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There are numerous ways of presenting photographic images for display. The most common way is to add one or more mats and display them under glass in a frame. Another way is to print on canvas or metal and then hang the print as you would a painting. But there is another way that is less frequently used for this purpose and much more interesting. That is the use of shadowboxes. When done well a shadowbox can make a print look like it is projecting three dimensionally into the room. When I looked for some information on how to design and assemble a shadowbox with a print inside I found absolutely none, although I did see a couple of examples in an exhibit.  So I decided to figure it out from scratch and just do it.

List of Materials:

1. Shadowbox Framing Material, Documounts 16×20 Black Round DM124. You can use any shadowbox framing material, or even make your own.

2. Conservation Clear Glass, 16×20. The more you do to minimize reflections the better, but don’t use “Non-Glare” glass. The amount of separation between the glass and the print would cause too much distortion.

3. Wood Glue, the Elmer’s™ type for woodworking.

4. Scotch™ ATG 700 tape, 1/2 inch. You could substitute regular double-sided tape.

5. Black Foamboard, 3/16″, 30×40″, or other size.

6. Framer’s Tape II, a clear acid-free tape, used to seal the foamboard back to the shadowbox. You can use any other acid-free tape that is suitable.

7. Hanging hardware and wire. Documounts framing comes with flat hanging hardware that works well for shadowboxes. They are so deep that they tend to hang too far away from the wall if you use standard screw eyes. You can probably buy the flat hardware separately.

Tools needed:

1. Small paintbrush for glue, about 1/4 inch wide and fairly flat, with short, stiff bristles

2. Plastic hammer.

3. Mat Cutter (I use a C&H model)

4. Mat cutter blades. I use #1500 blades with a single bevel to cut the foamboard

5. Calipers. Digital calipers are nice, but use whatever you have

6. Razor blades, or mat cutter blades for trimming the paper after the angled edge cuts

7. Utility knife for cutting foamboard to size

8. Straight edge

9. Scotch™ ATG 700 tape dispenser

Shadowbox Framing Material

The shadowbox framing I use  (Right) is 1-1/8″ Wide, 2″ High, 1-11/16″ Deep, and is coated with a black plastic material. The outside edges are rounded, which gives the finished frame a nice modern look. Shadowbox framing material is available from many suppliers in different shapes and with different dimensions. The main thing is to pick one that is fairly deep to provide that 3-D look.

An example of a finished shadowbox frame is shown here (Above Left).  Several more are displayed in the Fine Art Store on our website, http://www.allindaphoto.com/Fine-Art-Store/Shadowbox-Images/11327655.  Note the way the print appears to be suspended in space, and to project out of the box. That is partially due to the fact that the edges of the board on which the print is mounted are cut back at a 45° angle, and that means only a thin edge is visible from the front or sides.

Starting here I’ll describe how I assembled the example shown above. It is sized at 16×20 inches, portrait format, but you could use a square format just as well, and the size can vary too.

Assembly of the Shadowbox Frame:

Assembling the Frame

Gather the 4 sections, set them top side down on a flat, smooth surface like a piece of matboard, and arrange them as they go together. Make sure to clean off any sawdust. Separate them into the 2 opposite sections and spread glue on the mating surfaces of each pair.

Insert the plastic wedges that are used to hold the sections together.  Make sure the top surfaces of the corners meet properly, then use a plastic hammer to carefully drive the wedges to the bottoms of the slots.  Be very careful not to hit the plastic coating with the hammer or it might chip.  Clean up any excess glue.  Assemble the two glued-up sections using the same procedure to complete the frame assembly.

Mounting the Print

The print can be made on any type of photo paper. I like to use Epson Luster, Red River Up Satin 2.0, or Epson Exhibition Fiber Paper.  I think lustre  type surfaces work better than matte  in shadowboxes because they pick up the light in the room better, and are also less reflective than pure glossy surfaces.  But do whatever you like best.  For a 16×20 shadowbox a print sized at 11-12 inches wide and about 17 inches tall works well.  After about 24 hours curing time you can mount the print on black foamboard. Cut the foamboard slightly larger than the print size.  Cut the surplus paper off the print to about 1/16 inch from each edge.  Spray the board and back of the print with acid-free photo safe adhesive.  After about 2 minutes you can place the print on the board, center it inside the board edges, and apply pressure.  Meanwhile start on the next step.

Preparing the Frame

Clean the glass and carefully lower into the frame with the correct surface orientation until it rests on the lip inside the frame. Note that Conservation Clear glass should have the side with the sticker facing toward the print. The outside surface has slight ripples due to the coating. To hold the glass in place it will be necessary to cut strips of black foamboard the correct width and attach them to the sides of the frame.

To determine the correct width of the strips to cut, measure the distance from the glass surface to the back edge of the frame and subtract the thickness of the foamboard. Cut enough foamboard to completely line the sides of the shadowbox with the strips. Measure the length of the long legs on the inside of the box and cut the strips to fit. Fasten as shown with two short (2 inch) lines of ATG tape near the corners and at two points in the center.  Then measure the distance on the shorter sides and cut another pair of strips. Fasten as before.

Cutting the Foamboard Edges of the Mounted Print

To cut the edges at a 45° angle so that the correct visual effect can be obtained, you need to determine how far inside of the print edge to start the cut. First, extend the blade of your mat cutter far enough out to pass through the foamboard. Then make a test cut on a scrap piece of foamboard as shown here. With the calipers, measure the distance from the start of the cut to the end of the cut, keeping the calipers parallel with the scrap strip of foamboard as shown.

Next, transfer the measurement to the back of the support board, with the print facing down, marking with a pencil the lines where the angled cut will start. You want the emerging edge of the blade to cut the paper just inside the edge of the print.

Depending on how you placed the print on the board you may have to make one line that corresponds to where the edge of the print is located, and then use the calipers to mark where to draw the second line where you will start the cut.

It may be useful to take measurements from the print side and transfer them to the back, then connect to establish the line that marks the location of the print edge. Cutting through the paper about 1/8 inch from the actual edge will result is a straighter cut edge on the print.

Setup for mat cutter before starting cut

After cutting the first board edge

Trimming edge of paper

After cutting all four edges it usually works well to trim the paper at the edges. This is done by laying a stainless steel straightedge on the back side of the mount board, and aligning it just inside the edge of the actual print. I use a very sharp razor or mat cutter blade, hand-holding the blade, and cutting from the bottom side, with the print face down on a smooth surface like a piece of scrap matboard.

Final Assembly of the Shadowbox

At this point all the elements are ready for final assembly.

Adding foamcore standoffs

Cut a piece of black foamboard to fit snugly inside the back of the shadowbox so that it is flush with the back. This will be inserted on top of the edges of the foamboard edging that holds the glass in place. For the 16×20 frame it is about 16-1/8 inch by 20-1/8 inch. Place that piece of foamboard  on a flat surface.

Make the standoffs next. Take some pieces of scrap foamboard, either black or white, and cut them to between 1-1/2 and 2 inches square, or even slightly larger.  You need 16 of these squares.  Lay them on a sheet of cardboard separated somewhat and spray them with photo safe adhesive. Then stack them in four stacks, but leave the top surface with no adhesive on it. Place the stacks so they are about 2 to 2-1/2 inches from the edges, as shown in the photo. If your shadowbox is larger than 16×20 you may want to add a couple more standoffs for better stability of the print.

To attach the board with the print mounted on it to the standoffs, lay three strips of ATG tape across each of the standoffs, and lightly center the board containing the print. When you have accurately centered the two boards, apply pressure on the print at the locations corresponding to the standoffs to complete the attachment.

A this point simply place the board assembly into the shadowbox, carefully removing any dust first, and checking for smudges on the interior surface of the glass. Before taping the board assembly in place, turn the box over and inspect again for dust and smudges. Then apply Framer’s Tape to the back to seal the assembly.

Final assembly, sealed with Framer's Tape

I hope you will enjoy this elegant photographic presentation. It looks like a lot of work, but it took much longer to write about it than to completely assemble one shadowbox with print!

Don’t forget to check out the examples of shadowbox-mounted prints on the Allinda Photography website,

http://www.allindaphoto.com/Fine-Art-Store/Shadowbox-Images/11327655

Important note added later: To prevent one problem I had you may want to add another step.  Sometimes the foamboard with the print mounted falls down due to the bond holding the standoffs failing. So to prevent that I add 4 screws from the back, through each standoff and into the foamboard holding the print. That eliminates the problem. The screws should be the right size so they almost penetrate the print but not quite. I use flat-head beveled screws. Pre-drill the holes using bits that are the same shape and size as the screws, or a little smaller.

Woman carrying red clay pots

For a long time I have been cutting my own mats for prints.  Some folks believe you should just use white mats for everything – after all, isn’t that what Ansel Adams did for his?  But actually your work will look much better in a good double mat.  But how do you figure out what combination will look good?  Well, I used to use the corner method – laying corners made from different matboards on the actual print.  Somehow it never really tells you what the whole package will look like.

I developed a means of visualizing almost exactly what a given combination of mats will look like with my print using Photoshop. You can use any version of Photoshop you happen to have.  I use CS4, but CS3 or any of the previous versions will do fine.  Note that even if you have someone else cut your mats or you order them precut, you can still visualize them with your print using this method and then use that information when ordering.

Here’s a summary of the procedure:

Matboards

First you will need to take sample pieces of all the mats you normally use, and obtain images of them with reasonably accurate colors.  This can be done on a flatbed scanner, or you can photograph them.  Be sure to use the same light source for them and light them evenly if you photograph them.  Color correcting by using a color card and correcting in Camera Raw or Lightroom would give more accurate colors.  Pull all the images you have of those into Photoshop and create one file with all the colors visible in strips. See the sample image I provided http://www.allindaphoto.com/Bay-Photo-Store/Blog-Images-Visualizing-Blog/11213138_RAgqt#786309483_KL3e6.  You want to label each of the colors with the name and number as in the file provided so you can reference that later.  I use Crescent Ragmat matboards, so the colors are those.  If you want to use my file, that’s fine – click on the link above. You can even add other colors later if you want.  Store the file as a jpeg.  It doesn’t matter about resolution – you just need that file to sample the colors.  I recommend limiting yourself to just the mat colors you think you will use most of the time, for simplicity.

Next you create a template of the mat system you intend to use.  This will consist of the top mat and the (smaller) bottom mat. (Other mats can be added the same way.) The colors of the mats don’t matter at this stage because they will be easily changed later by referencing the colors in your Matboards document.  Then you modify your print file to conform to the parameters of the template (8 bits, resolution, and flatten if there are layers), and move it to the center.  Don’t forget to close your print file without saving after you move it into the template.  The last step is to try out the colors in the Matboards document on the layers representing the top and bottom mats of the template until you arrive at the combination that looks right to you.  The actual color accuracy isn’t really that important – it will be close enough for this purpose.

Now you are probably saying to yourself: “This is too complicated. Why would I want to do that?” Well it’s really not that complicated or time consuming once you do it a couple of times, and the results are really worth it. Without something like this I tended to rely on only a few matboard combinations and didn’t utilize all the possibilities I had available.

Procedure for Making The Template:

Top Mat.

Photoshop dialog for new file to create a Top Mat

Say you want to make a 12×16 inch double mat for a 7×10½ inch print that you have printed about ¼ inch larger in each dimension so that it will fit inside a mat with a 7×10½ cutout. The top mat is simply a document that is 16 inches high and 12 inches wide. In Photoshop, go to file/new and create a file with 16 inches height and 12 inches width. Set the resolution to 72 ppi, bit depth to 8 bits, and profile to whatever you use for printing. The color can be whatever the background is set for at the moment because you will change it later.  Leave the file open in Photoshop.

Bottom Mat.

Photoshop dialog for new file to create a Bottom Mat

You need to calculate the dimensions for the bottom mat, assuming a ¼ inch reveal (The reveal is the part of the bottom mat that will show between the print and the top mat).  The Width is equal to the nominal width of the print (7 inches) plus double the reveal (¼”x2=½”).  Therefore, the Width is 7½”.  The Height is equal to the nominal height of the print (10½ inches) plus double the reveal, which totals 11 inches.  Create another new document that is 7½” wide by 11 inches high.  Make sure that the resolution, bit depth, and profile are the same as before.  Note that these are not the dimensions of the actual piece of matboard used to cut the bottom mat, but the dimensions that will show in the final matboard system.  Actually, those dimensions are the size of the cutout in the Top mat.

Mat Template

With both of the documents open in Photoshop, choose the Move tool (press the V key) then hold the shift key and slide the smaller document on top of the larger one by grabbing it with your mouse, holding down the left mouse button. That will place the smaller document (bottom mat) in the center of the larger one (top mat).

Template for a 12x16 print mat system after combining Top and Bottom Mat layer

Color Overlay in Blending options for Top Mat in Template

Color Overlay and Bevel and Emboss in Blending options for Bottom Mat in Template

Next you need to set up your layers to allow changing the colors to match your mat colors. There are 2 layers in the template now, Background (Top Mat) and layer 1 (Bottom Mat). In the layers palate, double-click the top mat layer and click on OK in the dialog, to change it to Layer 0. Then right click in that layer and choose “blend options” from the drop down list. A dialog will open. Choose “Color Overlay”.

Then click on the Bottom mat layer (1) and repeat the procedure above. For the bottom mat, you can actually simulate the bevel of the mat by clicking on Bevel and Emboss in the blend options.  Leave this document open.

Adding the Print Image
For the example shown here the print dimensions are 7×10½ inches. The actual print should be slightly larger than that to fit properly inside the mat cutout. Also, the print file is probably in 16 bit mode and the resolution is not 72 ppi.  To add the print to the template the parameters have to match.

Image open, reduction of resolution in Image Size dialog before inserting file into template

First, open the print file, go to “Image/Image Size”, check the “Resample Image” box, and then change the resolution to 72 ppi.  Make sure your print size is still 7×10.5″ or slightly over.  If not, change one of the dimensions to the correct one. Constrain proportions should be checked. Click OK, flatten the file and in Image/Mode change the bit depth to 8 bits.  Leave the profile the same – whatever you use as your working profile.

Double Mat Template with print inserted and top and bottom mat layers with blending options set

Arrange this image and the template on the screen. Choose the Move tool (Ctrl-V) and shift-move the image on top of the template. It should fit inside the outer dimensions of the bottom mat. If not, then either you sized the print too large or something else. If it’s close to the right size, make a marquee selection of it, type Ctrl-T to enter transform mode, and adjust the size of the print so the “reveal” spacing looks right. Choose enter when it looks OK.  Very Important: close your print file without saving so you won’t be changing your actual print file.

Layout of system used for visualizing double mat colors, mat color file open, and color overlay dialog ready to set mat color

Making the Mat Color Selections

You are now ready to determine the best mat color combination for your print. Open the Matboards document in Photoshop and position it to the left of your monitor. Starting with either layer 0 or layer 1, right-click the layer to open the blending options dialog. Double-click Color Overlay and then click on the small colored rectangle to the right of the Blend Mode line. That will open up a color selection dialog. You change the color of the layer by clicking with the mouse on a color in the Matboards document. After deciding on a mat color, close all the dialogs by clicking OK in them. Change the colors of the top and bottom mats using this process until you have reached the best combination. This is subjective, but after a little practice it will get easier and there will be little doubt when you reach the best look for your print.

When you have reached the final combination, you can save it if desired so you can refer to it later. If you just want it to show the way the file looks, flatten the layers and save as a jpeg to save file space. Otherwise, save the PSD file.

Final mat selection shown in visualization file, containing a print, with layers palate shown

Saving the Template

After you have finished with one print, you can trash the print layer and add another image of the same size. When you have determined all the mat combinations for prints that size you can delete the print layer to reduce file size, and save the file with both layers as a PSD or Tiff. Label it something like “7x10_5 on 12×16.PSD” and store it in a folder such as “Templates” so you can easily retrieve it.

Making Another Template

If the print you want to work on next is in landscape format, simply rotate the template. If you need to make another template for a different size print and frame you can start from scratch, and repeat all the above steps, just changing the sizes accordingly, or you can resize the one you made first to whatever you need and name it accordingly. Resizing the whole template outer dimensions can be done from Image/Canvas Size. The bottom mat can be then resized by using the transform tools

A Few Examples of Matted Prints from the Allindaphoto.com Website

Matboard combinations designed to suit specific prints are available by clicking on the links below.

Here you can find lots of useful information about selecting mats for prints:

http://www.allindaphoto.com/For-Website-Use/Matted-Prints/9517488_jDzfH#639426485_oRBxU

In the Fine Art Store you can find several larger images available as matted prints:

http://www.allindaphoto.com/Fine-Art-Store