Flattening prints
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phanatic420
- Art Connoisseur
- Posts: 162
- Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2004 1:00 am
what methods do you use to flatten prints that have been rolled in a tube for a long time or maybe rolled much to tight to begin with? and do you have any prints that seem like they will never lose their curl?
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sunsetbrew
- Art Expert
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- Joined: Thu May 29, 2003 12:00 am
I weight down each side just enough to encourage the paper to relax. After a few days, the paper should be less stuborn. Then I put it under something bigger than it is. Backboard is great for this because you can put weight on the board and you know it won't harm the print.
Hah, that's basically what I do. I thought this was the cheap/lazy man's method. I guess I was onto something.sunsetbrew wrote:I weight down each side just enough to encourage the paper to relax. After a few days, the paper should be less stuborn. Then I put it under something bigger than it is. Backboard is great for this because you can put weight on the board and you know it won't harm the print.
if I have a tightly-rolled print that's REALLY stubborn I go through several phases to gently flatten it.
1 - Roll it from the other end. If the bottom edge of the print is on the outside of the roll when it's tubed, roll it from the bottom so the top edge is on the outside. If you like, you can wrap it AROUND the tube it was in, or a larger one. Make sure the tube is clean, or wrap some clean paper around it if you are in doubt. I suppose you could roll it around progressively larger tubes to relax it gradually.
2- CAREFULLY slide one edge of the rolled print in between a couple sheets of clean matteboard, and as you unroll the print, slide the whole thing between the mattes, then place them face down on a flat surface with something larger on top. I have a lot of posters that are shrink-wrapped onto acid-free cardboard, and I have some that I have sliced open the top edge. I will then slide the tightly-rolled poster into that, or even slide a mylar sleeve into the shrink-wrap and then slide the poster into the mylar. I use larger cardboard/shrinkwrapped posters to weight down the tight one. BE CAREFUL NOT TO ALLOW THE TIGHT ONE TO CURL UP AS YOU WEIGHT IT DOWN! You don't want to crease a corner! Let it sit like this for several days or even a few weeks until it relaxes enough so it doesn't roll back up when you take it out.
3- If you want to speed up the process, you can "counter-roll" the poster, but this can be dangerous. By counter-rolling, I mean, roll the surface that was inside the roll as the outside. This has potential to damage the inks on silk-screened prints, so consider this method carefully before you attempt it. I have a hunch it's more reliable for lithos than for prints with thick ink.
Basically, the longer it has been stored rolled, the longer it will take to relax. Time is your best ally. If you can avoid rushing the process, you will have a better likelihood of being able to flatten the print with no damage.
Let me know if this is not perfectly clear, or if you need photos to better understand what I mean, and I'll try to provide examples.
1 - Roll it from the other end. If the bottom edge of the print is on the outside of the roll when it's tubed, roll it from the bottom so the top edge is on the outside. If you like, you can wrap it AROUND the tube it was in, or a larger one. Make sure the tube is clean, or wrap some clean paper around it if you are in doubt. I suppose you could roll it around progressively larger tubes to relax it gradually.
2- CAREFULLY slide one edge of the rolled print in between a couple sheets of clean matteboard, and as you unroll the print, slide the whole thing between the mattes, then place them face down on a flat surface with something larger on top. I have a lot of posters that are shrink-wrapped onto acid-free cardboard, and I have some that I have sliced open the top edge. I will then slide the tightly-rolled poster into that, or even slide a mylar sleeve into the shrink-wrap and then slide the poster into the mylar. I use larger cardboard/shrinkwrapped posters to weight down the tight one. BE CAREFUL NOT TO ALLOW THE TIGHT ONE TO CURL UP AS YOU WEIGHT IT DOWN! You don't want to crease a corner! Let it sit like this for several days or even a few weeks until it relaxes enough so it doesn't roll back up when you take it out.
3- If you want to speed up the process, you can "counter-roll" the poster, but this can be dangerous. By counter-rolling, I mean, roll the surface that was inside the roll as the outside. This has potential to damage the inks on silk-screened prints, so consider this method carefully before you attempt it. I have a hunch it's more reliable for lithos than for prints with thick ink.
Basically, the longer it has been stored rolled, the longer it will take to relax. Time is your best ally. If you can avoid rushing the process, you will have a better likelihood of being able to flatten the print with no damage.
Let me know if this is not perfectly clear, or if you need photos to better understand what I mean, and I'll try to provide examples.
I'm a bit confused on one and two. What's the point of re-rerolling the print? Perhaps this relaxes it some? Number two sounds like it can become fairly convoluted.morst wrote:if I have a tightly-rolled print that's REALLY stubborn I go through several phases to gently flatten it.
1 - Roll it from the other end. If the bottom edge of the print is on the outside of the roll when it's tubed, roll it from the bottom so the top edge is on the outside. If you like, you can wrap it AROUND the tube it was in, or a larger one. Make sure the tube is clean, or wrap some clean paper around it if you are in doubt. I suppose you could roll it around progressively larger tubes to relax it gradually.
2- CAREFULLY slide one edge of the rolled print in between a couple sheets of clean matteboard, and as you unroll the print, slide the whole thing between the mattes, then place them face down on a flat surface with something larger on top. I have a lot of posters that are shrink-wrapped onto acid-free cardboard, and I have some that I have sliced open the top edge. I will then slide the tightly-rolled poster into that, or even slide a mylar sleeve into the shrink-wrap and then slide the poster into the mylar. I use larger cardboard/shrinkwrapped posters to weight down the tight one. BE CAREFUL NOT TO ALLOW THE TIGHT ONE TO CURL UP AS YOU WEIGHT IT DOWN! You don't want to crease a corner! Let it sit like this for several days or even a few weeks until it relaxes enough so it doesn't roll back up when you take it out.
3- If you want to speed up the process, you can "counter-roll" the poster, but this can be dangerous. By counter-rolling, I mean, roll the surface that was inside the roll as the outside. This has potential to damage the inks on silk-screened prints, so consider this method carefully before you attempt it. I have a hunch it's more reliable for lithos than for prints with thick ink.
Basically, the longer it has been stored rolled, the longer it will take to relax. Time is your best ally. If you can avoid rushing the process, you will have a better likelihood of being able to flatten the print with no damage.
Let me know if this is not perfectly clear, or if you need photos to better understand what I mean, and I'll try to provide examples.
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ColdSoreSuperstar
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Erm, I use books. One per corner.
Equals four.
Unroll and flatten as soon as I receive.
My old apartment was terrible. I had posters all over the drymounting place. Couldn't eat anywhere except my computer desk or my bed.
After a good long while of flattening, they go under the old bed.
drymounting drymount, I need a flatfile.
Equals four.
Unroll and flatten as soon as I receive.
My old apartment was terrible. I had posters all over the drymounting place. Couldn't eat anywhere except my computer desk or my bed.
After a good long while of flattening, they go under the old bed.
drymounting drymount, I need a flatfile.
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jojobadass
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ColdSoreSuperstar wrote:Erm, I use books. One per corner.
Equals four.
yes sir......that's about all you need to do.
Working on it. Actually will try and post up pics of the "under the bed" three drawer unit that I did two weeks back and finished up last weekend. Looks nice, 3 drawers and just under 9" tall (I believe - might be less) so you can hide it from whoever.ColdSoreSuperstar wrote: drymounting drymount, I need a flatfile.
Tra la la la la...
looking forward to some flat files from Yamar!!!Yamar wrote:Working on it. Actually will try and post up pics of the "under the bed" three drawer unit that I did two weeks back and finished up last weekend. Looks nice, 3 drawers and just under 9" tall (I believe - might be less) so you can hide it from whoever.ColdSoreSuperstar wrote: drymounting drymount, I need a flatfile.
Sometimes you get one that's so tight it takes two people to unroll properly, and if there's nobody else around, or I'm in a hurry to get out of the house, I'll do the #1 method and leave it until I'm ready to dedicate more time to the project.Codeblue wrote:I'm a bit confused on one and two. What's the point of re-rerolling the print? Perhaps this relaxes it some? Number two sounds like it can become fairly convoluted.morst wrote:if I have a tightly-rolled print that's REALLY stubborn I go through several phases to gently flatten it.
. . .
Let me know if this is not perfectly clear, or if you need photos to better understand what I mean, and I'll try to provide examples.
#2 is really not that tough, it's just hard to describe easily. If I had some of those expensive library weights it would be easier to just use them, then slide it into a stack and use the "books" method.
http://www.shopbrodart.com/shop/cb/prod ... ?pgid=2972
I use a large tablet of acid free paper. if its wound up tightly i'll let it naturally uncoil for a few days on top of the collection. then after it has enough elasticity to be ok, i'll gently work it in. after a while it really flattens them out. that way its a uniform weight instead of random books or stuff on corners (no offense to y'all). im paranoid about stuff ruining my flatstock. which is kind of funny considering the precarious position my large posters are in (too large for a tablet).
one time i accidentally damaged a print (thankfully one of little value), put it in the tablet and over time its almost smoothed it out on its own like self-repair. I was impressed.
one time i accidentally damaged a print (thankfully one of little value), put it in the tablet and over time its almost smoothed it out on its own like self-repair. I was impressed.
If you're interested there are some weights just like those on the Dick Blick website made by Lineco for about a 3rd of the price in half pound and one pound sizes. I have 4 of the half pounders and they are plenty.morst wrote:If I had some of those expensive library weights it would be easier to just use them, then slide it into a stack and use the "books" method.
http://www.shopbrodart.com/shop/cb/prod ... ?pgid=2972