Wired Indiana

Affordable custom poster frames do exist

I collect movie posters, lithographs, and art prints related to comic books and popular science fiction shows.  The most expensive part of this hobby isn’t the posters and prints themselves but the custom frames needed for the odd sizes of many of these posters.  If you go to a framing shop and ask for a 27×40.5 aluminum frame with UV coated plexiglass and acid-free backing, you’ll probably be quoted something in the neighborhood of $200.  Like many such expenses, however, there are cheaper alternatives to be found on the web.

I discovered Hollywood Poster Frames on Ebay but have since ordered directly from their website several times.  Sue at Hollywood Poster Frames has been very polite to me on the phone and more than willing to create custom-size frames for my odd-sized posters for a reasonable fee.  The aforementioned 27×40.5 frame cost me $49.95 with free shipping because I bought two frames at once.

While I do believe in supporting local businesses whenever possible, the hundreds of dollars I save when buying certain luxury items online has allowed me to build a more impressive collection than I would have been able to afford before the days of the Internet.  Not only this, but many of my posters themselves have come from Ebay, which allows you to find a rare movie poster in a few minutes rather than the old method of spending years searching through flea markets and collectible stores.  Although the hunt used to be a big part of the fun of collecting, the ease of finding items you really want makes up for the loss of the offline hunt.