 10:02 pm (UTC)78 pieces is just a lot to frame no matter how you do it.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-23 11:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-23 11:41 pm (UTC)When I had to frame a show for somebody back in the 80's, I bought the cut frame pieces en masse from the area's largest shop, and sourced the glass from a large distributer - It cut the price down to a third the cheapest quote from a framer, and it only took a evening with a flat-blade screwdriver.
...and in the end, she turned a profit on the show because of it. Probably not something you need to worry about(since you actually have talent.), but worth thinking about.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-23 11:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-24 01:21 am (UTC)This is why I always just hung up stretched canvas or used clips to hang up raw illustration board at con art shows. :D
no subject
Date: 2008-06-24 02:35 am (UTC)Clips are a bajillion times cheaper than frames, but get the glass edges finished if you're using them, or somebody WILL get cut. Leather gloves would be a good investment for whoever handles the glass.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-24 02:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-25 12:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-24 03:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-24 04:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-24 05:12 pm (UTC)I can afford $eek, I just wasn't expecting to be shelling out several hundred dollars just for the frames.
for $eek in $deck do:
Date: 2008-06-24 10:49 pm (UTC)Re: for $eek in $deck do:
Date: 2008-06-25 12:13 am (UTC)Re: for $eek in $deck do:
Date: 2008-06-25 01:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-06-24 04:46 am (UTC)Just curious, but what color/size do you need?
no subject
Date: 2008-06-25 12:12 am (UTC)(Approximate sizes - I'm looking into coercing them to fit into mass-marketed sizes but the actual images are drawn at 5.5x8.5" so it turns out they don't quite fit anything.)
no subject
Date: 2008-06-25 01:02 am (UTC)I looked around, and found a place that can make them for $11.50 a piece. Still need glass, and have to put them together.
This is an expensive project.
no subject
Date: 2008-06-25 01:21 am (UTC)Some calculating shows that if I can find a cheap source for edges in arbitrary inch lengths (I've seen those on the market, but not so cheaply) I can get pretty exact fits to the images (with no need to fudge borders) at 9x14 or 11x17 and 20x31. But then I have to get involved with cutting and transporting glass or plexi, ugh.
It is, indeed, expensive. Good thing I don't need to worry as much about it turning a profit.