What are they? Acrylic spacers are self-adhesive square rods that are most commonly used to separate glazing and unmatted art.  We offer them in 4’ 10″ lengths – in either a 1/8” by 1/8” square size or 1/8”wide by 1/4” tall version.

When are they used? If you’re float mounting artwork or choose not to place a window mat on top of the art, it’s a good idea to elevate the glass or Acrylic off of that artwork. Creating a thin layer of air between the two components prevents moisture build up and direct contact damage.

Use the 1/8” square spacers for 2-D artwork that’s been printed or painted onto thinner papers.  The taller 1/4” spacers are more appropriate when your artwork has a little dimension – like a thick and wavy watercolor paper.  (Please note that acrylic spacers aren’t really appropriate for shadowbox framing of 3-D objects.)

How are spacers applied? One side of the spacer has a self-adhesive strip.  This adhesive side is placed on the edge of the glazing so that it will be hidden from view by the frame lip. The spacer should run the length of each side of the glazing, meeting at a right angle at the corners.

To cut them, simply score the plastic with a blade (along one of the non-adhesive sides), then snap the piece into two parts at the score line.

It’s best to clean your glazing and position it within the frame before applying the spacers. That way you can place them at the very edge, so they’ll sit well under the lip of the frame.

Then, simply lay the mounted artwork on top of the spacers and proceed with normal fitting and closing of the frame.

Tip: Cut your float mat board or mountboard as big as will fit within the frame. This way, the mat board will sit well on top of the spacers.

Other Possibilities. Add some dimension to your framing presentations: use spacers to raise window mats off of the art, or use spacers to elevate floated artwork off of the mountboard.

ATG is a great product and is useful for many applications but it does take a little getting used to.  It’s more a “film” than a tape and that means it can become a clingy mess if you don’t handle it carefully.

To apply ATG without an applicator gun: Hold the roll of tape in one hand.  Peel back a tab of both the brown protective paper and the film with your other hand.  Place it, sticky side down, on your board.  Run your finger along the protective paper – from the end tab up to the roll (which is still in your hand) – to make the film grab hold of your board.   Tear off the strip at the roll.

Rub your finger over the protective paper, along the whole length of the tape strip, one more time. Peel back and discard the protective paper. All that’s left on the board is a nice, flat strip of sticky film.

Applying tape with an applicator gun: Position the outer red roller where you’d like the strip of tape to begin.  Depress the trigger and pull the gun back along the board, pushing down lightly on the gun so that the tape grips the board.  Release the trigger, press down slightly on the roller and lift the gun – the film will tear easily off from the roll with this press and lift action.

Removing ATG: Simply rub your finger firmly over the applied film and it’ll bead up into a little ball of adhesive or if you prefer you can use the ATG Pick Up Stick. Works great and lasts forever.

Here’s a simple trick to help make your self-assembled wood frames look like they were professionally joined.

Take a wood touch up marker – a permanent marker also works – and carefully draw a line along the raw wood corner cuts (where the thumbnails holes are).

You only need to mark the edges next to the lip, the face and the side of the frame.  Be careful to hold the marker perpendicular to the face of the frame so the ink is applied only to the raw wood not the finished veneer.  Then, if your joined corners are even just a hair off the bare wood won’t be visible.

Extra hints:

• Use a marker that’s darker than the color of the frame, black works for most dark wood colors
• A water-based marker won’t work as well – the ink is diluted by the wood glue
• Test your marker on the back of the frame first to make sure it doesn’t bleed heavily into the wood.  If it does, it might bleed into the veneer of the frame.

We know that our invoices and email confirmations may look like a foreign language – particularly the mat specifics.  We apologize for the abbreviations – there’s a lot of info to note but not much space.

Use this Documounts Invoice Key to help decode our abbreviations.

Out: = outside dimension (same as frame or glass size)
Op: = opening size (the size of your mat window)
Layers 1 = a single mat
Layers 2 = a double mat
#1 B754 = top mat color (this number will change depending on the color)
#2 B61 = bottom mat color (this number will change depending on the color)
SB = Setback (amount of the bottom mat showing)
BD: = border of the mat
L–2 = the left border is 2”
R-2 = the right border is 2”
T-3.25 = the top border is 3.25”
B- 3.5 = the bottom border is 3.5”
Dbl = double
Opng = opening
Opng: 0×0 = you’ve ordered a blank mat without a window.
VG: = L-1 R-1 T-1 B-1 = V-groove is cut 1” from window
CB204, C1610, B574, etc. = this kind of number identifies the mat color:
CB = Canterbury, C = Crescent, B = Bainbridge

But that’s just one half of the issue…

Customers usually give us matting and framing dimensions in fractions but in our computer-based environment we translate your fractions into decimals.  Here’s a fraction-to-decimals table to help you confirm the dimensions that show on your invoices.  They’re listed in smallest to biggest order. (Please note that we use halves, quarters, eighths and sixteenths only)

Fractions-to-decimals key

1/16  =  .0625
1/8    =  .125
3/16  =  .1875
1/4    =  .25
5/16  =  .3125
3/8    =  .375
7/16    =  .4375
1/2      =  .50
9/16    =  .5625
5/8      =  .625
11/16   =  .6875
3/4       =  .75
13/16    =  .8125
15/16    =  .9375

Tip: If you want to figure out the decimal equivalent yourself, simply divide the numerator (number on top) by the denominator (number on the bottom).  Example:  3/16 (or 3 divided by 16) = .1875

Gravity Pulling Your Artwork Down?

Try this trick when attaching your artwork – it’ll help hold the art in place and prevent it from slipping later when it’s hanging in a frame.

Once you get your art or photograph taped to the mat or mountboard, take a burnishing bone (also known as a bone folder) and firmly burnish the non-adhesive side of the tape with the rounded edge of the tool. (If you don’t have a bone folder, a soup spoon works well too.)

This simple rubbing action, or burnishing, helps to make the adhesive grab hold and creates a strong and lasting bond.