UK Sleeves

Information on shipping, storing and repairing your art, plus your reviews on products for art collecting, making, storing, etc..
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LC25
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Thu Mar 21, 2013 4:11 am

Hi All,

I have done my best searching through the site for information on Mylar sleeves for prints but all that keeps coming up is the "Picturesque portfolio" and that's not what i am after. I have a metal flat file which currently has my prints and poster collection in, lately have been moving more into prints (past two years or so) and i want to start and protect my investments a bit more. My understanding is Mylar sleeves are the best ? but does anyone know where to get them in the UK ? or the best place to get them which ship to the UK (Bags unlimited feedback on poor quality has put me off slightly as mentioned in other threads i found on here)

24x36 prints is what i mainly have.

And yes it would be Print in Mylar in a Flat File that's not really OCD is it ?

Sorry for all the questions mid babble.
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Count
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Thu Mar 21, 2013 5:41 am

I asked the exact same question a couple of months ago in the UK sale thread here. Look around the middle of the thread and you will see my question, and the responses.

Ultimately, I ended up importing the sleeves from Bags Unlimited. Very happy with the quality.
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dearmrecho
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Thu Mar 21, 2013 5:51 am

LC25 wrote:
And yes it would be Print in Mylar in a Flat File that's not really OCD is it ?
Absolutely not... unless I have it too! I'm in the same situation and I'm worried about scuffing when moving the prints about so I'd like to protect them a little more in the flat file. It might be worth reposting this in the UK thread to see if there are any others interested and maybe an order could be split between a few.
The other option I was considering was just interleaving the prints with glassine paper but I think the Mylar would provide more protection.

Welcome to EB by the way.
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Count
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Thu Mar 21, 2013 6:04 am

^^^ Agreed. Not OCD at all. Mine are all in Mylar sleeves, stacked away in a thick plastic file, and said file is wrapped in a plastic sheet.

Okay, maybe I am OCD :D
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suchanoo
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Thu Mar 21, 2013 6:19 am

UK Member? Reclaim some VAT... http://forum.expressobeans.com/viewtopi ... =8&t=85994
shut your mouth and open your mind
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bert
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Thu Mar 21, 2013 6:19 am

Count - did you go for the Mylar sleeves or Poly sleeves in the end? I've always bought Poly as they're so much cheaper, but I'm curious as to how the Mylar sleeves are in comparison. Cheers
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Count
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Thu Mar 21, 2013 9:09 am

bert wrote:Count - did you go for the Mylar sleeves or Poly sleeves in the end? I've always bought Poly as they're so much cheaper, but I'm curious as to how the Mylar sleeves are in comparison. Cheers
Hmmm, is there a difference? The ones I got are these http://www.bagsunlimited.com/c-182-l-sleeves.aspx

It seems they are referred to as Polyester (Mylar) sleeves.
LC25
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Thu Mar 21, 2013 10:03 am

I thought we should be using Mylar ? as Poly aren't as safe ?
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bert
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Thu Mar 21, 2013 10:09 am

Poly is perfectly safe I believe, it's acid free and won't cause any harm to the prints. I hear Mylar is stiffer and hence offers more protection in terms of moving prints about...but I only have poly sleeves so don't know what other differences there are. The price difference is pretty major though.

The 4mil sleeves on this page would be just the ticket I think...I have some for quads and one sheet posters and they're excellent. Slightly different to the ones Count went for in that they're not L sleeves but open at the bottom edge only:
http://www.bagsunlimited.com/c-85-poly- ... ?pagenum=3
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suchanoo
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Thu Mar 21, 2013 10:35 am

Mylar is just a trade name for archival, crystal clear polyester. If you want to store prints in a sleeve, polyester is the material to go for.

Poly (as in poly-bags) refers to polythene, which although mostly inert, is cloudy and has no rigidity. Same stuff supermarket bags are made from.

A 4 mil Mylar sleeve not only gives you clarity to look at the print, but it gives it some protection from creasing and indenting due to it's rigidity.

Melinex is another brand name, and there are others. All exactly the same stuff. Archivally safe / inert polyester is what you want to be looking for.
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bert
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Thu Mar 21, 2013 10:43 am

suchanoo wrote:Mylar is just a trade name for archival, crystal clear polyester. If you want to store prints in a sleeve, polyester is the material to go for.

Poly (as in poly-bags) refers to polythene, which although mostly inert, is cloudy and has no rigidity. Same stuff supermarket bags are made from.

A 4 mil Mylar sleeve not only gives you clarity to look at the print, but it gives it some protection from creasing and indenting due to it's rigidity.

Melinex is another brand name, and there are others. All exactly the same stuff. Archivally safe / inert polyester is what you want to be looking for.
Cool, that's very helpful, thanks a lot suchanoo.

I do find the 4mil polythene sleeves offer a degree of rigidity (doubtless not anything like Mylar polyester by the sounds of it) and the cloudiness is not too bad either...for the money, I think they're a good option.
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suchanoo
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Thu Mar 21, 2013 11:04 am

bert wrote:I do find the 4mil polythene sleeves offer a degree of rigidity (doubtless not anything like Mylar polyester by the sounds of it) and the cloudiness is not too bad either...for the money, I think they're a good option.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with poly-bags, it is so much better to have them than to use nothing.

But if you have plenty of spare cash, go for polyester sleeves. Bagsunlimited sleeves are the best quality, but shipping and tax doubles the price of them for UK dwellers.

Or, an option I've tried when money was tight - just buy a roll of Mylar from Secol, cut lengths off, fold them in half, and make your own sleeves. You can buy a roll 1m x 50m roll for less than £100 I think. You can customise them to suit each print, an 50m goes a long way. It's open on 3 sides, but if that worries you, just secure your prints with polyester corners.

I looked into heat sealers for the edges, but for polyester you need an ultrasonic welder and you don't want to know how much they are...

Secol will also manufacture customs sized sleeves to order, so say you want a 4 mil x 26" x 38" sleeve open on one short side, they can do that for you. The more you order the cheaper they are, so you need to be clubbing together and bulk buying 500 - 1000 to be economical.
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LC25
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Thu Mar 21, 2013 2:51 pm

Thanks for the all the replies everyone, Suchanoo which did you get in the end ?
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suchanoo
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Thu Mar 21, 2013 4:30 pm

All my prints are in 4 mil Mylar sleeves, can't beat them.

By the way, the cheaper poly sleeves are polypropylene, not polythene.
UK Member? Reclaim some VAT... http://forum.expressobeans.com/viewtopi ... =8&t=85994
shut your mouth and open your mind
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