Float framing
Also known as: Float mount · Float frame
A framing style where the print is mounted on top of a backing board rather than behind a window mount, so the full sheet — including any deckle edges — stays visible.
Float framing is a presentation style where the print is mounted on top of a backing board rather than recessed behind a window-cut mount. The board sits a few millimetres back from the glass and the print is attached with archival hinges so it appears to “float” inside the frame, with the full sheet — including the paper’s edges — fully visible.
The technique was originally used to show off handmade paper. A print on cotton rag with a deckle edge looks better with the edge visible than hidden behind a mount window — the rough fibrous border is part of the work, not something to cover. Float framing makes that border the visual anchor.
Three things distinguish float framing from a standard window-mount presentation. The print’s edges are visible all the way around — top, bottom, left and right. There’s typically a small visible gap between the print and the inside of the frame, so the print reads as suspended within the moulding rather than pressed up against it. And the frame is usually slightly deeper, because the print sits forward of the backing board and needs clearance from the glass.
Float framing is a deliberate aesthetic choice. It suits prints with deckled edges, prints where the paper itself is part of the visual identity, and contemporary works where the negative space around the image is part of the composition. It tends to suit minimalist or gallery-style rooms more than period interiors, where a traditional mount-and-frame combination reads as more sympathetic.
All Clark & Darcey framed prints are presented with a window-cut mount by default. If you’d like a float-framed presentation for a particular piece, get in touch and we’ll arrange a bespoke frame.