EB Forum

I received a poster via usps in a tube. Im afraid to take it out and look at it b/c im afraid of rolling it again hen unrolling it at the framers. How often of careful is ok? Im really prtective of this thing and dont want to take chances but i want to look at it!!!

I take stuff out of the tube immediately, and don't put it back in. Tubes are just not good storage. The least amount of time in a tube the better.

Indeed. Tubes are okay for short-term storage.

I understand your fears handling your print...I've been there. I was sweating bullets the first time I rolled/packed a tube. Take that print out to look at it! It's just a matter of a gentle hand when rolling prints. You'll be fine.

IWish wrote:Tubes are okay for short-term storage.

And see i even disagree with that. Get that thing out of a tube as quick as you can lol. The two days in transit (USPS) is about as long as I can stand my prints in a tube. If you're worried about transportation to the framers, you don't need to put it in a tube for that. Get two of the biggest pieces of foamcore boards from Michaels (30x40 usually), and a 6 pack of binder clips. Voila, foamcore sandwhich, and universal print transportation device.
Can even serve as storage for a handful of prints if you don't have a flat file. I have like 3 or 4 pairs of those things. They're very useful.

In the past, I've gotten behind removing prints from tubes. I've had prints in tubes up to 2 months and they were fine. Mind you, if the paper is really thick it takes longer for them to flatten.

I always flatten my prints prior to taken them to the framer. I also use the foam board sandwich w/clips to transport prints. I flatten the prints myself because they're just easier to handle at the frame shop. You don't want a curled print when selecting frames/mats at the shop.

IWish wrote:In the past, I've gotten behind removing prints from tubes. I've had prints in tubes up to 2 months and they were fine. Mind you, if the paper is really thick it takes longer for them to flatten.

I always flatten my prints prior to taken them to the framer. I also use the foam board sandwich w/clips to transport prints. I flatten the prints myself because they're just easier to handle at the frame shop. You don't want a curled print when selecting frames/mats at the shop.

hmmm what would be my best option to flatten them?

ciphe wrote:

IWish wrote:In the past, I've gotten behind removing prints from tubes. I've had prints in tubes up to 2 months and they were fine. Mind you, if the paper is really thick it takes longer for them to flatten.

I always flatten my prints prior to taken them to the framer. I also use the foam board sandwich w/clips to transport prints. I flatten the prints myself because they're just easier to handle at the frame shop. You don't want a curled print when selecting frames/mats at the shop.

hmmm what would be my best option to flatten them?

lol

ciphe wrote:

IWish wrote:In the past, I've gotten behind removing prints from tubes. I've had prints in tubes up to 2 months and they were fine. Mind you, if the paper is really thick it takes longer for them to flatten.

I always flatten my prints prior to taken them to the framer. I also use the foam board sandwich w/clips to transport prints. I flatten the prints myself because they're just easier to handle at the frame shop. You don't want a curled print when selecting frames/mats at the shop.

hmmm what would be my best option to flatten them?

You can use that same foamcore sandwich with a little weight on top to flatten them

I only laughed because it seemed like an obvious setup to pitch iWish's poster weights

Ha! Well, believe it or not because of the noob status of the OP...I was picturing him/her using the old stand-by using dvd's, glass mugs etc to flatten. It didn't cross my mind to pitch selling bags when I posted. I don't like to be aggressive/obnoxious about selling - that's not why I come to this forum. I figure the links in my signature are sufficient.