Preservation vs Conservation Framing Materials List

This is a Hirshfeld limited edition print framed to full Preservation standards.

This blog post is not really an end-all of the differences between Conservation and Preservation (or Museum)-level custom framing, but targeted to SecondMoonshot customers to educate and provide details on the products we use and why for any specific level of framing. There are many variables that also come into any frame job such as intent of the picture, the environment it will reside in, design choices, and of course budget (among others) that may move towards one set of materials over another. SecondMoonshot is very pragmatic and will balance appropriate materials for the job presented against target budget (or desired preservation target) in recommendations to customers.

Here I will be providing the list of different materials used in a common framing job such as a print and what we use differently between a Conservation vs Preservation (or Museum) level framing. As you might expect, the materials used for the Preservation-level framing are significantly higher quality in every respect and used by museums and conservators and as a result, you can expect the Preservation-level framing to cost 2x to 3x or more than Conservation-level framing. There are always other options, but these are the materials we generally use.

Conservation framing protects artwork from standard environmental degradation using passive defense systems. It uses acid-free, buffered alpha-cellulose matboards (like Crescent Select) and standard UV-filtering glazing to guarantee protection for 50 to 150 years. It is appropriate for high-quality everyday framing, limited edition prints, and family keepsakes where excellent longevity is desired, but the item lacks extreme historic or financial value. This level of framing makes up more than 95% of our framing business.

Preservation and Museum framing delivers the absolute highest tier of archival protection designed to last indefinitely over generations. It relies on active defense systems, utilizing 100% cotton rag matboards (like Crescent RagMat Museum or Bainbridge AlphaRag), pollutant-trapping zeolite technology (Artcare) to absorb airborne gases, and anti-reflective, anti-static museum glazing. This tier is strictly appropriate for rare historical artifacts, original fine art, valuable investments, and highly sensitive mediums (like charcoal or alternative-process photography) that require a perfectly controlled, non-destructive micro-environment.

While "archival" is widely used as a catchy marketing blanket term for anything meant to protect art, professional museum bodies—like the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) or the Fine Art Trade Guild—actually avoid using it as a formal technical standard because it lacks a strict legal definition. Instead, "archival" serves as the popular consumer shorthand for two distinct, highly regulated professional standards: Preservation Framing (using chemically inert materials to shield art from environmental damage) and Conservation Framing (mandating that every single treatment can be 100% reversed in the future). Ultimately, when a product or process is labeled "archival," it means it sits at the intersection of these two methodologies, offering safety on display and total reversibility for the future.

Here is how those two professional standards break down:

Industry Standard	What it Actually Means
Preservation Framing	Focuses on protection. It uses chemically inert, acid-free materials to guard the artwork against environmental threats like UV light, humidity, and acid migration. The goal is to keep the art safe while it is on display.
Conservation Framing	Focuses on future reversibility. It follows strict museum ethics. Not only does it protect the art, but it mandates that every single thing done to the artwork (like the hinges or adhesives) can be 100% undone by a future conservator without causing a microscopic bit of damage.

Framing to these levels does not always have to be black or white and certainly one can bring any specific element from a higher level to a lower level - either for cosmetic or conservation/preservation purposes. So you can bring rag mats into your Conservation framing, and even bring some of the Conservation framing into non-Conservation framing; both are very common. As a result, while I offer full Conservation and Preservation framing, I also have a designation of Pragmatic Conservation and Pragmatic Preservation which brings a majority of the benefits of each, although takes lower cost/effort approaches with elements a distant away from the artwork achieving 90%+ of the level benefits.

Most of our supply sourcing is through International Moulding (IM) so numbers may be specific to them. Some item numbers may vary for oversized materials and size variations in manufacturer packaging.

Admittedly, much of the narrative content was consolidated from Gemini AI queries and validated.

Matting

SecondMoonshot primarily uses Crescent Brands (which includes Bainbridge) products.

• Conservation: Crescent Select -or- Bainbridge Alphamat Artcare

Both Crescent Select and Bainbridge Alphamat Artcare are 100% alpha cellulose top-tier, conservation-grade matboards. They both meet the Fine Art Trade Guild (FATG) Level 2 standards for preservation framing, meaning they are acid-free, lignin-free, and designed to protect artwork from deteriorating over time. Expected lifetime is 50 to 150 years.

Crescent Select matboards provide traditional, high-end passive protection. It delivers exceptional, time-tested protection against "acid burn" without using specialized molecular additives, ensuring the mat itself will not degrade or bleed onto your art.

Choose Crescent Select when your primary goal is finding a highly specific aesthetic, as it offers a massive, trend-forward palette of vibrant colors, specialized fabric textures (like suedes and linens), and slightly oversized sheets for guaranteed yield in high-end conservation framing.

Bainbridge Alphamat Artcare provides an extra layer of active protection with its MicroChamber technology (zeolites), making it highly recommended for environments with high pollution, humidity, or smoke, and for highly sensitive mediums like photography.

Choose Bainbridge Alphamat Artcare when framing moderately sensitive items like modern photography, or when the frame will hang in urban, humid, or smoky environments; its patented active zeolite technology will continuously trap and filter harmful atmospheric pollutants out of the sealed frame package. 

• Preservation: Crescent Bainbridge AlphaRag Artcare -or- Crescent Ragmat Museum Solids

Moving up to Bainbridge AlphaRag ArtCare and Crescent RagMat Museum means entering the "gold standard" of picture framing. Both lines are Museum-Grade (FATG Level 1), the absolute highest archival tier available. Expected lifetime is hundreds of years to indefinite.

Crescent RagMat Museum  is made of naturally acid-free, 100% virgin cotton fibers passively protected by a 3% to 5% calcium carbonate alkaline buffer. This time-tested system neutralizes acids on contact, while its heavily pigmented solid core ensures a flawless, fade-resistant color throughout the entire board and cut bevel. This line offers a wider array of color options and is also available in a few unbuffered versions.

Choose Crescent RagMat Museum if you are framing sensitive alternative-process photography (like cyanotypes) that strictly dictates an unbuffered environment, or if you want a deeply saturated, pigment-dyed solid cotton color to match a specific fine art piece.  

Bainbridge AlphaRag ArtCare combines a 100% cotton base with patented MicroChamber® technology, embedding synthetic zeolites directly into the fibers. This creates an active molecular sieve that continuously traps airborne pollutants and artwork off-gassing, pairing cotton’s natural, multi-century longevity with proactive chemical filtration. This line offers a narrower array of color options and is also available in a pure white unbuffered version.

Choose Bainbridge AlphaRag ArtCare if you are framing extremely valuable, traditional black-and-white photography, rare documents, or investments where proactive, maximum environmental defense against city pollution or atmospheric gases is your top priority.

For 95% of artwork (including modern photographs, digital prints, watercolors, and wood-pulp papers), buffered mats are preferred because environmental acid is the primary enemy. Save unbuffered mats specifically for historic blue-toned photography, animal-based textiles, and ancient iron-ink documents.

Mounting Board

SecondMoonshot primarily uses Crescent Brands (which includes Bainbridge) products.

• Conservation: Crescent Select Mat Board (Neutral Color)

Using a Crescent Select matboard (front) as a mounting board is an excellent, cost-effective choice for conservation-level framing because it is crafted from 100% alpha-cellulose fibers. By chemically stripping out all harmful wood lignins during manufacturing, the board is guaranteed never to degrade or transfer "acid burn" to the artwork. Passively buffered with calcium carbonate to maintain a stable, alkaline pH, it provides a structurally rigid, flat, and chemically inert foundation. This ensures the hinged artwork remains safely supported on a Level 2 conservation-standard substrate designed to protect it for up to 150 years.

It was counter-intuitive to me that you are supposed to mount on the papered side of the Crescent Select mat board; logic to me was that the main matting has the back to the print, so therefore when using a mat board as a mounting board, you should use the back. Wrong, its the front. Short reason is that coverage ratio on the front is small, thus low impact to actual image area and the paper is bleed and fade resistant, smoother, and ability to color-match if needed. Go figure.

• Preservation: Crescent Bainbridge 2-Ply RagMat Solids (1150/1152/1157)

Crescent RagMat® Museum Solids 2-Ply boards are museum-grade barrier and mounting boards crafted from 100% virgin cotton fibers. Naturally acid- and lignin-free, these boards utilize a traditional 3% to 5% calcium carbonate alkaline buffer to passively neutralize environmental acids. They are pigment-dyed for excellent fade and bleed resistance, making them an essential, conservation-level lining component to isolate and protect artwork from backing materials within a sealed frame package.

Backing Board/Fill

• Conservation: Bainbridge Acid-free Foam Core (AF3240.3C/AF3240.2C)

Bainbridge Conservation Acid-Free Foam Core utilizes facing papers made from 100% alpha-cellulose fibers that are fully buffered to maintain a stable, alkaline pH. This provides traditional passive protection, ensuring that the backing layers will not degrade or transfer acid to the art. It also serves as an excellent archival mounting board for everyday (non-conservation) custom framing when dependable shielding from acid migration is required.

• Preservation: Bainbridge Artcare Acid-free Foam Core (AC3240.3C/AC3240.2C )

Bainbridge Artcare Archival Foam Core elevates backing protection to a museum level by embedding patented MicroChamber® technology and synthetic zeolites directly into its alpha-cellulose liners. These molecular traps function as an active filtration system, proactively capturing atmospheric pollutants and neutralizing the natural outgassing of the inner polystyrene core before it can reach the artwork. This makes it the ultimate choice for shielding high-value or sensitive pieces from internal and external deterioration.

Mounting/Hinging

Huge fan of Klucel-G!

• Conservation: Klucel-G (Lineco or TalasOnline) & Japanese Tissue (TalasOnline) -or- Lineco Polypropylene Mounting Corners (533-0035/533-0037, etc.)

We typically use Klucel-G with Gampi, Kozo, and Tengujo tissues and papers in weights varying between 5gm and 18gsm depending on need, always a lighter weight than the art being mounted so should a failure occur, the mounts will fail before the art. See below for a little more on Klucel-G.

We will use the mounting corners when we have a heavier weight paper with clean edges and reinforced them with additional acid-free tapes noted in the Tape Sealing section below.

• Preservation: Japanese Tissue (TalasOnline) with either Klucel-G or Wheat Paste (Lineco or TalasOnline)

Klucel-G (hydroxypropyl cellulose) is a highly stable, chemically inert cellulose ether widely used by paper and art conservators as a gentle, reversible adhesive. Because it dissolves in polar organic solvents like isopropyl alcohol or ethanol, it allows preservation professionals to hinge and repair delicate or water-sensitive artwork without causing the warping, cockling, or tide-lines associated with water-based pastes. One of its greatest practical advantages is its shelf life: while traditional cooked wheat starch paste spoils within a few days, a mixed gel of Klucel-G and alcohol has an indefinite shelf life when stored in a tightly sealed, airtight container. The alcohol acts as a built-in preservative that prevents mold and bacterial growth; furthermore, if the solvent does eventually evaporate over time, the gel can be easily revived back to its ideal consistency simply by adding a bit more alcohol.

Wheat Paste is the Gold Standard for hinging with Japanese papers, although is time consuming to use and we will use it for special cases or customer request.

In addition to the above, for both Conservation and Preservation-level framing, we will sometimes use hingeless mounting techniques known as Platform and Sink Mounting, where the artwork sits in a pocket within the appropriate mounting board allowing it to expand and contract with temperature and humidity changes and requires no form of adhesive to touch the art.

Tape Sealing the Glass, Mats, Mounting Board and Backing Stack

Why: Tape-sealing the glass, mats, and backing board into a unified "sandwich" creates a sealed micro-environment that permanently blocks dust, tiny insects, and airborne pollutants from entering the frame. It acts as a crucial thermal and humidity buffer, preventing paper from warping during rapid weather shifts, while physically isolating the artwork from any acidic vapors outgassed by the surrounding wood frame. This simple step ensures the clean airspace around the art remains completely undisturbed and chemically stable over time.

• Conservation: Acid-Free Artist Tape (IM 3/4" 60300 or 1" 60305)

Acid-Free Artist Tape is used for day-to-day conservation-level package sealing. Because it is chemically inert and pH-neutral, it will not outgas harmful acidic vapors or stain your matting and mounting boards while effectively blocking dust, pests, and minor humidity shifts. This could probably be debated, but I find it sticks very well, may not be permanent, but that can work for me as I sometimes have to remove it to get that pesky beard hair. And I find it sticks pretty darn well when properly burnished.

• Preservation: Filmoplast P90 Plus (IM 60269)

Filmoplast P90 Plus is an exceptional choice for sealing the glass, mat, and backing board sandwich into a permanent, museum-grade micro-environment. Crafted from a heavy-duty, wood-free, and acid-free white paper carrier, this tape is buffered with calcium carbonate to actively neutralize ambient acidity. What sets the "Plus" formulation apart is its high-tack, high-shear-strength acrylic adhesive, which has successfully passed the rigorous Photographic Activity Test (PAT). Unlike standard archival tapes that creep or lift under stress, Filmoplast P90 Plus is specifically engineered to withstand continuous physical tension, locking the compressed frame package together to form an unyielding barrier against dust, moisture, and destructive atmospheric pollutants.

Rabbet Sealing

Why: You seal the rabbet to create an impenetrable barrier that prevents the acids, lignins, and volatile resins naturally present in raw wood from migrating into the frame package. Without a seal, these wood vapors slowly outgas over time, causing localized "acid burn," discoloration, and structural decay along the edges of the matboard and artwork. Sealing the rabbet also acts as a shield against moisture and sap, ensuring the internal micro-environment of the frame remains dry, stable, and chemically inert.

For hopefully obvious reasons, this is not needed with metal (i.e. Nielsen) frames at any level of framing.

• Conservation: Lineco Frame Sealing Tape (387-0155)

Rabbet sealing is not strictly required for standard conservation framing—especially when a wide window mat keeps the artwork safely away from the wood.

Sealing wood rabbets is always highly recommended for conservation framing if the artwork sits close to the frame edges.

• Preservation: Lineco Frame Sealing Tape (387-0155)

The primary benefit of using Lineco Frame Sealing Tape (387-0155) for sealing wood rabbets is that its genuine aluminum foil core acts as an absolute, impenetrable barrier against the harmful acids, lignins, and resins naturally present in raw wood. Wood outgassing is a leading cause of localized "acid burn" on the edges of matboards and artwork over time. By lining the rabbet with this pressure-sensitive, acid-free foil tape, you completely block moisture and destructive wood vapors from migrating into your sealed framing package.

Glazing (Glass or Acrylic)

SecondMoonshot exclusively uses TruVue glazing products.

• Conservation: TruVue Conservation Clear Glass or Acrylic

For standard high-quality custom framing, we use Tru Vue Conservation Clear® glass and acrylic.

TruVue Conservation Clear® glass and acrylic is the industry standard for UV defense, blocking 99% of harmful UV rays to prevent fading. The 2.5mm glass offers traditional rigidity, while the shatter-resistant acrylic provides lightweight safety for oversized pieces. Because this line lacks anti-reflective engineering, it retains a standard 8% light reflection, making it perfect for environments where UV protection is vital but glare isn't a primary concern.

• Preservation: TruVue Museum Glass or Optium Museum Acrylic

For high-value items, fine art prints, and irreplaceable heirlooms, our Preservation tier steps up exclusively to Tru Vue Museum Glass® (or Optium Museum Acrylic®)

TruVue Museum Glass® and Optium Museum Acrylic® offer the ultimate in clarity, pairing 99% UV blockage with a specialized anti-reflective coating that slashes reflections to less than 1.6% for a virtually invisible look. While the glass version is the gallery standard, the premium Optium Acrylic adds a permanent anti-static charge—allowing it to safely face loose mediums like charcoal or pastel without pulling dust—alongside an abrasion-resistant hard coat that protects against micro-scratching.

Quick Comparison:

Framing Tier	Glazing Product	UV Protection	Reflection / Glare
Conservation	Tru Vue Conservation Clear®	99% UV Block	Standard Gloss
Preservation	Tru Vue Museum Glass®	99% UV Block	Anti-Reflective (<1%)

Dust Covers

• Conservation: Lineco Acid-free Backing Paper (Gray) (613-0035)

Using Lineco Acid-Free Backing Paper (Gray) as a dust cover provides a crucial archival upgrade over standard brown kraft paper, which naturally contains acidic wood lignins that degrade frame packages over time. This 40 lb premium paper is chemically inert, acid-free, and buffered with a 3% calcium carbonate reserve to actively neutralize environmental acidity. It has passed the rigorous Photographic Activity Test (PAT), verifying its safety for long-term archival use. Furthermore, its moderate porosity allows the frame package to "breathe"—preventing harmful moisture traps while sealing out dust and pests—and it is tough enough to resist accidental punctures far better than basic utility papers.

• Preservation: Lineco Acid-free Backing Paper (Gray) (613-0035)

Same as above.

ATG Tapes or Glues

These adhesives are primarily used for securing the dust cover to the frame, hinging the matting to the mounting/backing board (book hinging) and to secure multiple mats together.

Why? Pressure-sensitive tapes rely on a soft, semi-liquid chemical adhesive that bonds instantly when pressed onto a surface. Over time, these synthetic adhesives inevitably degrade, undergoing a chemical breakdown that causes them to oxidize, yellow, and leach oily byproducts into surrounding paper fibers—a destructive process known as "acid migration." This results in irreversible dark staining and renders the paper brittle. Furthermore, as the adhesive ages, it either transforms into a gummy, sticky residue that ruins the artwork or cures into a hardened shell that is incredibly difficult to remove without harsh chemical solvents like acetone, which can dissolve the art's original mediums. For preservation framing, where every material must be chemically stable and fully reversible, pressure-sensitive tapes pose too high a risk of permanent physical and aesthetic damage.

• Conservation: 3M 924 ATG Tape (IM 60075) -and- Lineco Neutral pH PVA Glue (901-1032) -and- Lineco Self-Adhesive Linen Hinging Tape (533-1055)

We use the 3M 924 ATG Tape for the dust cover, Lineco Neutral pH PVA Glue for affixing multiple mats, and Lineco Self-Adhesive Linen Hinging Tape for book hinging the matting to the mounting/backing board.

• Preservation: Lineco Neutral pH PVA Glue (901-1032) -and- Lineco Gummed Linen Hinging Tape (533-1025) -and- 3M 908 Gold ATG Tape

Lineco Neutral pH PVA Glue is the museum-grade standard for joining double mats because it creates a permanent, flexible, and chemically inert bond by locking the cotton fibers of the two boards together without adding any bulk. Unlike pressure-sensitive ATG tapes—which dry out, fail, and risk bleeding acidic oils into the mat boards over time—this polyvinyl acetate adhesive is formulated to remain pH-neutral and structurally stable for centuries. Because it dries completely flat and transparent, it eliminates the bumps that tape would cause, keeping the mat layers perfectly flush and prevent any shifting or warping that could compromise the artwork. For these same reasons, we also use it to affix the dust cover to the frame or we often use 3M 908 Gold ATG Tape provided the art is a distance away from the rabbet (i.e. matted).

A worthy (if not better) glue for any use on the framing from attaching the dust cover, joining multiple mats, or other uses is Talas Jade R-1. Occasionally I will put a few drops between the mat and the mounting board to keep it from shifting when I have to ensure a precise placement doesn't shift...this is perfect for that job. This glue is fully reversible when moistened with water for 20-30 seconds.

For museum-grade book hinging, the undisputed standard is Lineco Gummed Linen Hinging Tape. Unlike sticky, pressure-sensitive alternatives, this tape features a water-activated, starch-based adhesive that is acid-free, chemically stable, and 100% reversible with water should the frame ever need to be disassembled. Its heavy-duty, high-thread-count woven fabric provides the exceptional tensile strength required to support heavy cotton mat boards, ensuring the hinge spine will never crack, tear, or slip over decades of use.

In Closing

I have learned a lot as I research the contents of this post and revised my product selections to ensure the highest quality for the target framing level. As I noted up top, I make no claim to being the author of all this content (yeah, some of it), but find it a great personal reference for the proper materials to use for the desired framing levels.

I have no belief that this list is perfect and I embrace opportunities to learn and improve. Has every framing job I have done in the past that I believed to have been at a true Conservation or Preservation-level actually at that level? No. Will I take these learnings forward to raise the workmanship, quality, appropriateness and compliance of the target level? Yes. Will I miss the mark on occasion? Probably. But for every mistake I make, I get two benefits back: 1) I improve the process or skill to avoid in the future, and 2) I learn how to correct the mistake (if correctable)....I love mistakes as long as they don't break every framers Golden Rule: "Do no harm or unreversibly change to the framed artwork/memorabilia".

When I stepped into the custom framing world in 2021, I didn't try to learn the 'industry standard'—because standard usually means cutting corners. My background is in healthcare IT and software development, which means my default setting is absolute technical precision. Whenever I approach a new area to build expertise, I don’t just mimic what’s out there. I dive deep into the research, experiment relentlessly, and innovate from the ground up. Only after I've mastered the underlying science do I look at how the rest of the framing industry operates—usually just to see how I can do it better or find what l might have overlooked. I don't rely on twenty years of outdated habits because, let's face it... materials and science have changed dramatically over the last decade. I open a LOT of old frames, and trust me: I learn more from seeing what not to do than from looking at what the industry calls the 'right way.' Instead of legacy shortcuts, I rely on a hyper-focused, data-driven obsession to give your artwork a level of flawless, uncompromised preservation that traditional shops simply don't replicate. I am obsessed with perfection and continuous improvement.

Please share your feedback!

Author's Note: A portion of this content was authored with the assistance of AI, mostly for wordsmithing my original technical notes.

Disclaimer: Any links provided are direct links. SecondMoonshot is not an affiliate for any manufacturer, product, or service referenced. We independently purchase and use the products and services mentioned.