Flattening a Print Stored in a Tube

[fdi1001]

Not cheap, but it does work:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/ ... 15024.html

[jjttdw]

eBay buy, probably. There is tons of listings that have photos of 10 year old (10 as an example) prints that look like they are lifting the books or other fairly heavy weights used to hold them “flat” for those photos. Would never buy one of those unless I thought it was an extremely good deal. Also, I always get a kick out of the photos of curled up prints hold in place by weights and sellers claiming they have been stored flat since arrival.

Usually these are listed as "Mint, stored in tube since purchase."

[turnJBup]

I see those people and cringe.
“ absolute mint condition... only taken out of the tube once for pictures! “
Donkeys....

[guryter]

I confess I've taken pics of a print as I received it, put it in foamcore to flatten, stored it, and then was to lazy to take it out for an ebay listing. If it's a banger, obvi I get motivated, but for a ~$100 print, eh.

[Codeblue]

At least the fudge was stored flat tho.

[guryter]

Yeah no doubt. Untube, relax, flatten, store.

[ygolohcysp]

I confess I've taken pics of a print as I received it, put it in foamcore to flatten, stored it, and then was to lazy to take it out for an ebay listing. If it's a banger, obvi I get motivated, but for a ~$100 print, eh.

Same here, pics are usually taken first before the relax, flatten, and storage stages.

Anyone ever used that deroller thing linked above?

[haven]

I did a reverse curl once for a print that wouldn't flatten. It had clearly been tube stored for years, several weeks of flattening and it would still roll right up.

Reverse rolled it back into a tube for about 3 months and it's been perfectly flat ever since.

[jjttdw]

I confess I've taken pics of a print as I received it, put it in foamcore to flatten, stored it, and then was to lazy to take it out for an ebay listing. If it's a banger, obvi I get motivated, but for a ~$100 print, eh.

Same here, pics are usually taken first before the relax, flatten, and storage stages.

Anyone ever used that deroller thing linked above?

Not me. Why spend $300 when 8 of Sue's bags to weigh down the print cost $20.

[Codeblue]

I did a reverse curl once for a print that wouldn't flatten. It had clearly been tube stored for years, several weeks of flattening and it would still roll right up.

Reverse rolled it back into a tube for about 3 months and it's been perfectly flat ever since.

I've neva reverse rolled anything, but there's some prints I bought that weren't even in a tube for very long but were rolled super tight. I've been trying to get them to flatten for years. Might have to try the reverse.

[bubbie]

I did it twice. One worked out pretty great. The other not so well because the ink cracked. I was expecting it to happen though and didn’t care. It was a litho on thick kind of semi-gloss, for the lack of a better word, paper. The crack was tiny, but it looked like you could peel the whole layer of ink starting at that point if you tried, lol. I didn’t try.

I am currently having trouble with Sperry’s Our Future litho that was mistakenly left in the tube for a few weeks. That sucker just wouldn’t flatten. Definitely wouldn’t roll that one backwards though; it looks like a perfect candidate for ink cracking.

[haven]

I did a reverse curl once for a print that wouldn't flatten. It had clearly been tube stored for years, several weeks of flattening and it would still roll right up.

Reverse rolled it back into a tube for about 3 months and it's been perfectly flat ever since.

I've neva reverse rolled anything, but there's some prints I bought that weren't even in a tube for very long but were rolled super tight. I've been trying to get them to flatten for years. Might have to try the reverse.

This is why I don’t like when people use a 3 inch tube and roll the print smaller than the diameter. I’ve received too many of these where the print is rolled far tighter than the paper should be.

[bubbie]

^ Absolutely.

I confess I've taken pics of a print as I received it, put it in foamcore to flatten, stored it, and then was to lazy to take it out for an ebay listing. If it's a banger, obvi I get motivated, but for a ~$100 print, eh.

Same here, pics are usually taken first before the relax, flatten, and storage stages.

If either of you provided me with a pic like that you took back when you received that print 8 years ago, I would say



And I’d be right every time.

[ygolohcysp]

8 years? my in and out is more like immediately or 6 months to a year. I don't store anything rolled. But yeah after 8 years I would want a new pic too

[guryter]

If you want an actual picture of a sub $100 print that's 8 years old on a site that is frequented by a small group of people that basically only talk to each other, well then, move down the list.

Or I'd just take it out and send you a pic, whatever.