What Depth Floating Frame Do I Need?
Short answer: match the frame to the depth of your art. Most store-bought canvases are about 3/4 inch deep. Gallery-wrapped canvases are about 1 1/2 inches. Thin panels and boards are usually 1/8 to 1/4 inch. Measure from the back of the art to the painted face.
Common depths
| What you have | Typical depth | How to spot it |
|---|---|---|
| Thin panel or board | 1/8 to 1/4 inch | Flat and rigid, no stretcher bars |
| Thin canvas | 5/8 inch | Common on budget and craft-store canvases |
| Standard canvas | 3/4 inch | The most common depth by far |
| Gallery-wrapped canvas | 1 1/2 inches | The painting continues around the sides |
| Deep canvas or cradled panel | 2 inches | Thick sides that stand well off the wall |
Don't guess from the table. Measure.
How to measure depth
Set the art on its edge. Measure from the back to the front face. On a canvas, that's the back of the stretcher bar to the painted face. Round to the nearest 1/8 inch.
If the depth varies, use the largest number. Here's the full measuring guide, including width and height.
Why depth matters
A floating frame has no lip holding the art in. The art sits inside it, so the frame's depth decides where the painted face lands.
Matched to your piece, the face sits at or just below the front edge of the frame. Too shallow, and it sticks out past the front. It happens with off-the-shelf frames all the time.
Framing a thin panel or board
Plenty of art isn't on a stretched canvas. The same floating frame works for flat, rigid pieces too:
- Canvas panels and canvas boards: canvas glued over board, about 1/8 inch
- Hardboard and gessoed panels: Masonite, Gessobord, Claybord and similar, 1/8 to 1/4 inch
- Wood panels: birch plywood or MDF, usually 1/4 inch when they aren't cradled
- Aluminum composite: ACM or Dibond, about 1/8 inch
Panels like these are too thin to take a screw from the back, so they go in a different way. Tell me it's a panel when you order. I leave a few spots on the shelf inside the frame unfinished, so there's raw wood for the adhesive to grip, and I include a tube of clear adhesive. You put a dab on each spot, set the panel in, center it with a couple of cards, and rest something light on top for 24 hours. That's it.
A cradled panel, with wood sides 3/4 inch or deeper, goes in with screws just like a canvas. Works on paper, like drawings and watercolors on illustration board, usually need glass. Send me a note and I'll tell you what I'd do.
What I offer
Every canvas frame comes in 1/8, 1/2, 3/4, 1, 1 1/2, and 2 inch depths. If yours is something else, enter the exact depth to the nearest 1/8 inch, anywhere from 1/8 to 2 inches.
Depth never changes the price.
Quick answers
Does a deeper canvas cost more to frame?
Not with me. The price depends on size and wood only.
Can you frame a painting on a thin panel?
Yes. Choose the depth that matches it, usually 1/8 or 1/4 inch, and tell me it's a panel. It goes in with the adhesive I include instead of screws.
My canvas is deeper than 2 inches. Can you frame it?
Send me the size and I'll tell you what I can do.
Is a gallery-wrapped canvas worth framing?
Many people hang them bare, and that's fine. A floating frame protects the edges and finishes the piece, and the painted sides still show in the gap.
What if I order the wrong depth?
I check every measurement before I cut and email you if something looks off. If it still isn't right when it arrives, email me and I'll make it right. There's no time limit on returns.