"Floating"

thegig · Sat Feb 04, 2006 4:41 am

What is it? I see a lot of people referring to this technique, but I have no idea what it is. I'll check wiki, but anybody wanna fill me in?

jodeci78 · Wed May 23, 2007 11:48 pm

bump.

good question.

sschmotz · Thu May 24, 2007 2:01 am

the best I can say is when the matte is not touching the poster (covering any portion of the posters edge).

I prefer to float because even under UV glass prints can become discolored (I've seen it). If you ever decide to remove a poster from a frame and the matte is covering the egde of the poster, it will look different from the rest of the poster. If you "float" the poster, the paper will age (for lack of a better term) the same.

mistersmith · Mon Dec 31, 2007 12:31 am

Is there any really reliable, museum-quality way to float a print?

I just bought some David Choong Lee prints, screens with original embellishments, where the art goes right to the edge of the print. For example, one has a vertical border up the left side about 1/2" thick. Matting would take away from the effect when it covers up the edge, and I don't want to adhere the print to some backing board. Plus, the paper it's on has some great rough edges, I'd like those to show as well.

So, I don't want mats, I don't want adhesives, and I don't want to press the print against glass. Any suggestions, or am I asking the impossible?

sschmotz · Mon Dec 31, 2007 12:44 am

1. pick the frame and glass you want.

2. use a frame spacer.
http://www.lumierephoto.com/mm5/merchan ... _Code=PFAC

3. use archival mounting corners, I know there are more out there, I just found these quickly
http://www.archivalmethods.com/Product. ... tegoryid=8

Mon Dec 31, 2007 12:54 am

Check the EB Wiki

...this method is often referred to as "Japanese hinges." Lineco (amongst others) makes Japanese Hinging Tape as an alternative to the Museum Mounting Kit in the Wiki.

Mon Dec 31, 2007 1:27 am

if you want to try this DIY, do a test run or two on something like a heavy Hahnemuhle paper or at the very least some blank manila stock to get a feel for it before gluing a paper hinge on the back of your actual print.

Mon Dec 31, 2007 1:32 am

electrachrome wrote:if you want to try this DIY, do a test run or two on something like a heavy Hahnemuhle paper or at the very least some blank manila stock to get a feel for it before gluing a paper hinge on the back of your actual print.

excellent advice! add it to the wiki if you'd like!

Mon Dec 31, 2007 1:38 am

dougr wrote:
electrachrome wrote:if you want to try this DIY, do a test run or two on something like a heavy Hahnemuhle paper or at the very least some blank manila stock to get a feel for it before gluing a paper hinge on the back of your actual print.
excellent advice! add it to the wiki if you'd like!

added.

mistersmith · Mon Dec 31, 2007 4:01 am

I'm not worried about DIY, in fact I'd rather pay a pro framer to handle this correctly, but the idea of attaching adhesive to a print just twists my brain. And corners/strips would be visible, don't want that.

But it looks like Japanese Hinges are okay...I'll see what the framer says.

My frame bill is gonna be over $1000 before I know it. Jeebus.

Codeblue · Mon Dec 31, 2007 4:06 am

Japanese hinges are completely reversible as far as I know if you don't donkey up the job.

mistersmith · Mon Dec 31, 2007 4:12 pm

I've been doing a lot of research, not knowing dick about real framing until very recently, and it looks like the phrase "Japanese hinge" refers to both the water-activated/reversible adhesive strips, as well as the technique of double-taping the art to the mat (one vertical strip from the art to the mat, then one horizontal across the mat securing the top of the first strip).

Regardless, the product that was linked above appears to be the remove-it-like-it-was-never-there stuff, which is great. That's what I'll get for when I sac up and try to frame some stuff myself. But for this first round - especially the one-of-a-kind prints I want to float inside of a larger mat - I'm gonna let a pro do it.

Thu Feb 21, 2008 10:50 pm

I saw the frame spacer mentioned in a previous post which appears to be an acrylic strip used between the glass/acrylic and the matte/backer for the artwork.

I also found this on the web and want to know if anyone has used it and what your experience was.

It's called Framespace framing spacers (I found them here: http://www.artright.com/FSsizes.htm)

Cheers!

palehighway · Thu Feb 21, 2008 11:25 pm

Codeblue · Thu Feb 21, 2008 11:53 pm

thegig wrote:What is it? I see a lot of people referring to this technique, but I have no idea what it is. I'll check wiki, but anybody wanna fill me in?

I'm assuming you weren't doing custom framing at the time like ya are now.