Specialty Picture Framing Glasses



   ** New service **

We can also coat our convex glass with SunblokUV coating to protect art from the most damaging light range.
It is anticipated this service may one day be available for oversize and special flat glass applications.


General info                    ** IMPORTANT info HERE about damage from various light sources.

Specialty glasses are becoming, and will continue to become, more and more commonly used instead of plain 2mm clear glass.

There are clear advantages to using specialty glasses . . . most notably that end customers get the best glass for the job, be it UV light protection, or high quality non glare in situations where it can assist with better viewing pleasure of artwork.

UV Protection

Many items that are framed, are very susceptible to damage from UV Light, the most damaging form of light.
Invisible to the eye, UV light is slow but sure in fading and weakening fibres in paper and other materials . . . the damage is not reversible.
Paints, inks, and other pigments can also be prone to damage from UV light.

'Probable Relative Damage' can be assigned to different wavelengths of light.
UV light at 300nm = ~ 7 PRD   ..   ..   UV light of 380nm = ~ 1 PRD   ..   ..   Visible light at 500nm = ~ 0.03 PRD

That's a huge 233 times more damage to artwork from UV light than from visible light !

Paper is made up of cellulose fibres, and is particularly sensitive to UV light damage.
Water is always present in cellulose fibre, and under UV radiation oxygen in the air reacts with water to form Hydrogen Peroxide.
This results in gradual oxidative breakdown of cellulose.

Oxygen and water cannot be eliminated, so blocking UV light is the only way to dramatically reduce damage from UV radiation.

Sources of UV light :

Solar energy (Sunlight) - ~ 6% of total solar energy is UV light in the 320nm to 380nm range.

Artificial lighting - Halogen and fluorescent lights can emit UV light in the 300nm to 380nm range, but there is a much higher proportion of UV energy in daylight radiation (natural sunlight) through glass than in incandescent, halogen, or fluorescent light sources shining through glass.

Guardian Inspiration UV        PDF brochure

This glass blocks 98% of the most damaging UV light in the 300nm - 380nm range.

Benefits for framers are numerous, but perhaps the biggest is the
  blue protective film on the coated side of the glass.

This protective film needs no special handling, cutting, or storing, and serves to :
   * protect the coated side from damage (scratching), greatly reducing
     wastage and time in special handling.
   * identifies offcuts in storage, and cut to size glass ready for framing.
   * saves cleaning the inside coated side, blue film stays on until assembly.
   * makes the glass highly visible, reduces risk of impact, and the film will
      hold the glass together quite well if it does get dropped or knocked during the
      framing process.


The UV block coating is sprayed, leaving an indiscernible finish . . . other brands of UV glass can have coatings where a distinctive pattern can be visible on the glass.

Guardian Inspiration UV glass is available in normal clear, or high quality single sided (evenly etched) non glare.

(Supplied to Picture Framers in South Australia . . . other states please contact us for your local supplier details)

          ** NOW AVAILABLE CTS (Cut To Size) **         So yes, we can cut and ship, no problems !
 

Visionguard - Non Glare glass (plain, with no UV protection)

Available in single sided and double sided etched.

Etched glass should only be used with one or maybe two mats spacing from the artwork, as there a loss of clarity the further it is spaced from the art.

It is desirable to move to the better optically coated low reflection glasses if possible.
Please contact us for advice on what is available in your location.

Denglas UV (optically coated low reflection quality and UV protection)

Denglas Museum is the ultimate in picture framing glass.

It is treated with a special double sided coating, that reduces glare to an incredibly low 1% reflection.
There is no etching that creates fuzziness if too far from the art, so is perfect for spacing for 3D work or design.

The glass also blocks 98% of damaging UV light for protection of the art / item being framed.

Because there is such high light transmission, colours and fine details of the artwork being framed remain very clear and vibrant.


Please Contact us with inquiries for pricing.