Protecting an archival pigmented ink print

[Ken Allen]

I'm printing with canon and epson printers making exhibit prints for others. Clients always ask how people are displaying their prints. I always recommend framing behind plexi or glass, but that is often out of the budget. I'd love to know what others are doing to protect their digital prints while on exhibit (I use clearbags for protecting prints in storage).
How do you finish your displayed inkjet prints?
1. Traditional framing
2. Plexi-face mounting
3. Lamination
4. Spray coating aerosol can
5. Spray coating pro sprayer
6. other?

[jon.oman]

I would like some thoughts on this as well. What are people doing?

[Bruce Watson]

Library of Congress method.

[bob carnie]

As Bruce points out.. Glass or plexi . I would only consider a laminate or spray for commercial purposes.. which we do with laminates and face to plexi.

[Lenny Eiger]

I will pass along one trick. We have a local distributor here in CA, that supplies a lot of the local frame shops. You can buy your own mat board and have a frame shop cut it for you - for only a cutting fee. It's much, much cheaper.... (Or you can get a college kid to do it if you know one.)

The last time I got a piece of the museum glass from the frame shop, I paid a fortune for it. I went back to the distributor, and it turns out they sold glass as well. The frame shop charged me a 500% markup! If you know a distributor, you can get glass at about 50-60 a sheet for the best museum glass. Very different from the $250 the frame shop wanted. One needs a sales tax number, but that's pretty easy.

The company I used was called Hankins and Koppel, which was bought by http://www.deltahkinc.com/ I haven't ordered from them since the change, so I don't know what they are doing these days.

Don't get soaked!

Lenny

[bob carnie]

FYI in Canada

Museum Glass 40 inch x 60 inch $250 per sheet.
Claryl Glass AR 40 inch x 60 inch $125

We bring in case lots at a time.. these are hard costs and we do not mark up the client over regular glass, they just pay the difference for the better glass.
Our framer prefers Claryl over Museum. I prefer Museum and use it for my personal work, the image looks as if there is nothing in front of it.

[Lenny Eiger]

FYI in Canada

Museum Glass 40 inch x 60 inch $250 per sheet.
Claryl Glass AR 40 inch x 60 inch $125

Glass I was buying was 24x36. Haven't priced it in a while... so I won't quote anything. Still, one 40x60 is 4 20x30's so I think one could see that the price is a little lower than a regular framers.....

Lenny

[Dakotah Jackson]

I will pass along one trick. We have a local distributor here in CA, that supplies a lot of the local frame shops. You can buy your own mat board and have a frame shop cut it for you - for only a cutting fee. It's much, much cheaper.... (Or you can get a college kid to do it if you know one.)

The last time I got a piece of the museum glass from the frame shop, I paid a fortune for it. I went back to the distributor, and it turns out they sold glass as well. The frame shop charged me a 500% markup! If you know a distributor, you can get glass at about 50-60 a sheet for the best museum glass. Very different from the $250 the frame shop wanted. One needs a sales tax number, but that's pretty easy.

The company I used was called Hankins and Koppel, which was bought by http://www.deltahkinc.com/ I haven't ordered from them since the change, so I don't know what they are doing these days.

Don't get soaked!

Lenny

Yes Lennie, you can get and do this yourself. You won't have the overhead a custom frame shop has. When you chip or scratch the surface of the glass and can't use it, you lose a sheet. When you discover the coating has defects or the glass has bubbles you can't use it. Museum Glass has these problems and they raise the cost per sheet as one has to get the maker to replace the defective glass which eats time and money both. If you think you will get the full sheets and cut to size with all being perfect... good luck with that one.

A good mat cutter is worth the cost if you do much framing. Fletcher, C&H, KeenKut or Chronomat(my personal favorite - and made in the USA) are all much better than anything Logan makes.

Unless you are framing Carbon prints and want the relief or surface to be open to close inspection you frame and put the print behind glass. Museum glass if you care about it looking as good as possible without the green color of plate glass and reflections killing the print.

Bainbridge Alpharag Artcare mat boards provide active protection to the artwork from atmospheric pollutants and even outgassing from the print or frame. (You do use metallic tapes on the Rabbit for sealing purposes if you use wood frames, right?)

If you are looking for a "good deal" from your custom framer and it is based only on price you most likely won't get it without doing a fair amount of business with them. Why would they discount everything for someone who is not going to provide the profit margin needed to stay in business?

[Peter J. De Smidt]

According to this distributor, Claryl has gone out of business: http://www.warehouseframingsupply.co.../claryl-glass/

[photobymike]

When i frame prints for forever viewing archival. I use glass on the front and plexi or lexon on the back..... then i take duct tape (foil type) and sandwich the matted print between glass and lexon plexi and seal with tape. I trim with a knife and strait edge, then mount in frame. It makes an air tight seal. I use clamps to compress the air out of the sandwich by pushing on the middle of the sandwich then seal the rest of the way with metal tape. i use special claps to hold the sandwich together while taping. You really need to see the process but it works really well