50×70 cm Poster Frame Buying Guide: Materials, Glazing, and Backing

A 50×70 cm poster frame comes down to three materials: the frame body, the glazing that protects the print, and the backing board behind it.

Two frames that look identical on the wall can differ in whether your print survives a decade of sunlight. The frame body sets the style, but the glazing and backing decide whether the paper stays flat, fades, or sticks to the front panel. Cheap retail frames cut corners in exactly those places.

Here’s what each component does, what mass-market frames actually use, and how to tell the difference before you spend money.

What Materials Go Into A 50×70 cm Frame?

Mass-market 50×70 cm frames typically pair a fibreboard body with a paper foil finish and polystyrene front protection, while archival framing swaps in UV-filtering glazing and acid-free boards. IKEA’s FISKBO frame listings confirm the retail baseline.

• Frame body: fibreboard with a paper foil finish, per IKEA’s FISKBO 50×70 cm listings.
• Front panel: polystyrene plastic in FISKBO — not glass, despite what shoppers often assume.
• Archival route: the NEDCC says glazing can be glass or acrylic, and recommends UV-filtering glass or anti-static acrylic with at least 99 percent UV-filtering capacity for works on paper.

That last figure matters if the frame hangs anywhere near a window. Standard polystyrene offers no UV protection at all, so a sunlit wall will fade an inexpensive print within a few years.

Does Frame Size Match Visible Artwork Size?

No — a 50×70 cm frame fits 50×70 cm artwork only when no mount is used. Add a mount and the visible area shrinks, which is where most buyers get surprised.

IKEA’s RÖDALM 50×70 cm frame listing spells this out: the frame fits 50×70 cm artwork without a mount, while the mount version displays 40×50 cm artwork inside the same outer frame. If you’ve already bought a poster at full size, skip the mount version or plan to trim.

One more wrinkle: the IKEA listings available are from UK, Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Germany, and Jordan regional sites, so materials and sizing can differ slightly by market. Check the spec panel on the exact listing you’re buying rather than assuming a US catalog matches.

How Should You Lay Out The Backing And Glazing?

The NEDCC’s framing guidance is specific: the print should never touch the glazing, should mount to the primary backing board, and should never be fixed directly to the window mat or the backing board’s reverse. The window mat and primary backing board should be the same size and fit the frame with 1/16 to 1/8 inch of total play.

Mat depth has to create a gap between print and glazing. Without a mat, a spacer does the same job — and spacers can be 100 percent cotton rag board, acrylic, wood strips, or aluminum. Wood should never contact the artwork.

For backing, the NEDCC recommends 100 percent cotton rag board as the primary layer, with archival corrugated board, Coroplast, cotton honeycomb boards, or Dibond acceptable as a secondary backing. That secondary layer should sit unadhered, providing physical and thermal protection.

If you’re comparing ready-made options side by side and want the sizing and material differences laid out, our tested 50×70 cm frame roundup covers the models worth shortlisting.

What Should You Avoid?

Foam board is the biggest trap. The NEDCC explicitly says not to use it for conservation framing, along with “archival” paper-faced foam boards, Gator board, expanded PVC boards like Sintra or Komatex, lignin-containing mat boards, kraft paper, and non-archival tapes or ATG.

Those materials off-gas and stain prints over time, and the damage usually shows up years later when nothing can be reversed. For anything you care about keeping, the cotton rag board and UV-filtering glazing route is the one that holds up. For a cheap decorative print, retail fibreboard and polystyrene are fine — just don’t expect either to protect a signed piece.