What is a Backing Board?
By on 24th Apr 2026
What is a Backing Board?
A backing board is an essential component in the framing process, serving as a supportive and protective layer behind your artwork. Backing boards come in a variety of materials and specifications, each designed to meet specific needs in both conservation and everyday framing. As a trusted supplier, we ensure that our products are reliable and of the highest quality, echoing our commitment to being "Your One-Stop Shop for Professional Framers and Fine Art Experts."
Exploring the MDF Backing Board Range
MDF backing boards are a popular choice due to their rigidity and excellent dimensional stability. Our MDF boards are available in various thicknesses from 2mm to 12mm, and sizes up to 2440 x 1220mm, meaning that even the biggest jobs can be managed efficiently.
The Art-Bak Range: Tradition Meets Innovation
The Art-Bak range is specially designed with a unique curve to keep artwork flatter in the frame, ensuring a professional finish every time. Manufactured in the UK from 100% recyclable material, these boards are not only environmentally friendly but also offer excellent long-term durability. They are carbon neutral and buffered with Calcium Carbonate to guarantee pH neutrality for at least 300 years. The Art-Bak boards come in several variants – Art-Bak-S, Art- Bak-A, and Art-Bak-C, each offering specific benefits like water-resistant membranes and conservation-grade white barrier paper to meet archival requirements.
The Corri Series: Fluted Boards for Versatile Applications
Due to the fluted core, the Corri range offers a durable and lightweight alternative that is particularly easy to cut, making it a favourite amongst framers. From Corri1 to CORRIPLUSPB, the Corri series offers a wide range of products with varying specifications, ensuring a suitable backing board solution for every framing job. This range has the added benefit of a conservation grade board with an overall size of 2440mm x 1220mm, ensuring even with larger jobs, quality doesn’t need to be reduced.
The Foam Board Range: Lightweight and Rigid
Our Foam Board range offers an ideal solution where a lightweight yet dimensionally stable backing is required. With variants that include acid free and all black options, the range caters to both conservation mounting and modern aesthetic needs. Our foam board is available in a variety of sizes and thicknesses, and includes boards suitable to use in a hot press machine, making our foam board range extremely versatile.
NuBord
Nubord is a high-quality, kraft lined grey board that is an excellent, rigid alternative to MDF. Nubord is available in several options including Nubord 1, Nubord 2, Nubord 3, and NubordCon. The variety within the Nubord range means that you can choose the precise product that aligns with your specific requirements, whether the priority is minimal weight, increased rigidity, or archival-grade conservation backing.
Choosing the Right Backing Board for Your Project
Selecting the most suitable backing board depends on several factors including the type of artwork and what FATG Level of framing is needed.
MDF boards offer a cost-effective and robust solution for large scale and block mounting projects, while the Foam Board range provides a lightweight and easily manageable option for both a backing board and dry mounting jobs. The Nubord range is a great alternative to MDF with the added benefit of a conservation option. The Corri and Art-Bak series offer a wide range of boards differing in specifications making sure there’s a board to meet the specifications of every framing job.
By understanding the differences between these backing board options, our customers can confidently select the product that best meets their unique project needs, fully supported by the expertise and range offered by Wessex Pictures.