We are going to look at a magazine that has been framed by a local framing shop using traditional methods. While this method is great for your other framing requirements, you will see here why it is not the best method for framing your collectible magazines. I also offer some comment here on how my methods differ.
We start with a framed copy of Playboy autographed by Elle Macpherson. The Mylar sleeve that holds the magazine is a little bigger than the magazine (by design). With a good backing, such as mine, the magazine will stay in place properly. Here, with a thin mat board backing, the magazine has slid down in the sleeve, leaving an uneven gap at the top mat board opening. To correct this, you would have to take the frame apart, as shown below, or turn the frame upside down and gently tap it to try to shift the magazine. With my Changeable Frames, you just take the magazine out, reposition it in the sleeve, and go. Since I use a firm backing, this is less likely to happen with my system.
Turning it over we see that the back is sealed and that the hanging wire is non-detachable. I use saw tooth hangers that don't block the back of the frame.
Before removing the backing paper we must first take out the screws holding in the framing wire.
Now we remove the backing paper which is glued to the back of the frame using double sided tape. We don't use backing paper. Notice also the small nails, called framing points, that hold the backing in place. These must also be removed using a pair of pliers. The backing is a thin piece of mat board. There are several differences on my system. We use foam board for a backing which is sturdier than the mat board. Instead of the framing points, I use turn buttons that mount on the back of the frame. The turn buttons hold the backing in place and are turned to open the back of the frame.
The backing, framing points and backing paper are now removed. I provided the magazine to the local framer in a Mylar sleeve, the same as we use in my system. Here the local framer taped the mylar sleeve to the back of the mat board using masking tape. Each time you remove the masking tap, a little bit of the mat board sticks to the tape. Future applications won't hold as well.
Finally, we can remove Elle from the frame. If you wanted to put another magazine back into the frame, you would have to reverse the entire process. If you didn't have access to a framing point nailer, backing paper or double sided tape, you would need to take the frame back to your framer to put in the new magazine.
