Non Reflective Glazing?

[dancqu]

I was looking at some frames today and
noticed the reflections from the glazing.
Are any using the non reflective?
Any source suggestions? Dan

 

[Ian C]

Masterpice Anti-Reflection Coated Glass

If you’re in the US and have a Michael’s arts & craft store in your area look at their display of “Masterpiece” anti-reflection coated glass. It’s a shadow box with a butterfly inside. There are three vertical strips of different types of glass on the shadow box. The outer strips are: plain glass and textured anti-glare glass. The center strip seems to be missing until you look closer. It’s the coated Masterpiece glass and is very effective at eliminating reflections.

It’s pricy though. A 22” x 28” sheet that I had cut for a 16” x 20” print was $108. For some things it’s worth it. The coatings form slicks easily when cleaning just like the coatings on a camera lens or MC filter and, of course, can be damaged much easier than plain glass.

The photos I framed in Masterpiece glass look a great deal like no glass was used. Regular glass holds back quite a bit more light. If I’d thought of it I could have metered through both coated and uncoated glass and given you the difference in f-stops. I didn’t and so I don’t have the numbers, but, the difference is significant.

Michael’s frequently has framing specials that include the Masterpiece glass for a bargain price.

Dead Link Removed

 

[fdi]

Regular glass has glare and a green tint. Regular acrylic has glare but no green tint. Textured glass and acrylic will reduce glare but there is a loss of sharpness that gets worse with distance between the glazing and the image. Some textured glass and acrylic is very poor and looks bad at any distance. I am familiar with Cyro textured non-glare acrylic and it is a very good quality with a very minor loss of sharpness that is difficult to detect without an A/B comparison test. The next level is glass or acrylic with anti-reflective coating. The coating is typically very sensitive on glass and requires special care until assembled into the frame. It is also very expensive. Glass with the anti-reflective coating such as TruVue Musuem glass will also have a reduced iron content which reduces the green tint.

Another option for glass or acrylic is UV filter. For glass it is a coating, for acrylic it is built into the acrylic. In both cases the UV filter causes a yellowing or warming effect of the glass or acrylic.

The most economical way to handle reflections is with proper lighting. The lighting should be on the ceiling close to the wall so that you only see the reflection of the lighting is you are well below the image looking up.

Cheers,
Mark

 

[mhanc]

TrueVue Museum glass is the best I have seen for anti-glare and light transmission -- really remarkable and quite a leap ahead of other glasses used in framing. As already noted, it is expensive.

 

[dancqu]

Surly Not

Regular glass has glare and a green tint. Mark

Surly not the glass from Picture Frames Destination!
As I understand it the usual frame glass is green free
though not glare free.

I've been shopping that site and find the custom frames
and glass to fit reasonably priced. I am looking though
for non-glare glass. Did I overlooked an option? Dan

 

[fdi]

The glass we use at Frame Destination is a quality framing grade glass so it has less green tint than some other glass but I am afraid it is not tint free. Although we sell non-glare acylic we do not currently sell non-glare glass. We may eventually carry non-glare and uv-filter glass but we could never carry Musuem glass since the coating side is so sensitive.

Cheers,
Mark

Surly not the glass from Picture Frames Destination!
As I understand it the usual frame glass is green free
though not glare free.

I've been shopping that site and find the custom frames
and glass to fit reasonably priced. I am looking though
for non-glare glass. Did I overlooked an option? Dan

 

[dancqu]

Tru Vue 16x20 - $30.50

It’s pricy though. A 22” x 28” sheet that I had cut for
a 16” x 20” print was $108.

Via the WWW I found a much lower price which
includes S&H. Which Tru Vue non-glare slips my
mind. At www.bonanzle.com a few standard
and at www.dsgiftshop.com
custom sizes. Dan

 

[Poisson Du Jour]

High gloss images such as Ilfochromes are usually framed with UV-retardant glass such as that made by Tru-Vue (one of the most expensive glass makers on the planet), which does also make non-reflective glass. Be aware that non-reflective glass can make an image, particularly peal or FB prints, look very dull and flat, even under directional lighting (gallery spots). Reflections will not be a problem when frames are hung at the correct viewing height and illuminated to set them off.

 

[Jon Shiu]

Via the WWW I found a much lower price which
includes S&H. Which Tru Vue non-glare slips my
mind. At www.bonanzle.com a few standard
and at www.dsgiftshop.com
custom sizes. Dan

That non-glare glass is not the same as the coated Anti-Reflective glass (Museum Glass, or AR Glass, or Masterpiece). The non-glare glass gives a kind of frosted, low contrast look.

Jon

 

[dancqu]

Likely Not Non Glare

That non-glare glass is not the same as the coated
Anti-Reflective glass (Museum Glass, or AR Glass, or
Masterpiece). The non-glare glass gives a kind of
frosted, low contrast look. Jon

I doubt the two sources I included in an earlier post
are selling what they advertise. Tru Vue Premium is
mentioned. For detailed info of Tru Vue's many glass
and plastic versions go www.tru-vue.com . Dan

 

[Jon Shiu]

I doubt the two sources I included in an earlier post
are selling what they advertise. Tru Vue Premium is
mentioned. For detailed info of Tru Vue's many glass
and plastic versions go www.tru-vue.com . Dan

Perhaps I was not clear: Non-glare glass has an etched surface and is fairly cheap. Museum glass, AR glass, Masterpiece glass has anti-reflective coated surfaces (like a camera lens) and is fairly expensive. Tru vue Premium is a standard glass with no AR coating nor an etched surface.

Jon

 

[DWThomas]

About four years ago I bought a 16x20 piece of AR glass through a local frame shop and gallery. The guy gave me an "artist discount" which brought it down to about $32. I would not be surprised if it's 30% more by now. It's nice, but unless people start snapping my work off the walls for big bucks, it's too much expense for a regular item on my hobby budget.

 

[dancqu]

Two Suggestions for Future Sales

Although we sell non-glare acylic we do not currently
sell non-glare glass. Cheers Mark

Tru Vue Reflection Free and/or Reflection Control
or equivalent quality glass from other suppliers.

I am dissuaded from the use of acrylic after reading
FDI's objective comparison of it and glass. Dan