Lining flat file drawers with foam core?

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iambillyg
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Fri Apr 12, 2013 10:48 am

dmb8506 wrote:
iambillyg wrote:
dmb8506 wrote:do you also place the mat/foam board on the sides of the drawer, or just the bottom?
Just the bottom.
Thanks.

So what's the consensus on the best option, whether foam board, matboard or glasine? Or is it just personal preference of size vs cost?
I think it's personal preference.

Some like to have their prints inside acid-free bags. Some like to have them backed with pieced of mylar and inside bags. Some have them sitting in their file on top of one another with nothing. Some put a piece of acid-free tissue between each print. Some have two prints inside each bag, back to front. All personal preference. As long as you're being smart about it, you should be fine.

Personally, I have a sheet of acid-free foam at the bottom, prints inside acid-free bags, stacked on top of one another, then a piece of foam core on top of the stack. I try to ensure the prints stacked are all the same size/dimensions. The piece of foam on top allows for a flat surface to be used to lay a print and stack poster weights on it to be flattened.
dmb8506
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Fri Apr 12, 2013 10:58 am

Thanks Billy. Thats pretty much how I have mine, but I have loose/non-fitted mat boards on the bottom (they move too easy), mylar sleeves and acid free boards backing the prints.

I've been waiting to "upgrade" to a real setup, ince I figured out what worked best. Your method sounds easy and similar to what I've got already. Much appreciated :notworthy:
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suchanoo
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Fri Apr 12, 2013 11:09 am

aivc wrote:Black is never acid-free is what I usually hear in art stores. It looks cool too, and it's not like you need it to be acid free since you have your prints in sleeves.

Awesome looking setup overall.
Any coloured board can be acid free. What it cannot be is classified as conservation. The test for conservation board is crude - a piece of the board is left in water for a week, if any colour leeches in that time, it fails. All coloured board fails. To get round this, the backing and core of conservation board are always white. The presentation side can be coloured, and the board can still be classified as conservation (as long as it is all acid free).

I cut these boards myself with a kraft knife and a 1m metal rule. I cut them 1mm over, so there was an effective 'bow' in the board as it was placed in the bottom, however this was absorbed into the board, so it fits flat and tight in the bottom of the drawer. A few of them were a little too large in places, so I just shaved off a little of the edge and kept trying until I had a snug fit.

Just a little tip though - cut one corner off of each board. It doesn't affect what you are trying to acheive, but it does give you a purchase point so you can easily prize the board back out again.
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iambillyg
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Fri Apr 12, 2013 11:20 am

dmb8506 wrote:Thanks Billy. Thats pretty much how I have mine, but I have loose/non-fitted mat boards on the bottom (they move too easy), mylar sleeves and acid free boards backing the prints.

I've been waiting to "upgrade" to a real setup, ince I figured out what worked best. Your method sounds easy and similar to what I've got already. Much appreciated :notworthy:
No problem. I posted these in a prior thread showing what some of my drawers look like:

Prints, in bags, stacked. You can see that I don't have a sheet of foam on the bottom, as the drawer bottom is grey.
Image

Sheet of acid free foam core on top of stack of prints with poster weights. The weight is used to help prints below stay flat. You can also use heavy books.
Image

Print being flattened on top of piece of foam core that is set on top a stack of prints underneath it.
Image

- -

I got the glass top to my oak flat file to fit, finally. Now I just need hardware and it'll be done. I'll also need something to line the inside drawers of that one, but it's larger than the one shown above.
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jimmybing
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Fri Apr 12, 2013 2:39 pm

Billy, did your oak file originally have a wooden bar running across the middle of the top? The one I'm picking up tomorrow does and I was wondering how you cut yours off?
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iambillyg
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Fri Apr 12, 2013 2:43 pm

jimmybing wrote:Billy, did your oak file originally have a wooden bar running across the middle of the top? The one I'm picking up tomorrow does and I was wondering how you cut yours off?
Yep.

From this:
Image

To this:
Image

I didn't cut it at all. The person who did my top and legs cut it for me.
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