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Advice / Blog / Acrylic vs Glass: What material is best for Picture Frames? 

Acrylic vs Glass: What material is best for Picture Frames? 

Written by MS
23/08/2021 10:00:06

If you want to add colour or a personal touch to your home interior, picture frames and artwork are the typical solutions. Whether it’s a family photo or landscape painting, framed pictures and images can be used to make a space yours. 
 
When it comes to framing, there are several bespoke options available to you. It’s easy to pick up frames for smaller sized photos from your local design or DIY store, but, for larger images, you may need to invest in a bespoke or made to measure frame. 
 
There are two main materials used for framing: glass and acrylic and, in this blog, we are going to compare them to decide which is best for your home. We will be considering criteria such as price points, durability, and movability to help you make the best decision. 
 
If you decide that acrylic or plastic frames are the best for you, then you can get an instant quote on your bespoke frame today on our website! Click here to find out more - here at The Plastic People, we are never beaten on price! 
 
Should you choose Acrylic or Glass Frames? 
 
Both materials, of course, have their pros and cons and depending on what style and use you have your frame, you may decide that one is better than the other. The major points of comparison between these two materials are as follows:
 
  • Durability: Glass is a notoriously fragile material that can easily shatter if dropped or knocked. As a result, a broken glass frame could potentially damage and tear your photos or artwork. On average, acrylic frames are 10 times stronger than traditional glass ones, and so offer high levels of protection. What’s more is, acrylic is shatterproof: this means instead of splintering into lots of sharp pieces, acrylic snaps into a few large and dull pieces, which are less likely to damage your pictures and are easy to dispose of. 
     
  • Weight: It is important to consider weight when purchasing a bespoke picture frame as this can impact shipping times and costs, as well as where and on which walls a photo or piece of art can be safely hung. Acrylic is about half the weight of glass, making it easier (and cheaper) to both ship and install. If you think you might be moving your pictures around a lot, or have particularly large photos to put up, plastic is definitely a better choice for you!
 
  • UV Protection: When it comes to protecting your art and pictures from UV rays, both materials offer a similar level of protection. This will ensure that discolouration does not happen too quickly. If you need a completely UV-resistant material, we recommend looking into polycarbonate plastic. 
 
  • Price: When it comes to the all-important price point, you might be surprised to learn that the traditional glass frame is typically cheaper than acrylic. Nevertheless, due to its weight, a glass frame is often more expensive to ship than acrylic - and more likely to break in transit. So, there are pros and cons to the cost of both these materials. 
 
  • Glare: We put up photos and artwork primarily to look at them, and so considering the levels of glare caused by acrylic and glass respectively is an important topic. Glass always has more glare than acrylic, which means, in direct light, the picture will be harder to view. Anyone who has tried to take a photo of a painting in a gallery before will understand this struggle! Acrylic has less glare and is available in a non-glare variant to help with this issue. 
 
 
Summary 
 
Well, it seems pretty obvious to us that acrylic is overall a better material to use for bespoke framing! Though it can be costly to procure, acrylic is a more durable, lighter weight material, which is easier to work with and install than glass. 
 
Make sure to check out our made to measure picture framing services to get an instant quote today! We offer to polish edges and drill holes in the material for you, so all you have to do is slide in your picture and put it up on the wall for all to admire! Click here to find out more. 
 
Further Help
 
If you need more advice on picture framing - or anything to do with using acrylic in your home - then don’t hesitate to get in touch with our customer services team. They can be reached at service@theplasticpeople.co.uk or via the website here. 
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