Boy howdy, do I ever hate framing. This is nothing original, just a renewed hatred based on recent events.
First of all, framing a picture can be royally expensive. It does not take much for the cost of the frame to exceed the value of the print. A good chunk of the price tag on those Robert Bateman prints goes towards the frame. Not that frames should be cheap, because that would be unpleasant. But Mr. Bateman gets a sweetheart deal on framing since he arranges for them in bulk quantities. Those of us who buy them one at a time become the indentured slaves of the framers. Not that this is always bad, as I have met some very good framers. But expert or no, a professional framer is expensive.
Then there is the do-it-yourself option. It's a lot of fiddly, time-consuming work. The whole project can get wrecked if you are even a millimetre off in measuring. If you have the right tools, you won't hurt your hands so much while assembling your own frame. If you don't have the right tools, then your fingers become as lambs to the slaughter. Need I say that the right tools cost a fortune when purchased from your friendly neighbourhood framing shop?
Yes there are people who enjoy framing and who are good at it. More power to them, but I am not one of them.
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