The Framers Forum

Hi all;

I have a possible business venture in the works that will be manufacturing of hermetically sealed acrylic cases that can be inserted into a frame. The face and back of these cases will be made up of UV filtering (OP2) acrylic. Air is removed via a medical syringe or vacuum pump and Argon is then inserted with a hand held applicator. The Argon is contained in a capsule similar to CO2 capsules used to charge soda bottles in a family bar.

I am looking for feedback as to what you fellow framers think about this project for your use. The basic idea is 4 standard sizes (yet to be determined and a starting point) plus custom sizes. As for pricing..... A cost of about $100US to framers for a letter size case.

Here is a link to the inventors web page. http://www.uvarchive.com/ View via I.E. vs Firefox. There is a glitch in Firefox on this site


Thanks all,

I know these types of cases have been trailed in museums and the main problem has been that the seals have not proven to be 100% perfect. This means constant monitoring of the oxygen and Argon content. “Topping up” is not too much of a problem in a museum where constant monitoring is carried out. This would be very problematic if we were supplying these directly to customers,

Evidently the seal has been resolved..... the initial suggestion and consulting is from a Getty Museum person.

Jerome.

In theory this seems great to be able to offer this Major Museum/National Collection grade facility, but -

- I'm not sure I'd manage to sell this to many of my customers - even the wealthy collectors

- I'm guessing that the equipment outlay to assemble these in my own workshop would prohibit me from investing - what would be the initial outlay? Given that I'd not be selling many, how do i recover the set-up costs?

- The after-sales might bankrupt me - these things surely need checking/maintaining periodically.

I'd welcome some more info, though

There is no special equipment to invest in....

The kit includes the container for the art, a vacuum device, and an Argon charge applicator. An oxygen indicator strip is also part of the package.

Simply install the art, place the gasket in place, close the unit, remove the air, place the Argon inside

Isn't acrylic porous to gases and water vapour? I know that's why glass is used instead of acrylic at the National Gallery when the frame package is highly sealed. If water molecules are small enough to pass through I'd think argon would be as well.