{"id":1585314,"date":"2026-11-12T11:32:06","date_gmt":"2026-11-12T11:32:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jacksonsart.com\/blog\/?p=1585314"},"modified":"2026-11-12T11:32:06","modified_gmt":"2026-11-12T11:32:06","slug":"how-to-float-frame-artwork-on-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jacksonsart.com\/blog\/2026\/11\/12\/how-to-float-frame-artwork-on-paper\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Float Frame Artwork on Paper"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you want your entire artwork on paper to be visible in the frame, rather than covering the edges with a mount, you can use a technique called float mounting<\/em>. With this framing method, your artwork on paper is secured from behind, creating the illusion that your work is floating within the frame. This article explains how to float frame a watercolour painting, drawing, or print using either a ready-made frame<\/a> or a frame from our Bespoke Frame Builder<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Our How to Frame Artwork<\/a><\/em> series covers the fundamentals of framing your artwork through clear, visual guides.<\/p>\n

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What is a Float Frame?<\/h2>\n

Most artworks made on paper \u2013 including watercolours, drawings, pastels, and original prints \u2013 are framed using a window mount that covers the edges of the artwork and is visible in the frame. But if you wish to show the whole piece of paper, including its edges, you can use a deeper frame fitted with spacers. These are strips of wood that are hidden beneath the frame moulding and raise the glass away from the artwork. With float mounting, the artwork is secured from behind and appears to float within the frame.<\/p>\n

At Jackson\u2019s, we offer ready-made deep frames with spacers for float mounting in seven standard sizes<\/a>, from 6 x 8 inches to 12 x 16 inches. Available in black or white, these frames come complete with acrylic glazing, backing board, mountboard, and hanging hardware. <\/p>\n

We also have six styles of moulding suitable for float framing to choose from in our Bespoke Frame Builder<\/a>. These can be custom-built to your dimensions in sizes from 12.7 cm to 80 cm. For moulding styles suitable for this method, look for the word ‘spacers’ in the product description. For these bespoke options you will need to order the glazing, boards, and hardware separately at the bottom of the page.<\/p>\n

If you are using a ready-made float frame, it comes completely assembled. However, our bespoke frames are self-assembly; please see How to Assemble Jackson\u2019s Bespoke Frames<\/a><\/em> for the initial steps of frame assembly. <\/p>\n

Once your frame is assembled, here are the next steps for float mounting, also known as box framing.<\/p>\n

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How to Assemble the Spacers in Your Float Frame<\/h2>\n

With the bespoke float frames you will need to insert the spacers after you have built the frame. The spacers’ job is to hold the glazing to the front of the frame and the mountboard to the back. First, you will need to insert the glazing into the frame. Peel the backing off the adhesive tape on the spacers and insert them next. Then, insert the mountboard with the artwork attached. Finally, you add the backing board and close up the frame as you would any other frame.<\/p>\n

1.<\/strong> The acrylic glazing comes with a protective film on the front and the back; peel that off and dust off the glazing.<\/p>\n

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2.<\/strong> From the back of the frame, carefully lower the clean glazing into the frame.<\/p>\n

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3.<\/strong> Arrange the four spacers along the inside edges of the frame so there are no visible gaps.<\/p>\n

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This shows a gap between the spacers. Arrange the four strips so that any gaps are hidden in the corners and cannot be seen from the front of the frame.<\/p>\n

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4.<\/strong> Peel the backing off of the tape.<\/p>\n

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5.<\/strong> Stick the spacers to the inside of the frame, pressing the glazing in place at the front. The mountboard with the artwork will now sit on the ledge behind the spacers, leaving a significant gap between the artwork and the glazing in front.<\/p>\n

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Below shows a ready-made float frame with the spacers already installed. The gap between the spacers is correctly hidden in the corner, leaving an uninterrupted black interior around the frame.<\/p>\n

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How to Float Mount a Work on Paper<\/h2>\n

If you want the entire piece of paper to be visible, a deep frame with spacers is an ideal option. Perhaps you have painted right to the edge of the paper and don\u2019t want any of the artwork covered, or your paper has a lovely deckled edge that you want to show. You might be framing a work by another artist who has signed or titled it near the edge, or a charcoal or pastel drawing where you want to avoid loose material being rubbed off by a window mount. In these cases, a deep frame with spacers will allow you to use ‘S-hinges’ so that the artwork floats in the centre of the frame.<\/p>\n

The amount of space the work floats in is entirely up to you. The artwork can be very close to the edge of the frame, because you only want the edge visible to show some pencil writing near the edge of the paper perhaps, or it can be a small artwork floated in the centre of a large frame to create a dramatic effect. It can be attractive to have equal borders on the top, left, and right sides, but make the bottom border a bit larger. This is known as \u2018bottom weighting\u2019.<\/p>\n

Hinging for Float Mounting<\/h2>\n

If the painting is wavy or cockled, you may wish to flatten the work before framing. This article gives some advice on that step: How to Flatten a Buckled Watercolour Painting<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

For this float mounting method, the connection pieces are hidden behind the artwork. You will be suspending the work using hinges made of tabs of tape in a similar way to the ones shown in How to Frame Artwork on Paper<\/a><\/em>. But instead of attaching the tape to the top edge of the artwork, you will be attaching it on the back, a little below the top edge. With this method of float framing, instead of securing the other end of the tape on the backing board above the work, where it would be hidden by a window mount on top of it, you will pass the tape through a slit hidden behind the artwork and attach it to the reverse side. This is called an S-hinge<\/em> because as the tape curves from the back of the artwork, through the slit and up the back of the mountboard, it creates an \u2018S\u2019 shape. They are also called ‘pass-through hinges’ or ‘pendant hinges’. <\/p>\n

The three types of materials you can use for this technique are acid-free gummed paper tape<\/a> that you activate by wetting, archival linen hinging tape<\/a>, and methyl cellulose paste<\/a> that you use with small torn pieces of mulberry tissue paper<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Your Choices of Tape for Hinge Mounting<\/h2>\n

There are three types of tape you can use for S-hinges. For longevity reasons, you will want to use acid-free mountboard and tape, and you will want as little adhesive touching the work as possible while still using enough contact for it to be secure over time.<\/p>\n

The most common method is to use acid-free gummed paper tape<\/a>. This is the same water-activated paper tape that you use when stretching watercolour paper. The advantage of choosing this tape is that it is reversible. At a later date, the adhesive can be wetted and removed from the artwork.<\/p>\n

You can also use the same archival linen hinging tape<\/a> we used in the window mount demonstration<\/a> and that we use here to close the back of the mount slit. This may not be as strong as the gummed paper tape, and because it is sticky, unlike the unwetted part of the gummed paper tape, it can be a bit finicky to get through the cut slit.<\/p>\n

The third type is using a strong mulberry tissue paper, such as a lightweight washi paper<\/a>, and methyl cellulose<\/a> paste to make your own tape strips. You would use this for very delicate, lightweight work. This method often uses more hinges than the other two methods, including side and bottom hinges. This is a more specialist method for fragile antique posters.<\/p>\n

I will be demonstrating the hinges with the water-activated gummed paper tape<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Pass-through, Pendant, or S-Hinges for Framing<\/h2>\n

You will need:<\/strong><\/p>\n