Flattening prints

[rockbridge]

Wonder if Home Depot will cut it....

I don't think HD will carry it because it's not a fast mover, but they will have 3/4" thick sheets. You could buy 1 sheet for probably $25- $30 I am thinking. They could cut you 2 pieces to your desired size and all you would need to do is take them home and glue the 2 pieces together with normal wood glue (a thin layer of glue covering the entire surface area between the 2 pieces) and they will bond together very well.

[tavee]

Wonder if Home Depot will cut it....

They will certainly cut it for you, but it will most likely be a 3/4' thick as stated above. Or you may get lucky and check out their scrap area as there may already be a piece. Usually they spray paint their scrap pieces and sell for about $0.50.

[Gkohler]

im flattening 6 prints at once...in between 2 pieces of acid free foam core..with a big table top piece of glass, then with books and such on top of that...all in a room where no one goes into. sounds safe to me...now, how long do you think it would take to flatten out? i'd say theres a good 150 lbs + on top....

[Deadareus]

great thread, thanks for all the tips all. love that wood with the do not touch sign!

i'm currently flattening 3 posters. one between two acid free foam boards and then two more between another set of acid free foam board. i assume it is safe to put multiple prints between the same foam board? posters are back to back.

i lay them on the floor and place a drymounted poster on them with a blanket and then a leaf from our dining room table on top of all that. at least 50 lbs worth of weight i would say.

the larger poster has been in a tube since march 2009 and was just removed from it last week. gonna take a while for that to lay flat.

thinking i would like to get a table to do this all on. hate shoving it all under my bed!

[moogs]

I framed a few old posters without them being completely flat. There are a few waves that are just BARELY noticeable. Can these waves harm the prints over time? They don't really bother me too much.

[murdock]

Sorry if I missed it in the prior posts, but what's bad about putting a print that has been stored rolled in a tube for 3 years in a (standard but bigger than the print sized) frame right away to have it "flatten itself out"?

Unfortunately, I don't have the rooms or floor space to let a 30'' print lying around for some weeks to flatten, so the only alternative would be my portfolio where I can not add any weight to the print. I figured, the glass flattening it in the frame would be preferable...

[jackburton]

I have found that weights or books placed on the corners will still cause the sides to curl. I put my prints in 30x40 plastic sleeves (2 per sleeve, back to back) and place them between 2 30x40 foam core boards with big clips on each corner and 2-4 1 pound weights in the middle. I picked up the sleeves, weights and boards from framedestination.com

[Pineapple007]

Still new to this, but as long as the weight is pretty evenly distributed, I'm assuming that there's no real weight limit that can be put on prints as long as it has protective sleeve and board backing around it correct?

[rockbridge]

Still new to this, but as long as the weight is pretty evenly distributed, I'm assuming that there's no real weight limit that can be put on prints as long as it has protective sleeve and board backing around it correct?

Hey there fellow Austinite! No problem with heavy weights as long as you make certain there is no foreign matter that could get smooshed into or ding the print when putting the heavy weights on it....

[Pineapple007]

Still new to this, but as long as the weight is pretty evenly distributed, I'm assuming that there's no real weight limit that can be put on prints as long as it has protective sleeve and board backing around it correct?

Hey there fellow Austinite! No problem with heavy weights as long as you make certain there is no foreign matter that could get smooshed into or ding the print when putting the heavy weights on it....

Awesome, I've been having a VERY hard time finding a flat file here in austin, do you have any suggestions beside ebay and craigslist that I can find a good starter flat file in the Austin area?

[PLUSH]

I am looking for a flat file and am wondering what size I should get? Is 41" wide good, too big or too small, also what is a good deal on the metal and wood 5 drawer ones? I see several listed for $200

[Pineapple007]

After reading through the posts, I ran to Ikea and found they had some very large (bigger than 42x30), thick desk tops for $15. I grabbed one and placed it ontop of some board backing and after a week my stubborn print is now flat. thought those who are in reasonable distance to ikea would be interested as it is cheaper than the wood from Home Depot

[murdock]

Sorry if I missed it in the prior posts, but what's bad about putting a print that has been stored rolled in a tube for 3 years in a (standard but bigger than the print sized) frame right away to have it "flatten itself out"?

Unfortunately, I don't have the rooms or floor space to let a 30'' print lying around for some weeks to flatten, so the only alternative would be my portfolio where I can not add any weight to the print. I figured, the glass flattening it in the frame would be preferable...

Any thoughts on that?

[Xander]

Sorry if I missed it in the prior posts, but what's bad about putting a print that has been stored rolled in a tube for 3 years in a (standard but bigger than the print sized) frame right away to have it "flatten itself out"?

Unfortunately, I don't have the rooms or floor space to let a 30'' print lying around for some weeks to flatten, so the only alternative would be my portfolio where I can not add any weight to the print. I figured, the glass flattening it in the frame would be preferable...

Any thoughts on that?

You could try to get your framer to flatten it for you in advance of any actual framing. There's a better chance of a print rippling within a frame if it's not flattened or naturally left to unroll. I guess you could try it with a cheap frame and see how it goes.

Tried the glass idea on a recent Stout print and it worked wonders. Usually takes me a week to flatten out a print using heavy objects on all four corners, but only a few days with a heavy piece of glass on it. Poly sleeve > print (face down) > poly sleeve > glass and make sure there are no bubbles nor folds in the sleeves or else they might inflict subtle damage to the print with all that weight on it.

[Pineapple007]

I just picked up a HUGE flat file on craigslist. I cleaned out all the shelves & removed all visible debris. Do you recommend lining the drawers with anything. I've been keeping most prints in Kristal bags with acid free board backings. Didn't know if it would be okay to just store in bags or drawer lining has any pros.