Tag: poster frames

August 17, 2018

What is Dry Mounting and Does Your Image Need It?

Does your image need dry mounting?

The process of dry mounting adheres your image to foam core using a heat press. Sometimes when art is printed, the paper will have slight imperfections. The process isn’t reversible, but it will remove any bends, smileys, creases, or curls that may be in your art work.

The best way to determine whether your image needs to be dry mounted or not is based on the value of your piece. It is highly recommended by our team that photographs, posters, prints, and newspapers are dry mounted before framing. This is because they can be reproduced, since the dry mounting process is permanent. The paper they’re printed on can also be prone to creases or bends. Another reason to dry mount a piece is if your artwork has been stored in a tube for an extended time. Dry mounting will smooth out the curl in your artwork.

If you have a signed or numbered piece, it’s best to opt out of dry mounting as it does decrease value. Foam core is not archival. And once your art has been dry mounted, it is not able to be removed from the foam core.

Dry mounting is a way to make your art smooth and flat. The materials that we use are PH balanced, so your artwork will not yellow over time. Knowing the process of dry mounting will help you determine whether or not it’s the right process for your artwork.

If you ever have questions about our process or what is best for your artwork, feel free to reach out to us! You can contact us or visit our retail store in Cincinnati, OH with your questions.

– Manda Hill
Frame USA Retail and Specialty Lead

August 10, 2018

Dorm Room Decorating Tips for Back to School

Tips for Dorm Room Decorating

When decorating your dorm room there are a few things to keep in mind. Make sure you’re having fun, get creative, and let your personality show through!

Times have changed since I graduated college ten years ago. However I recently helped my younger cousin move into her dorm at the University of Cincinnati. We decorated her walls together.

Whenever I decorate any room, I like to start by drawing a template. My cousin and I drew a little sketch of her room before we started. We positioned her bed and desk first because we were unable to use the wall space above them. Next we drew the areas that we wanted to decorate and decided what to put in these areas.

Most young adults going off to college are on a tight budget. The money they do have they’re trying to save that for food and fun activities, not room decorations. One inexpensive way to decorate your walls is with posters, either by themselves or in frames. This is what we did for my cousin. My cousin loves art, animals, and music so when we went to posterservice.com we shopped mainly in the art and music categories.

Since dorm rooms can be small, plain, and often have little to no natural light, we wanted to stick with colorful posters. An important interior design tip for decorating walls is to hang things in odd numbers, never even numbers. So on her smallest wall we chose 3 posters and hung them in a “V” shape. We called this “Marc’s Wall” because we only used posters by Marc Allante.

On the left of the wall, we hung up the poster titled “Chai” by Allante. In the middle bottom of the “V” shape, we used the poster “Two Step”, and on the right we hung “A Portrait of Hong Kong”. Some other great posters that are colorful and also very popular are Lion Rasta, Circulation, Melody of the Night and one of my favorites Let That Sh*t Go.

My cousin has an old soul and is a fan of classic rock music, so on one of her other walls we did a music theme. It was hard for us to narrow down our choices because Posterservice has such a great selection of music posters! We ended up going with Pink Floyd Masse, Grateful Dead – Golden Road, and Grateful Dead – Summer Tour in one area. We also used our black corrugated poster frame to hang The Beatles Yellow Submarine. My cousin also loves Bob Marley, so right above her bed we put a popular poster titled “Bob Marley Guitar”.

The final poster we hung in her dorm room was on her door. We decided for this spot to use one of her favorites, Pink Floyd’s “The Wall”. Once we were finished with her room, it went from looking like a prison cell to a comfortable, inviting, and fun living space!

No matter what your style is, Posterservice has something for all personality types, interests, and hobbies. If you’re having a hard time deciding on a poster or poster frame, just call me – Jen Riggsby, Posterservice Manager at 513-250-4135. I would LOVE to help you out. As long as you send me a before and after picture – that is the most rewarding part!!

And if you’re in need of a frame for your new poster, Frame USA’s feature frame of the month for August 2018 is our poster frame series! You can view our selection here and use coupon code “SCHOOLRULES” for 10% off all poster frames through the end of August!

July 24, 2018

Creative Frame Uses by Frame USA Customers

We love seeing creative frame uses by our customers!

Here at Frame USA, our customers are our top priority. However, they are more than just important to our business – they inspire us! Seeing our products used in such a variety of creative ways brings out the artist in all of us.

For instance, the photo above was sent to us by the owner of an Etsy shop called CreativeGlassByBecky. Becky uses frames from Frame USA to create faux stained glass artwork that she sells in her shop. We love that our American-made frames are being used to create art and help an American small business owner run their company.

Above is another piece of art made with a Frame USA Wood Frame. This reverse glass painting was also made by an American Etsy shop owner whose shop is called KRAM Gifts & Crafts. Reverse glass painting consists of painting in layers on the back of a piece of glass and viewing it from the other side. It is a technique of painting that has existed since the Middle Ages.

These next photos are examples of our custom frames. Frame USA offers a wide variety of standard frame sizes, however sometimes customers have pieces they want framed that are not standard sizes.

This customer had these beautiful posters they wanted to display, but needed a custom size to fit them.

All of our standard frames can be made in custom sizes by using the “Custom Sizes” tab on our site.

The Design a Frame section of our website is also an option for designing your own custom frame.

Our Decorate-It frame series is another popular frame that leaves room for creativity. These wood frames come unfinished so that you can decorate them yourself however you please! These photos are examples of how one customer decorated their Decorate-It frames. This series is great for painting on or using to collage onto like this artist did.

Weddings are also an occasion where having the perfect picture frame is important. This customer used one of our frames to commemorate their big day in 2011. It’s a great way to decorate a wedding ceremony or reception, or to show off photographs from your wedding afterward. Jared and Diana spelled their last name “Thompson” in a photo collage and displayed it as a decoration.

We love seeing all of the different creative ways our customers use our frames. If you’ve purchased a frame from us, we want to see your photos! Contact us on social media – Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, or email us at [email protected]. We will gladly give you a shout out.

July 2, 2018

4th of July at Frame USA – Celebrating an American Company

An All American Company on the 4th of July

One of Frame USA’s most important values is making our products in the United States. So as you might imagine, the 4th of July is one of our favorite holidays! We strive to give our customers the best quality products by making them here in Cincinnati, OH. This also means we’re creating more jobs for Americans, which helps the economy and the well being of our citizens!

We are able to create our products locally after Frame USA moved in February 2003 into our current 85,000 square foot warehouse and manufacturing facility in the northern Cincinnati area. After extensive remodeling, we now have a state-of-the-art facility.

Frame USA is grateful to be in a country where people have the freedom to build businesses and follow their dreams. So we are proudly celebrating America’s birthday with a 4th of July sale for our customers!

From 7/3/2018 – 7/5/2018 you can get 10% off all orders from any of our four websites – Frame USA, Posterservice Inc, Frame Closeouts, and Mat Designers! The coupon code for this sale is “july2018”. Our websites have a huge variety of frames in all colors, styles, and materials, and a wide selection of posters.

We hope you all have a great and safe 4th of July! Here are a few fun facts about the 4th of July:

John Adams made a prediction in a letter to his wife that the “Second Day of July” would be celebrated as American Independence Day, since the Congress had actually voted to sever ties with Great Britain on that day.
Independence Day became a federal holiday in 1870.
The Founding Fathers actually lost the first draft of the Declaration of Independence.
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both died on July 4th 1826.
The original wording in the Declaration of Independence said “the pursuit of property”, but Thomas Jefferson changed it to “the pursuit of happiness.”

June 13, 2018

Ralph Steadman – Artist Spotlight

Frame USA’s sister site Posterservice, Inc. recently added two new posters to our growing collection of pieces by Ralph Steadman.

Posterservice has several posters of Ralph Steadman’s illustrations, but the newest additions are titled “The Secret of Dreams” and “Savage Journey”.

“The Secret of Dreams“, pictured on the right, is an illustration of Ralph Steadman’s interpretation of Sigmund Freud having the secret of dreams revealed to him in 1895. The poster shows Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis and one of the early 20th century’s most influential thinkers, sitting at his desk working. Behind Freud is a surreal mass of strange imagery, or “the secret of dreams”. Ralph Steadman spent over three years researching Freud and creating artwork inspired by him. He even visited Freud’s hometown and spent time in the rooms where he analyzed his patients. These works were ultimately published in an art book titled “Sigmund Freud”.

“Savage Journey“, pictured on the left, is based on Hunter S. Thompson’s book “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”. Steadman illustrated the novel which was published in 1971. “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” tells a surreal nonlinear narrative of characters traveling to Las Vegas on a psychedelic journey. The book explores themes of the declining American dream and the 1960s counterculture. Steadman and Hunter S. Thompson had a long partnership of Thompson writing books and articles which Steadman made illustrations for.

Posterservice Inc also has a poster of this famous drawing Steadman made for the book. The poster is self-titled “Fear and Loathing”. The Hunter S Thompson novel was adapted into a movie in 1988 which has become a cult classic. Steadman appears in the commentary for the movie in the DVD set, as well as in a documentary titled “Fear and Loathing in Gonzovision”.

Steadman has worked with numerous other authors including Ted Hughes, Adrian Mitchell, and Brian Patten. He has also illustrated covers for editions of classic books such as Alice in Wonderland, Treasure Island, and Animal Farm.

Posterservice Inc and Frame USA are incredibly honored to be able to work with such a prolific and well acclaimed artist. We take pride in making the work of influential artists accessible to everyone.

May 24, 2018

Memorial Day Sale 2018 – 13% Off Online Celebration

Monday, May 28th is Memorial Day and we want to celebrate with savings for our customers!

Memorial Day is an American national holiday for the remembrance of soldiers who have lost their lives serving in the United States military. To learn more about the history and significance of Memorial Day, consider reading our blog post from last year which can be found here.

Despite Memorial Day’s somber meaning, it has more recently become a day of not only honoring our fallen soldiers, but celebrating the freedom we have because of them. Many cities have annual parades with veterans’ groups, marching bands, and floats. Some of the biggest Memorial Day parades happen in Chicago, New York City, and Washington D.C.

Here at Frame USA we want to honor this all-American holiday by offering you a sale on our all-American products! We’re dedicated to making our merchandise in our own facility here in Cincinnati, Ohio. This not only means that we have the highest quality products, but that we’re always creating more jobs for Americans.

Now through Memorial Day, Frameusa.com and our sister companies Posterservice Inc., Mat Designers, and Frame Closeouts have a discount for 13% off your whole order when you use coupon code “memorial2018”. This major Memorial Day sale means 13% off posters, poster frames, art frames in a wide selection of colors, sizes, and materials, custom frames, and mats!

May 23, 2018

Artist Spotlight: Ali Güleç

Frame USA‘s sister company Posterservice Inc. is excited to be working with artist and illustrator Ali Güleç, based out of Istanbul, Turkey. Our posters by Ali are a series of decorative skull illustrations that combine beauty with macabre. Ali works using both traditional drawing mediums and digital images to create his designs.

Our most recent poster designed by Ali Güleç is titled “Bloom Skull”. This piece shows a beautiful juxtaposition of life and death. Though the overall composition is of a skull, suggesting a more macabre theme, the skull is made entirely of flowers and plants fully alive and in bloom. The illustration has dark undertones, but also has an over all delicate and decorative aesthetic that makes for perfect wall decor.

“Bloom Skull” by Ali Güleç

Item #: PSA011330
Size: 24×36
Price: $6.99

We also carry two other designs by Ali Güleç titled “Flower Skull” and “Lace Skull”. These illustrations have similar themes of mixing darkness with beauty.

Of course once you have your poster, you’ll need a frame to display it in! Posterservice Inc. works together with Frame USA in the same building in Cincinnati, OH to bring you all American made products. Frame USA offers a wide selection of poster frames in different materials, sizes, and colors for you to find the perfect frame for your poster. Click here to view our poster frames.

April 10, 2018

How to Choose the Right Type of Picture Frame

There is a perfect frame for every picture! Well, not really. With the plentiful options that we have to offer, we are sure you could create multiple splendid looks for your pictures and posters. However, we do understand that there could be different factors playing when choosing a picture frame like the overall theme and color of your space or it could just be a matter of personal taste – depicting the appeal you wish to create. So, just to make things simpler for you, we have a few suggestions/looks you could try out which we think work great.

If you have a really clean and modern image, you could make it fancy by using gold frames and you could possibly go further by adding double layered matting with gold edgings on the side to give it a rich look.

For highlighting the image/poster, choosing a frame color matching any color from the image/poster also works great. This very well comes out is an image submitted to us by our customer where he has used Victorian Walnut with Gold to frame his posters. The gold lining on the inside really adds to the impact of the image. Any frame with a color from the picture and a narrow lining of a different color would work well are what we would say. Also, our Victorian Series goes well with historic pieces adding a rich look to it. ‎

Picture Courtesy: Briley Mitchell (Customer)

If you want to give your posters a really modern and sleek look, you could use a narrow metal frame in glossy colors. You could either choose to add a mat or just choose to go without it to give a floating look. A narrow black metal also works well for any poster, and if the poster has darker shades, adding a thin white matting really makes it stand out.

Pic courtesy: Danny Haymond-Preciado (Customer)

For Art posters, a white frame with a clean white matting also works very well. This directs all the focus on the poster.

Pic courtesy: Visionary and Voice

You could pick and choose different color and shapes of mats to play and see the impact on your image. If you are choosing a colored mat then revealing a portion of the print’s white border gives the illusion of a double mat. You could also go for double matting with a dark wide one as the first layer and a lighter color as the narrow second layer

Picture Courtesy: Paper’d Moments (Customer)

For natural scenes and outdoor images, you could use narrow metal frames of a contrasting color to give it a modern impact. Also, our Barn Wood frames give it an unfinished an raw look if that is the theme you are playing by or you could also go with the different options of classic wooden frames and we assure you would never go wrong with those

“We love our Barn Wood Frames. It works very well for our landscapes and wildlife.” – Julia Held (Customer)

Picture Courtesy: Julia Held (Customer)

Another option for posters is a shadow-box frame which makes it appear more like real art.

Picture Courtesy: Paul Krako (Customer)

We believe our frames would always enhance the beauty of your images as well as keep it well protected. Now, it’s time for you to explore the different options and create astonishing pieces with our frames.

We hope you found these suggestions useful. We are sure you would find the right frame for your pictures and posters with our wide selection of frames and the customization options we have. If you have any further questions about the type of picture frame suited for you, do reach out to us on any of our social media pages or our helpline number and we will be happy to assist you.

Don’t forget to return to our blog for more exciting and interesting updates from FRAME USA. We would also love to hear your stories and experiences with us. Please share them with us on any of our social media channels which can be accessed through the links below and it would give us the motivation to keep going.

Wishing you Happy Framing!

January 11, 2018

Artist Spotlight: Dean Russo

Posterservice Inc. is very proud to be working with Brooklyn-based Pop artist Dean Russo. Dean celebrates his love of animals through this extensive collection of poster canvases. With vibrant colors and characteristic aplomb, Russo’s deep affection for the animal world resonates through his work.

The graffiti-laden streets of Russo’s Brooklyn upbringing inspired him to create a truly idiosyncratic approach to design and filigree. An often-misunderstood artist, Russo’s medium is joy, vibrancy, and a love of life.

Item #: PSA011185
Size: 36×24
Price:$6.99

Item #: PSA011140
Size: 24×36
Price:$6.99

Item #: PSA011145
Size: 36×24
Price:$6.99

Item #: PSA010995
Size: 24×30
Price:$6.99

Item #: PSA010815
Size: 36×24
Price:$6.99

Item #: PSA011130
Size: 36×24
Price:$6.99

Dean Russo - Elephant — Dean Russo – Elephant

Item #: PSA010985
Size: 24×36
Price:$6.99

Once you pick out your favorite poster at posterservice.com, your next step is picking out the perfect poster frame.

FrameUSA.com and Posterservice.com are sister companies and this is one of the main reasons why! FrameUSA.com offers a wide range of frames that are perfect for your new posters. Check out their full selection today here!

January 2, 2018

Pop Art Picture Frames – New Item Spotlight

The Pop Art Picture Frame series has been in the works for literally two years! We are super excited to have this line finally in house and ready to sell.

Our Pop Art Series of wood picture frames are a lighthearted, modern style that puts a spin on more traditional photo frames. With six different colors to choose from, these beautiful art frames will help you enhance any piece of artwork you chose to frame.

The frame around a picture or a piece of art is a terribly underrated portion of your artwork. A picture frame is often as crucial an element as the artwork itself, being that it houses said art and will affect how people take in your work. Color picture frames can be instrumental in bringing artwork to life! Our Pop Art Picture Frames are a fantastic choice for when you’re looking for a brightly colored frame to electrify your art.

Continue to check back in for new products and events we have going on around Frame USA.