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Custom Framing Online — Holiday Memories Edition

The build up to the holiday season is always so exciting. Once New Years passes and you get to that first week back on a normal schedule… that excitement is gone. In this technology filled world sometimes its hard to keep the memories alive. Sure, you probably take hundreds of photos to remember the events. Those photos probably are also shared on social media or through online photo albums, but ultimately, they are forgotten about until you stumble across them a few years later. What if there was a way to keep that excitement alive? Custom Framing is the answer!

Custom Framing Online

We know what you might be thinking,

“I would love to be able to get my holiday photographs custom framed, but finding a shop that won’t cost a fortune and give me a high-quality finished piece is hard!”

We’re here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be hard. There is a way for you to get a custom framed piece without ever leaving your couch. Our Design a Frame feature was built with this particular predicament in mind, it specializes in Custom Framing Online. It takes you through each level of custom framing that you would go through at a framing shop, from the comfort of your home.

Picture/ Image

The first Design a Frame step is ultimately what prompted you to get a custom framed piece in the first place. In other words, The Photo! We give you the option to either upload a photo and have it printed or just order the frame and mat for an already printed photo. Your first step in the process is to enter in the image size. This can be the actual size of the image or your desired size of the image if you are having us print it. If you are having us print your image for you, the easiest way to determine the actual size of the image is to print it out on regular copy paper and measure it with a ruler or tape measure.

 

Once you have the image measured you will input that size into Design a Frame. If you are having us print your picture for you upload that image into Design A Frame. The orientation of your photo will determine which measurement goes in which box. For instance, this particular image measured at 5.75 wide by 11 inches tall. The length measurement is where you will put the height of your image and the width is the width.

The best part about using our Design A Frame feature is that you only need to know two measurements—the measurement of the image you are framing and how wide you want the mat to be. The custom frame size is automatically formulated from those two measurements. Design a Frame defaults to a black frame with a standard 1” smooth white matte. The next step is for you to decide if you want to keep the default frame or choose a different option.

Frame

You have the options to filter by Metal, Poster or Wood Frames. If you have a specific color in mind you can also choose a color filter that will give you all the frames that have an option within that color family.

Mat

Once you have the perfect frame selected you will move on to your mat selection. We offer Standard, Premium, Black Core, Acid Free, and Suede mats in a number of different colors. During this part of the process you have to enter in how wide you want the mat and decide if you want to add a second or third mat as well as how much of them you want to be revealed. The default is 0.25”.

Glazing/Backing

Once your mat colors are selected you will move on to the fourth and final step in the online custom framing process: Glazing and Backing. The particular glazing options offered are determined by the size of your overall frame. The three options available are Glass, Styrene, or Acrylic. Glass is only offered on frames that are 11×14 and smaller. The three backing options are white foam core, black foam core and the default Cardboard.  Once you have decided between them you are ready to add it to your cart and finalize your order!

Finished Masterpiece

You have now successfully made it through the online custom framing process. The next step is to find the perfect place for your finished masterpiece. Your new piece will serve as a constant reminder of your precious holiday memories whether sitting on a shelf or hanging on the wall.

BONUS:

We have a Design A Frame sale going on RIGHT NOW. Use the coupon code MEMORIES for 15% off your order until January 9 , 2020 at 11:59 PM EST.

Retail Custom Framing VS Our Build A Frame Custom Framing Feature

Retail Custom Framing VS Build A Frame

Framing is expensive and time consuming, with so many options it’s hard to find the right frame for the photograph or art that you are trying to frame. Having that piece be an odd size will make it even more expensive and time consuming.

There are so many online retailers out there that sell ready-made frames, including Frame USA, but very few that offer the option of purchasing completely custom made picture frames. Most online frame companies don’t offer the option because it’s hard! Custom framing by nature is so personal and requires a lot of back and forth between the customer and framer. There are so many options that are offered in your brick and mortar stores for custom framing, which are just not realistic for online companies.

We admit that the options available on our Build a Frame are nowhere near the options available in our retail frame shop, with that being said, Build a Frame is one of the best options for online custom picture framing on the market today, from our perspective in the industry as well as the feedback we’ve heard from customers who have used it.

I was curious how Build a Frame matched up, price wise, with your traditional brick and mortar retail custom framing, so  I did some research. I thought I would share my results for those of you who are skeptical of our Build a Frame.

During my lunch this past Friday I took a field trip to two very well known frame shops here in Cincinnati. These two frame shops feature a lot of advertising and newspaper ads and are known for their crazy sales so I thought I would see how our Build A Frame Matched up to them.

I went to these two frame companies and ask for a custom framing quote for an 8×10 picture with a double mat in a simple 11×14 black picture frame. This is a standard picture frame size, but it is often used as the beginning of a custom order.

Here are the quotes:

Retail Custom Framing Competitor #1

When I went into this frame shop I was actually worried that my results would not work out in our favor— they had a huge sale going on where everything was 50% off and then you were able to take an additional 30% off that sale price. The price for my 8×10 picture with a double mat in an 11×14 black picture frame with standard glass backing and assembly which included a wire hanger was $75.62.  I saved a total of $131.56; I don’t want to imagine what the cost would be without that sale.

Retail Custom Framing Competitor #2

My lunch time was coming to an end rapidly so I decided for this next shop that I was going to call and get a quote. The price for my 8×10 picture with a double mat in an 11×14 black picture frame with standard glass backing and assembly which included a wire hanger was starting at $70. That means that there is a chance that it could go up depending which picture frame molding I went with.

Our Custom Framing tool: Build A Frame

Custom Framing Online vs Retail Framing

So using Build A Frame I priced out myself exactly what I asked the two frame shops for. Since this is an Online Custom Framing tool the convenience of not having to stand in lines or even leave your pajama is there. The total including shipping and tax since I was shipping it to my home in Cincinnati was $51.23  without the tax for those of you who are not having it shipped to somewhere in ohio would be $47.99

Using Build A Frame would save me around $24.39.  Want to know what you could buy with $24.39?

  • Miracle Berry Tablets—alter your taste buds for an hour so anything sour tastes sweet
  • LifeStraw- drink from any water source and have filtered clean water to drink from
  • Rock-It— it turns just about any surface into a speaker
  • Bubble-Calendar— a calendar made from bubble wrap that you get to pop every day
  • A new pair of shoes
  • Two Chipotle Burritos

I could go on but the point is not only does Build A Frame have all the convenience of shopping online ( no lines, no leaving your bed) but it also saves you money, So unless you have a really complex custom framing job, give Build A Frame a chance, it won’t disappoint you, or your wallet!