Movie poster collectors have been around for almost as long as movies have been made. It’s no surprise that movie posters are such a popular collectible—these beautiful and affordable pieces of pop art perfectly capture the magic of movies and the zeitgeist.
No collector wants their collection to sit in a corner and fall apart – posters are meant to be displayed and enjoyed! Collectors with large collections may find it difficult to display their prized posters – with little space on your walls, how do you find a framing system that allows you to rotate your collection in and out of the frames as needed?
Quick change framing systems can be perfect for collectors who have more movie posters than their wall space to display them.
Finding a frame to complement your treasured posters can be easy, as long as you know what you’re looking for. This article will give you some tips for finding the perfect poster frame to display your award-winning pieces without necessarily buying and framing every poster in your collection.
Quick change framing systems for movie posters
Quick change framing systems can be the perfect solution for collectors with large collections. Why?
As a collector, you may have a small apartment, office, studio, or home with limited wall space to display your posters. You frame a couple of posters in your collection, either by going to a custom framing shop for your more valuable items or buying a ready-made frame from a big box store and mounting the poster on the wall yourself in your home.
This gets a couple of your posters out of your closet and onto the wall, but what about the rest of your collection? Are you really going to take apart and take apart your poster frame every time you want to change the movie poster? Probably not, so the rest of the collection is hidden from view.
Framing Solutions for the Collector
What if you had a poster display frame that would allow you to easily change your display without the hassle of removing the poster frame from the wall or even disassembling it? Consider the three most popular types of fast-changing movie poster frames:
- SwingFrame poster displays. SwingFrames are easy-to-use display frames with concealed locking and hinge mechanisms. SwingFrames opens, allowing you to quickly change your poster as needed. Opens. Insert your movie poster. Folding closure. It’s that easy. Mount your movie poster display to the SwingFrame’s sturdy backboard using repositionable tape strips or magna clamps positioned behind the backboard. SwingFrames come in wood and metal profiles, and you can even add locks, lighting, or a bold header to your movie poster display case.
- Poster snap frames. Snap frames, also called “SwingSnaps”, are interchangeable front-loading display frame accessories in which all four sides of the frame snap open for easy changing. These cost-effective aluminum snap-open poster frames come in a range of faux wood and metal finishes and in a variety of profile widths, from a slim 1″ profile width to a 2″ profile width. . For additional customization, add colorful doily boards. Banners are held securely in place by spring loaded stainless steel clips. A sturdy back plate and acrylic cover keep the poster rigid and secure.
- Top Loading/Side Loading Sign Frames. These inexpensive and inexpensive poster frames have a slot on the top or side of the fixture that allows users to place their posters in or slide them in from the side. The film poster’s thin sheet is sandwiched between a Coroplast rigid plastic backing plate and a layer of acrylic.
In addition to being easy to use, each of these frames can be customized to complement your decor and/or the movie posters you want to display. SwingFrames, SwingSnaps and Top/Side Load sign frames are available in wood and metal profiles in various finishes. You can also add one or more doily boards in a variety of colors – doily boards not only add a great design element, they also secure the edges of your poster, protecting them from damage.
Finding the Right Frame: Popular Movie Poster Sizes
Movie posters can vary in size and this can affect your framing decisions. Most of the posters are “one sheet” posters, measuring 27″x40″ and 27×39 if printed after 1985 and 27″x41″ if printed before 1985. Some vintage posters are significantly larger and it is possible to find two sheets (41″x54″), three sheet posters (41″x81″) and even six sheet posters (81″x81″). It’s important to find a frame that will fit your poster correctly without wrinkling the edges.
Since movie posters tend to be quite large, look for a movie poster frame with an acrylic window. A sheet of glass that is large enough for your average movie poster will be very heavy and very brittle. The old adage “the bigger they are, the harder they fall” could well be used to describe large panes of glass, since the longer and wider a sheet of glass is, the more vulnerable it is to breaking. Broken glass can seriously damage your prized signs, so it’s best to avoid it altogether.
Instead, look for a frame with a durable acrylic window. Acrylics are lighter and more durable, so they are less likely to break. Acrylics are offered in clear, anti-glare, shatter-resistant polycarbonate. For an additional fee, you can also treat your acrylic window with a UV protective coating.
Display and protect your movie poster collection
You’ve already invested time and money in putting together the perfect collection of movie posters. Now, let your collection be the center of attention. Choose the interchangeable movie poster frame, with available options to fit your collection sizes and budget, and enjoy viewing them for years to come.