What archival matte and giclée actually mean, plus a straightforward walkthrough of our sizes, frames, and mat options.
Two decisions determine how a print will actually look and hold up on a wall: what it's printed on, and what it's printed with. We keep both fixed to a single standard across the archive rather than offering a confusing tier of "good, better, best" paper stocks, on the theory that a print you're planning to keep for years shouldn't come with an asterisk.
The Paper
Every print ships on an archival matte stock — acid-free, lignin-free, and rated for long-term display without yellowing or embrittlement. Matte finishes absorb ink into the paper fiber rather than leaving it sitting on a glossy surface coating, which is why matte blacks read as genuinely deep rather than slightly gray under angled light, and why the paper resists the fingerprint smudging and glare that glossy stock is prone to under gallery lighting or an afternoon sunbeam.
The Process
We print using giclée — a fine-art pigment inkjet process capable of laying down far more distinct ink droplets and a far wider tonal range than standard commercial printing. Pigment-based inks, unlike dye-based ones, are considerably more resistant to fading under UV exposure, which matters more than most buyers expect: it's the difference between a red that's still a red in five years and one that's drifted quietly toward pink.
Sizes
The archive is offered in five standard dimensions:
| Size | Best For |
|---|---|
| 8×10 | desks, shelves, and the smallest unit in a gallery wall grouping. |
| 11×14 | a versatile mid-size that works alone above a console or paired in twos. |
| 16×20 | the size most often chosen as a single statement piece above a sofa or bed. |
| 18×24 | noticeably more presence in a room; suited to higher ceilings or wider walls. |
| 24×36 | our largest format, built to anchor a room on its own rather than share the wall. |
Frames
Four finishes, each milled from solid wood rather than a printed laminate:
Natural Oak
light, warm-toned, reads well against neutral and Scandinavian-leaning interiors.
Walnut
a deeper, richer brown with more visual weight; a strong match for traditional or moody rooms.
Black
the most versatile of the four, disappears into most color schemes while still defining the edge of the piece.
White
clean and gallery-bright, tends to make the print itself feel more contemporary regardless of the image's actual age.
Mats
Choose between two presentations:
a wide, neutral border between print and frame edge, the traditional museum presentation; it gives the eye a resting point before the wall color begins and tends to make smaller prints read as more substantial.
the print runs edge-to-edge to the frame's inner lip, a tighter, more contemporary look that puts more of the image itself in view for the same overall frame size.
If you're unsure which combination suits a specific room, the general rule holds up reasonably well: warmer frame tones and gallery mats read as classic and settled, while black or white frames without a mat read as more current and graphic — regardless of how old the image inside actually is.
