A customer walks in holding a watercolor their grandmother painted and asks what a custom frame might involve. Instead of pulling forty moulding samples off the wall, you hand them a link that opens your framing options guide as a page-flip flipbook, so they browse profiles, mats, and glazing before the art ever touches your counter.
Why frame shops hand customers a flipbook
A framing decision has a lot of moving parts. There is the molding profile and its finish, the width of the matting, whether the piece needs a fillet inside the mat, and which glazing protects it. Explaining all of that at the counter takes time, and half of it is forgotten by the time the customer gets home. A flipbook keeps every choice in one place they can reread on their own.
When you build the guide with Flipbooks AI, you upload the PDF you already design and it becomes a flippable spread that opens on any phone. No app, no download. Swap the PDF when a new moulding line arrives and the same link shows the update, so the version taped by your register is never stale.
What goes on each spread
Think of the guide the way a customer walks the shop. Start wide with the big decisions, then narrow to the details that change the quote.
- Molding profiles: photograph each corner sample so the customer sees the bevel, the depth, and the finish, from thin gallery frames to ornate gilded fillets.
- Mat choices: show acid free mat colors next to a sample photo, and note single, double, and float mount layouts so they picture the reveal.
- Glazing: lay out regular glass, non glare, and conservation glass side by side, with a short line on UV protection for anything near a window.
- Mounting: explain dry mount versus a reversible hinge, and when a spacer keeps the art off the glass for pieces with texture.
- Finishing: cover gallery wrap for canvas, corner detail on the joined molding, and the backing that seals the package.
Most shops already keep a moulding catalog from their supplier and a folder of finished jobs. Both convert straight into flipbooks. Drop your supplier's moulding pages into a catalog flipbook so customers scroll the full range on their own phone, and keep a separate gallery portfolio of past framing you are proud of.
A customer who has already picked a walnut profile and a double acid free mat before they arrive is a customer who says yes at the counter, not one who leaves to think about it.
A quick build order
None of this needs a designer, and most shops finish it between customers.
- Export the guide as one PDF. Put one framing decision per spread, from molding profiles through glazing.
- Upload it to Flipbooks AI. The file becomes a page-flip guide that opens on any phone with nothing to install.
- Text the link to the customer. Send it the moment someone asks about framing a piece so they browse before the art reaches your counter.
- Swap the PDF when a line changes. New moulding or new mat colors go behind the same link, so the version by your register is never stale.
- Embed it on your shop website. Browsers find the guide before they visit and arrive already knowing what they want.
Here is the embed snippet for that last step:
<iframe
src="https://flipbooksai.com/viewer?book=your-flipbook"
width="100%"
height="600"
style="border:0"
allowfullscreen>
</iframe>
What customers plan before they drop off art
| Framing decision | What the flipbook shows | Why it saves counter time |
|---|
| Molding profile | Corner samples by width and finish | Narrows the quote before measuring |
| Matting | Acid free colors, single or double, fillet | Sets the reveal and the opening size |
| Glazing | Regular, non glare, conservation glass | Explains UV protection up front |
| Mounting | Dry mount, hinge, float mount, spacer | Flags texture and value concerns |
| Finish | Gallery wrap, backing, corner detail | Confirms the final look |
Keep the guide working after the sale
The same flipbook does more than close one job. Send the gallery portfolio to a designer who orders in bulk, or put a portfolio link on a business card so a gallery remembers your bevel work. Because the link never changes, a customer who framed a diploma last spring still opens a current guide when they bring in the next one. Browse more use cases if you run a gallery or studio alongside the shop.
When you are ready, create your flipbook and turn your framing options guide into a link your customers actually use.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I show conservation glass and non glare options in the same guide?
Yes. Put each glazing type on its own spread with a sample photo and a plain line about UV protection, so the customer understands why conservation glass matters for a watercolor hung near a window.
Do customers need an app to open the framing guide?
No. The flipbook opens in any phone browser from a single link, so a customer can flip through moldings and mats in your shop or at home without downloading anything.
How do I update the guide when a new molding line arrives?
Swap the PDF behind the same link. The corner samples, matting, and glazing update everywhere you shared it, so the version on your website and the one in a customer text always match.
Should the gallery portfolio be a separate flipbook from the options guide?
Keep them apart. The options guide answers what a frame will look like and cost, while the portfolio shows finished work. A customer planning a piece wants the first, and a designer sizing you up wants the second.
How do I handle a supplier moulding catalog with hundreds of profiles?
Group it the way you sell. Put the popular gallery profiles in the front spreads, then the ornate and gilded lines, then specialty widths. A customer who finds a walnut they like in the first minute stops looking.
Can I give a designer client a private version?
Yes. Password protect a second flipbook with trade pricing or specialty lines and share it only with designers who order in volume. Your walk-in customers keep the open guide with no pricing on it at all.
Will corner samples read correctly on a phone screen?
They will if you photograph them large and light them evenly. Pages render at full resolution and customers can zoom, so the bevel, the depth, and the finish stay visible even on a small screen.
Can I put a QR code next to the counter?
Yes. Every flipbook has a QR code, so it can go on a counter card, a receipt, or the tag on a sample corner. Someone waiting on a pickup scans it and starts choosing mats while they stand there.
Does the guide help a customer who wants to think it over at home?
That is exactly what it is for. The link keeps working after they leave, so the walnut profile and double mat they liked are still there that evening, and they come back with a decision instead of a question.
Can I tell if a customer opened the framing guide?
Yes. Views and time per page show whether the link was opened and which spreads held attention. If someone lingered on conservation glass, that is the first thing to bring up when they walk back in.
