The Framers Forum

Morning all,

Quick check if I may...

I have a client who wants a large c-type print framed. What are the common methods for hinging work like this?

I had used p-90 on much smaller less expensive prints but mindful that with the adds size / weight of this item add the glossy paper type that there might be a better method... would Japanese tissue / wheat starch be appropriate?

Thanks

Bearing in mind that your customer, may choose to store this painting for a while standing on it's side while re-decorating the room or something like that, I like to platform mount large items like this, as it is a good way of limiting the sideways pull on any hinges at the top of the item. My favorite approach would be to attach T hinges to the top, and to wrap these hinges around the back of a support board and to fix the second part of the tee hinges on to the back of this backing board.

The backing board for the item is not the backing board for the whole frame, but it is part of the platform mount and is a piece of mountboard, which sits in the back of the the platform mount. You don't wand to much space around the item for the backing board, but you will need some to allow for a bit of expansion and contraction. The edges of the recess in the platform mount will limit how far the item can swing sideways, if the picture is stored on it's side.

To accommodate a little side ways swing without straining the T hinges there needs to be both a the usual longer tail on one of the T hinges to allow for normal lateral expansion, but also a smaller, but still necessary little bit of extra tail length to permit some movement to accommodate any swing while the framed item might be stored on it's side. Some larger artworks are often on thicker paper which often help to keep them flat during variations of humidity as the seasons change.

Unfortunately some large prints can sometimes be on quite thin glossy paper and this can all too easily cockle, just about the only thing that you can do in this situation is too make sure that the print has either been dry mounted if this will not compromise any future value and with the customers express agreement, or make sure that the window mount extends far enough over the edges of the print to supply adequate support. I would imagine that there will be others with alternative suggestions as well.

If you've got sufficient borders and the paper is not too flimsy, I'd think about using V-strips. Very quick, very easy.

Yes, that's true! It's also worth mentioning that you can produce your own V strips from acid and lignin free paper and secure the V strip in place with archival quality paste and therefore avoid using V strip which use self adhesive to attach the V strips in place. Just in case you are not aware of this - There is no such thing as a total perneneat fixture provided by self adhesives.

Long life self adhesives are possibe, but genuinely permanent is not reallly something that is something, that can be relied up on. So called permanent self adhesives are often long life, but all self adhesives will age and fail at some time. It's just a fact of the world that we life in. When they fail, the often leave something undesireable behing which is damaging, or needs a conservator to restore the artwork back to a long term safe condition.

Thanks for the tips both!