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Although Hahnemuhle 10 x 15.75" Standard Gallerie Photo Wrap is a bad product, there are some better alternatives to it. One of them is Hahnemuhle Standard Gallerie Wrap System. It consists of stretcher bars of various length, positioning corners and holding pins (staples).

Hahnemuhle Gallerie Wrap Holding Pins (100 Pack)

Hahnemuhle Standard Gallerie Wrap Positioning Corners (also includes glue which I do not recommend to use)

That is what in the box with Hahnemuhle Standard Gallerie Wrap Positioning Corners.

A pack of 20 stretcher bars (these happened to be 10 inch bars). In reality, unless you create square wraps, you need two lengths of bars. For 13 x 19 prints you will need 10- and 14-inch bars.

Box of stretcher bars also includes corner pins and corner braces (for five wraps).

That's how stretcher bars look like. As with Gallerie Wrap Frame, one side of bars has adhesive coating that initially is covered by a yellow protective tape.

There are two big conceptual differences between Hahnemuhle Gallerie Wrap and Wrap System. The latter does not include canvas - you buy it separately. Also, with Wrap System you position bars with special positioning corners, whereas with Gallerie Wrap, bars are held in place by paper. You will quickly discover that the Wrap System approach is more convenient and results in much better wraps.

Another picture illustrating the difference in finished wraps. Flatter surface of the Hahnemuhle Gallerie Standard Wrap (right side) looks much better than the convex relief of the Photo Wrap.

Let me start with saying that Hahnemuhle Gallerie Standard and Professional Wraps are a better solution for wrap frames than their Gallerie Photo Wrap sibling covered previously. I would highlight the following advantages of "standard" and "pro" wraps over "photo" ones :

1. Significantly lower costs of supply materials
2. More professional look of finished frames
3. Easier positioning of the frame

Costs

For this review I used wrap frame to frame 13" x 19" picture - a popular size for those who use such printers as Canon Pro 9500 Mark II, Epson Stylus R1900 and HP Photosmart Pro B8850. Stretcher bars recommended for this wrap frame size are 10" and 16" - that's because the depth of Gallerie Standard Wraps is 1¼ ". If you print with ¼" margins, maximum final wrap size you can get from 13" x 19" print is 10" x 16". Using similar calculations, the maximum final wrap size from 8½" x 11" print turns out to be 5½ x 6". Since the minimum length of stretcher bars is 8", you cannot wrap frame letter size pictures with Hahnemuhle Gallerie Standard Wraps (however, as mentioned in the first part of the review there is a smaller Hahnemuhle Gallerie Wrap that can be used for such sizes).

Note that the depth of Gallerie Pro Wraps is 1¾" - ½" more than with Gallerie Standard Wraps. It results in additional 1" loss of the original print surface in each dimension making Gallerie Pro Wraps not practical even for 13" x 19" prints.

Gallerie Standard Wrap Bars are packaged in packs of two, or dozen, or 20 (positioning corner brackets must purchased separately - this is one time purchase; corner braces (for extra strength) and mounting pins (staples) are included). The following table gives you current prices (July 2010) for 10" x 16" wrap frames:

Mounting Gallerie Standard and Pro Wraps

The framing process using Gallerie Standard and Pro Wraps is mostly the same as with Photo Wraps discussed in the first part. The main difference is that the Photo Wrap package has already wrap frame assembled (where bars are glued to a piece of paper). Standard and Pro Wraps require positioning corners to create a frame.

This difference has another effect: since the depth of positioning corners is greater than the depth of stretcher bars, it is much easier to position the whole frame over the print. In particular, you can move the frame as much as you want, whereas with Photo Wraps it is a "target and shoot" operation.

Pictures on the right side illustrate details of mounting a print using Gallerie Standard Wrap. The process is straightforward and can be completed in several minutes. One detail that may be not clear from looking at my gallery is the use of glue supplied in the same box with positioning corners. According to manufactures instructions it is supposed to be used from the inside of the frame to secure the back of the print to stretcher bars. I would not recommend to do this. In my experience, the glue with time can redistribute the tension of the canvas so that the inner internal border of the wrap frame becomes visible on the print surface.

The difference in finished
wraps created with
Hahnemuhle Gallerie
Standard Wrap (darker
picture in front) and
Photo Wrap.

Finally, I would like to point the what I believe is the biggest advantage of Gallerie Standard and Pro Wraps versus Photo Wraps. If you look at this photo, you will see that Photo Wrap does not create a uniform flat surface. Instead, along all its edges, there is a distinct convex shape that make frames created with Photo Wraps look unprofessional.

The reason for that appearance is the paper (used to position stretcher bars in Photo Wrap kits). When mounted, the paper remain inside the frame making it impossible to achieve the flat surface characteristic for any gallery wrap framing.

Step 1: You start off your wrap with creating a frame using bars and positioning corners. Note that corners have dents inside that should fit cutouts in bars. This is to make sure that bars can be assembled only in a predetermined way.

Press firmly so that ends of stretch bars are set in corners. Do not peel yet yellow tape - it is much easier to handle the assembly this way.

So, now you have a rectangular frame - foundation of future wrap.

Step 2: Keep in mind that the height of standard stretcher bars is 1 1/4 inches - good part of your print will be lost. That may require some careful positioning of your image against the frame even if it means playing with fractions of an inch. To make you life easier, mark the back side of your image with liners where you want your frame exactly. It also helps deal with white margins on your print - you do not want them to show up on wraps.

Step 3: peel of the tape.

Step 4: position your frame on the print. Since bars are sitting inside the corners and the corners' pockets are deeper than the height of bars, you can freely move the frame over the print (not possible with Wrap Frame where bars are help by paper)

Step 5: Press firmly each bar one by one so that they stick to the back of the print.

Step 6: remove positioning corners.

Step 7: insert corner braces.

Here is your wrap ready. As always, consider protecting it with a special spay with varnish.