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You can have the prints laminated, which means bonding to a substrate (acrylic, wood, aluminum, etc.) with a plastic film bonded to the top. You can get this done through various sources online but you should be able to find a local shop that does it.

Dye sublimation is another option, a special process that uses special inks that are converted to a gaseous state and bonded to a surface, often acrylic, but could be just about anything – coffee cups, t-shirts, ad nauseum. Since it’s a more specialized process, you’ll likely have a harder time finding a local source for dye sublimation prints.

Printing on canvas is another way to go, since stretched canvas can hang as-is, without a frame. It’s also much easier to find local shops that can handle printing and stretching canvas than either lamination or dye sublimation.

Nothing beats traditional custom framing for protection of the artwork, though, so just be aware of the tradeoffs. Of course, since prints can always be reprinted, damage is not the cause for concern that you get with original art.

After printing my archival pigment prints I spray them with an archival UV water resistant product. This gives them a level of protection desirable when not using glass. When considering other than normal framing (matte, glass, frame), I have mounted the print on self stick gatorboard. When trimmed and hung it makes an attractive display alternative although no longer archival.