Question From Bill
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Long story longer, I was lucky enough to get one of your Star Trek II regular prints that was signed by you and had that badass Ceti eel stamp on the back. I received it rolled up in the original mail tube you sent to the guy who bought it from your website. My question is what is a good method to flatten the poster that causes no creases, and how do you go about framing it? I tried to look online and I really am confused. I want to keep it in mint condition and not cause any damage to it, and wanted to be able to frame it and have it hang on my wall. Should I go to a professional frame place, or is buying a nice museum type frame DIY just as good? Some people I know had their artwork ruined at a professional framing place. Could you give me some method that you have used or know? Maybe you have a link to a good framing place or something?
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BRYAN SAYS:
Howdy, Bill,
Wow, so that print has been stored rolled for about a year! I do recall that Sarah shipped those prints out using a 3" Yazoo tube, so that print will probably be in a tightly rolled state. In this case, I would go about flattening the print very carefully.
You will want to take the kraft roll out of the tube and let the print kind of relax in a curled state for a few days. It will unravel/relax a little bit.
While the print is relaxing, order yourself some acid free tissue paper and a couple of 30x40 pieces of foam core (http://www.amazon.com/gp/
Now that the kraft roll has relaxed for a bit, place it on top of and at the end of one of those pieces of foam core and unravel it slightly by hand so that the top is exposed (be extremely careful here - be sure to not let the print bend in on itself in any way since that will cause creases). Put some acid free tissue paper on the edge of the print to act as a buffer, and then put some heavy books on top. Be sure to cover the entire edge of the print, not just the corners, etc. I usually start by putting a book on either corner and then I put books on the center. If you don't have any acid free tissue paper, just use really really clean books. The books will hold down the print so you can unravel it fully.
Unroll the print fully. Place books on the other end in the same way as the top. Again, be extremely careful not to let the print bend in on itself. Also be careful to use really clean books or the acid free tissue buffer between the books and the print.
Place books around both long edges of the print. You will want to basically have books covering the entire edge surface area of the print so that it will flatten evenly.
Place the other piece of foamcore over the print/books so that the print won't be exposed to UV light while it's flattening. Let it flatten for one or two weeks. Start taking books off one end. If the print is still curling in on itself, you will need to let it flatten for longer. If you feel as though the print is very very lightly curling, you could take all the books off, put one sheet of acid free tissue paper on top of the print, and then place the other piece of foam core directly on the print to allow it to flatten even better (aka the foam core sandwich). If you do go the route where the other piece of foam core is flattening the print from up top, put some books on top of the sandwich to hold the top piece down better.
When you take the print the framer, just use your foam core sandwich as transportation to the framer. I just put really big clips along the edge of the foam core sandwich to keep it together.
As far as a framer goes, don't use chain stores like Michael's, Hobby Lobby, etc. Try to find a local independent framer. Even then I would be weary. Always use matting (the framer really has to know what they are doing to not use matting because they will have to use spacers and not put pressure on the print). Always use Bainbridge alphamat or alpharag 4-ply. For the backing in the frame, don't use foam core (that can deteriorate over time) - use Bainbridge alpharag 4-ply. Have them use museum glass. Tell them you want it done reversible archival - no hinging tape (have them use mounting strips like these http://www.framedestination.
For a standard 28x40 frame for a 24x36 piece, you're probably looking at around $250 to $350 from a professional framer. I don't really know how much they charge, but $350 is the very maximum you should pay.
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thanks again bryan, great info to have for those of you interested.
