Ultraviolet light does its damage quietly. Nothing changes day to day; then one afternoon you take a print down and the paper behind the mat is a different colour from the paper in front of it.
What ordinary glass blocks
Standard float glass stops less than half of the UV that reaches it, and its iron content adds a faint green cast to everything behind it. It's cheap, it's heavy, and it breaks.
What UV-filtering acrylic blocks
Conservation-grade acrylic filters around 99% of UV between 300 and 380 nanometres, weighs half as much, and won't shatter over your artwork if the wire lets go. The anti-reflective versions reflect under 1% of visible light, so the glazing effectively disappears.
- Watercolours, pastels, and photographs are the most fugitive - always specify UV glazing.
- Keep framed work out of direct sun regardless of glazing.
- Rotate pieces in bright rooms every few years.
Every frame we ship is glazed with UV-filtering acrylic as standard. It's the single most effective thing you can do for a work on paper.