Glazing — the glass or acrylic that closes a frame — is the single most consequential protective decision in a framing project, and in a climate like Houston's it is not optional finery. Here is how we think about it at the design table, and how the main options actually differ.

The two questions that decide everything

How much UV does it block? Ultraviolet light is the primary engine of fading, and the damage is cumulative and irreversible. Conservation-grade glazing filters 99% of UV; ordinary glass filters roughly half that. For anything you care about — and certainly anything with value — 99% UV filtration is the baseline we specify.

Glass or acrylic? Glass is scratch-resistant and easy to clean, but heavy and breakable — and when it breaks, it breaks against your art. Acrylic is half the weight, shatter-safe, and required by most shippers and many institutions; its trade-offs are static (it attracts dust) and softness (it scratches more easily without proper care). Size often decides: beyond roughly 40 × 60 inches, acrylic's weight and safety advantages become hard to argue with.

The options, plainly

Conservation Clear (glass). 99% UV filtration at the friendliest price of the conservation tier. Its one compromise: ordinary surface reflections. In a bright room you will sometimes see the window instead of the drawing.

Museum Glass. The same 99% UV protection with optical anti-reflective coatings. Reflection drops to about 1%, and the effect the first time you see it is uncanny — the glazing disappears and the artwork simply sits there. For dark works, works with glass-front lighting, and anywhere reflections would compete with the art, it earns its cost.

Conservation-grade acrylic. The acrylic counterpart of Conservation Clear: 99% UV filtration, light and safe, with standard reflections and standard static.

Optium Museum Acrylic® / TruLife Acrylic. The top shelf: acrylic with anti-reflective optical coatings, 99% UV filtration, anti-static behavior, and an abrasion-resistant surface that cleans like glass. These panels solve every traditional acrylic complaint at once, which is why museums glaze traveling exhibitions with them — and why we reach for them on large, dark, or precious works. (Optium and TruLife are competing products in the same category; we'll recommend by size, availability, and the specific work.)

What we actually specify

At the design table the decision usually resolves quickly. Works on paper with any value: 99% UV minimum, always. Bright or lamp-lit rooms, dark images, pastels and photographs: anti-reflective coatings pay for themselves every day you look at the piece. Oversized works, children's rooms, high-traffic halls, anything shipping: acrylic. Pastel, charcoal, and anything friable: glass or anti-static acrylic only — ordinary acrylic's static can lift loose media off the sheet.

One more Houston-specific note: glazing works as a system with spacers and sealing. Media should never touch the glazing, and in our humidity that spacing plus a sealed package is what keeps condensation events from becoming disasters.

Bring the artwork — or a photo and dimensions — and we'll show you the options side by side over the actual work. The difference between the tiers is easier seen than described.

Glazing, clearly — from the founder

From the original SBAS blog, by Sarah Balinskas, Founder.

Specifying the type of glazing is usually the last decision we discuss at a consultation. Nevertheless, the glazing is as important as the frame, the mat, and the hinges. We consider what will best protect the artwork from ultraviolet light, the risk of broken glass, and static electricity — and the aesthetic preference for or against reflection, and the need to avoid distortion. Pieces larger than 32” × 40” should be framed with acrylic to avoid the risk of broken glass; anti-static acrylic protects fragile paper and pastel; anti-reflective glazing matters most for uniformly dark works, where reflection becomes a mirror. Selecting the glazing is usually a quick decision and one that clients may not remember later — because when glazing is well chosen, you will not notice it.