A concert ticket is small and its print fades with heat and light. We frame tickets, wristbands, passes, setlists and playbills with no glue on them, alone or beside the poster.
We frame what people keep from a concert or an evening at the theatre: tickets, wristbands, backstage passes on their lanyards, setlists, playbills and programmes. A setlist is the sheet listing the songs for the night, and a playbill is the booklet handed out at a theatre. They can be framed alone, as a group, or beside the tour poster. Most of these items are small and were made to be used for one evening, so the framing has two tasks: to hold each item with no glue, and to slow its fading. The work is done at 1242 Davie Street.
Why tickets fade, and what slows it
Many modern tickets are printed on thermal paper, a paper printed by heat with no ink. Heat and light keep acting on it afterwards. The print turns pale, and the whole ticket can darken if it gets hot. Two rules follow. First, a ticket stays out of a dry mounting press, a machine that bonds paper to board with heat. Second, the frame has UV glazing. Glazing means the sheet of glass or acrylic at the front, and UV glazing filters ultraviolet light, the part of daylight that fades print fastest. Scan or photograph a thermal ticket before you frame it, so the date and the seat number are saved. Older tickets printed with ink on card last longer, and they still fade in direct sun.
How each item is held
Tickets. A ticket is held by clear corners, small pockets that grip each corner and are fixed to the board behind. A stub keeps its torn edge.
Wristbands. A cloth or plastic wristband lies flat or stays in its closed ring, held by loops of fine thread.
Passes and lanyards. A laminated pass rests in a recess, a shallow space cut to its size in the board. Its lanyard is arranged in a curve and held by a few stitches.
Setlists. A setlist is a sheet of office paper, often with tape and shoe prints from the stage floor. It is hinged, held by small paper tabs along its top edge, and framed with its marks.
Playbills and programmes. A booklet rests whole in a recess cut to its height, width and thickness, with the cover showing. It lifts out when the back of the frame is opened.
The mat, the border of card around the items, and the backing board are acid-free, made so they stay free of the acid that browns paper.
With the poster, or without it
A ticket can go in the same frame as the poster from the tour. The poster takes the main opening and the ticket takes a small opening below it, both cut in one mat. The poster stays whole and is hinged, as described on our poster framing page. A ticket can also share a frame with the album, covered under record framing. Tickets from many nights can fill a grid of equal openings. Ask us at the counter about leaving some openings empty for future tickets.
Equal sizes are what make a grid look even. The Chosen One, an acrylic on canvas of a flying saucer and its beam of light above a woman in a long white dress, is 30 by 40 cm, the size of several small paintings in our gallery.
Paper tickets and a setlist fit a flat frame. A lanyard, a thick wristband or a playbill needs more room, so spacers, thin strips hidden under the edge of the frame, hold the glazing forward. A drumstick needs a shadow box, a frame built as a shallow box.
What changes the cost
The outer size, the number of openings, the glazing and the moulding, the shaped length of wood or metal the frame is cut from. A full-size poster with a ticket costs more than a ticket alone, because every part of the frame is larger. You get the quote at the counter when we have seen the items.
The same rule applies to a painting: the larger the piece, the more of every material its frame uses. Caught in the Fire is an oil on canvas, 70 by 100 cm, with a swirling figure and a red apple inside a crescent on a teal background.
Bring the items flat in a folder, and keep thermal tickets out of a hot car on the way. If you live outside Vancouver, send the size of each item and a photograph. A signed ticket, programme or photograph is covered under autograph framing.
Walk in at 1242 Davie Street during opening hours. Enter your email on this page for a 10% framing code to show at the shop, and see custom framing for everything else we frame.
How it works
1
Bring it in, or send photographs
Walk in to 1242 Davie Street during opening hours. If you are not in Vancouver, send the dimensions and a photograph and we will work from that.
2
We look at the actual piece
What it is made of, what condition it is in, and where it is going to hang all change the answer. You get a straight recommendation and a price for your piece, not a rate card.
3
It is made by hand and fitted
Cut to the piece, using conservation materials, and finished with hanging hardware rated for the actual weight.
Common questions
Why has my old concert ticket turned pale?
An old concert ticket turns pale when it is printed on thermal paper, which is printed by heat and keeps reacting to warmth and light. A wallet, a sunny shelf or a hot car speeds the change. In a frame, UV glazing and a cool, shaded wall slow further fading, and a scan saves the details that remain.
Can a concert ticket be framed with the tour poster?
Yes, a concert ticket can be framed with the tour poster in one frame. The poster takes the main opening in the mat and the ticket takes a small opening below or beside it. Both openings are cut in one sheet of acid-free mat board. The poster is hinged at its top edge and the ticket is held by clear corners.
How is a festival wristband mounted in a frame?
A festival wristband is mounted in a frame with loops of fine thread that pass around the band and through the board behind it. The band can lie flat and straight or stay in its closed ring. A spacer keeps the glazing off the clasp. No glue is used, so the wristband comes out unmarked when the threads are cut.
Can a theatre playbill be framed without taking it apart?
Yes, a theatre playbill can be framed whole. The booklet rests in a recess cut to its height, width and thickness in acid-free board, with the cover showing, and a mat overlaps its edges to keep it in place. The staples stay in and no glue is used. A ticket for the same night can take a second opening beside it.
Is heat mounting safe for a concert ticket?
Heat mounting is unsafe for a concert ticket printed on thermal paper. The heat of the press that bonds paper to board can turn the whole ticket dark, and the bond is permanent. A ticket is held by clear corners or in a recess, with no heat and no adhesive on it, so it stays readable and can be removed.
Can a setlist with tape and marks on it be framed as it is?
Yes, a setlist with tape and marks on it can be framed as it is. The sheet is hinged at its top edge to acid-free board, and the tape, folds and shoe prints stay visible, because they show the sheet was on the stage. Old tape can stain paper as it ages, so ask us at the counter whether to leave it on.
Can I add more tickets to a frame later?
More tickets can be added to a frame later when spare openings are planned at the start. Each opening is cut to a ticket size, so tell us how many nights you expect to add and which ticket sizes you usually get. A new ticket then goes into an empty opening when the back of the frame is opened. Ask us at the counter about this layout.
10% off your custom framing when you show this code at our shop
We frame, stretch canvas and reframe by hand, in our own workshop inside the gallery at
1242 Davie Street. Enter your email and your code appears right here. Show it at the
counter and we take 10% off the job. The code does not expire.
Send the measurements, what it is made of, and a photograph. We will tell you what it actually needs, including when the answer is that it needs less than you expected.
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I had a wonderful experience with Van Art Hub Gallery. I came across two pieces by Melina Ghaemi — *Mad Mirrors* and *Small World in the Hands of a Stranger* — and immediately fell in love with them.
I contacted Van Art Hub Gallery, and they were incredibly helpful throughout the entire process, from arranging the payment to organizing the shipping. At first, I was a little skeptical and nervous about how everything would work, especially since the paintings were still in Iran and it was shortly after the war. But the gallery handled everything with such professionalism and care that my concerns quickly disappeared. Amazingly, they were able to get the paintings to Canada in just two days!
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A big thank you to Van Art Hub Gallery for making this experience so smooth and enjoyable. I truly appreciated their professionalism, communication, honesty, and integrity throughout the entire process. I would happily work with them again and highly recommend them to anyone interested in purchasing art through the gallery.
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