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Is conservation framing any big deal?

Posted: Fri 30 Apr, 2010 11:02 pm
by Roboframer
Depending on what your default is - for say a 'nice' but not very expensive print - or original - how much more would it cost to upgrade to a full conservation job?

Cotton mountboard for mount & undermount? Yep - that's probably the most expensive - you don't need it though - it's alpha-cellulose just like alpha-cellulose boards made from woodpulp - the woodpulp alpha-cellulose just took longer to process - the cotton one offers no more protection.

I do like cotton boards though - for the solid core (core being the same colour as the surface).

Glass - OK - UV filtering is going to cost a fair bit more than standard, but beyond that the % increase on your default job isn't going to cost very much at all and most of the extra cost is probably in time; not materials.

Hingeing - what's your default for the artwork above - Ph7-70? Filmoplast P90? (FP90 here)

How much do those tapes work out at per square metre?

Well - more than Japanese hingeing tissue and starch paste - self-adhesive is more convenient - no drying time - but then - move on to 3-dimensional objects - how does silicone adhesive compare, price-wise to, say, melinex straps? Far more expensive - plus there's drying time - a lot of drying time!

I started this topic because on my last-but-one Lion order I missed the FP90 and ran out soon after, so I started using pure Kozo hinges with wheatstarch paste as standard.

I got so used to it that on my next order I didn't order any FP90 - my default is now the paste and the kozo - and it's no big deal at all. The paste takes about 40 secs a day - one teaspoonfull from a 1kg bag of powder that cost eight quid will last a day, longer if kept in the fridge in an airtight jar - but I use ramekin dishes and couldn't be arsed/would always forget, to put it in the fridge at night anyway.

The feathered hinges are made in weekly batches - you can't really tell from the photo below but there's 2 different weights/colours of hingeing tissue there. Not only are they cheaper but they are more reliable - the bond is a mechanical one; not a chemical one like self-adhesive/pressure sensitive tapes
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Re: Is conservation framing any big deal?

Posted: Sat 01 May, 2010 1:27 am
by prospero
Glass apart, the cost of using good materials doesn't add a heck of a lot to the cost of a job. I tend to use P90 for everyday stuff and Hayaku for originals and the 'better' prints - etchings and stuff. I would cook up paste if I was doing these everyday, but I don't seem to frame much paper art nowadays and it is more of an embuggerance to make a batch just for couple of mounting jobs and sling most of it out.

Re: Is conservation framing any big deal?

Posted: Sat 01 May, 2010 11:36 am
by David
I came to the conclusion some time ago that going conservation doesn't make that much difference to the overall cost.
We used to stock a concervation board, alphamat, and a whitecore board - two ranges two set of colours with a lot of repeat colours. We now only stock the alphamat and have a bigger range of colours. The difference in cost is pence. The same goes for tapes and adhesives, even if the conc. stuff is two or three times the price of standard the actual usage is so small you are talking pence. The biggest single cost is the labour and it doesn't matter what you are cutting the labour is the same.
This also give us the opportunity to educate customers and explain the benefits we offer over other framers. It works best when someone asks if we have a conc. board and we can say we use nothing else. The standards we work to elevates us above the crowd and thats the way I like it.

David.