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Glass:
Making the Clear Choice Perhaps the retail clothing giant Syms says it best: "An educated consumer is our best customer." That same motto holds true in the retail frame world as well. But when dealing with the complicated world of glass for framing, Sym's motto can go one step further: An educated retailer is his own best friend. In the glass market, there are two major questions facing frame retailers: what are the options and how should they be sold? According to several glass manufacturers, there are four major categories to know: UV-Blocking Glass, Non-Glare Glass, Clear Glass and Anti-Reflective Glass. Once you've got a dear understanding of these and bow and when they can be used-you're on your way to bigger and better sales. "One of the bigger decision factors when deciding what type of glass to use is what type of artwork you have and whether the customer is planning to preserve the artwork versus just framing it for aesthetic purposes," explained Chris Perez of Sandel, an Illinois-based glass manufacturer, who confirmed the need for education on the categories of glass. UV-Blocking/Preservation
Glass Within the LTV- blocking/preservation glass category, there are additional choices. There is UV-glass with non-glare properties and UV-glass with anti-reflective properties. Tru Vue, for example, has a UV-glass that has anti-reflective properties, which they call Museum Glass. Conservation Reflection Control is a type of UV-glass with non-glare properties, also offered by Tru Vue. Preservation UV-protect Satinview is another version of the UV-glass with non-glare properties offered by Sandel. Non-Glare Glass
When a customer walks into Ovids Maxim, a frame shop in Roselle, Ill., Ray Wehrs makes sure to find out their level of knowledge, which can be the difference, for example, between a customer choosing clear glass or non-glare glass. "When you put several pieces of art in a room, if one piece has non-glare glass on it and the rest have clear glass, the non-glare glass is going to stick out like a sore thumb, "Wehrs said, adding that uniformity in glass selection is important. Clear Glass
Perez warns against using dear glass on any artwork in which you want to reduce reflections, or preserve value, because there are no UV-properties in clear glass. Before placing dear glass on a piece of artwork, it is also important to make sure that the glass is free of imperfections such as bubbles or scratches. Anti-Reflective
Glass Unlike the acid dipping process associated with non-glare glass, anti-reflective glass has a coating applied. This coating doesn't change the surface of the glass, rather it adds a coating to the surface, which changes the glass property. This glass coating, Perez noted, allows more light through and actually diminishes the reflections. Anti-reflective glass must do two things: reduce reflections and increase light transmission. With anti-reflective glass 98 percent of the light reaches the a opposed to only 91 percent with dear glass. The result, according to Perez, is that the artwork looks crystal clear, and it looks like there's no glass in the frame. Anti-reflective glass is very effective with dark colors, or a piece with a lot of detail. "Anti-reflective glass allows the color to come through the way the artist meant them to because there is more light hitting the artwork," Perez said. Wehrs returned to the importance of education, specifically knowing about different kinds of artwork to effectively sell the different categories of glass. "The framer needs to know what he's looking at so that he can make the right recommendations to the customer." GlassTerminology For many frame shop owners, educating the customer about the terminology and processes of glass is an important issue in the successful operation of their business. With that in mind, we've provided a short list of glass terms that may prove useful. Acid Etched: in glazing and decorative work, acid etching alters one or both sides of the glass sheet to change its reflective qualities. When the etching is completed, all acids are neutralized and the surfaces are cleaned. Anti-Reflective Glass: A glass with a significantly reduced reflection (or glare) and a significantly increased transmission, compared to the base glass used. Nanometer: The color of light is a result of a characteristic of light called wavelength. The nanometer is a measure of wavelength and therefore of color. Non-glare glass: A glass With reflection significantly reduced. The transmission of non-glare glass is lower than that of the base plain glass used. The clarity of non-glare glass decreases with increased depth. UV Protective Glass: A glass which blocks more than 90 percent of all UV light and and more than 97 percent of UV light in the 300-380 nanometer range. Water white or low iron glass: Glass with an iron content less than 0.7 percent, which eliminates the green tint of regular (float or clear) glass.
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