Caring for prints: light, humidity, glass

Prints do not fade because of time. They fade because of ultraviolet light, humidity and cheap glass — three things you can fix this week.

Light is the main enemy

UV breaks the pigment bonds. A south-facing wall with direct sun will fade even an archival print; a hallway with indirect light will not. Options, cheapest first: move the frame, fit UV-filtering glass (about £/$20 extra on a small frame), or add a blind. Never hang a print where sunlight lands on it for more than an hour a day.

Humidity and heat

Bathrooms and kitchens are the worst rooms for paper: steam swells the sheet, then it dries unevenly and cockles. Keep prints off exterior walls, which run cold and condense. A stable 40–60% relative humidity is ideal; most homes are close enough once the frame is sealed at the back.

Mounting: the mat matters

Use an acid-free mat and hinge the print at the top edge with linen tape, so the paper can expand. Dry-mounting is permanent and destroys resale value. If a framer offers to glue it down, decline politely.

Cleaning

• Dust the frame with a dry microfibre cloth; never spray cleaner onto the glass.
• Clean glass with a barely damp cloth and dry immediately — liquid seeping behind the frame stains the print.
• Do not lean framed work against a radiator or store it in a loft, where heat cycles do the damage.

What to do if it has already faded

Fading cannot be reversed, but a reprint can. Archive editions are printed to order, so replacing a sun-damaged print costs the price of the print, not the frame. Send us a photo and we will match the paper batch.