Print 150cm x 100cm - Best approach ?

[Jag62]

Hi all,

I have a print in for framing which is 100cm wide by 150cm tall, value circa £500. Customer wants it float mounted in shallow box frame. Given it's size what is best approach to mounting this and what backing materials will be strong enough to support & keep it straight ? It's also on medium weight paper which I'm concerned mounting tape may show through/wrinkle so what's the best mounting option (hedgehog ?) and tape options please. Am I also best using acrylic glazing at this size ? Any advice gratefully received.

Regards,

Neil

[Not your average framer]

Where the is a concern about the hinges becoming visible it is a good thing to avoid any degree of contrast between the mount board behind the print and the colouring of the tape. Adjusting the positioning of such a large poster to hang straight and also to lay flat against it's backing it not alaws particularly easy. I would think long and hard before commiting to using the hoghog method on something as large as this as a poster of the size can expand quite a bit and there needs to be provision to allow for this.

I have not done many poster as large as this. I hoping that someone with a significant amount of experiece of float mounting large posters, will be able to give a better reply.

[JFeig]

Most poster dealers who deal with vintage posters have them expertly mounted by a poster conservator who wet mount them to a stretched fabric that has a paper face. The poster is actually mounted to the paper.
as an example:

https://www.posterconservation.com/

There are several of these service centers in the US

[Jag62]

Thanks Mark for feedback re hedgehog. Would straightforward V hinges top, middle & bottom or passthrough S hinges be better ? Still not sure how I can allow for the potential expansion though ?!

Regards,

Neil

[Justintime]

Personally, hedgehog every time for this sort of thing (the floated version),paper wrapped spacer, mounted onto 2.4 board. Hedgehog allows expansion. Before we changed to this method we worked exclusively with pass through Y hinges, until we had a terrible result on an extremely valuable piece and had to start again, heart in mouth...
If you're concerned about the hinges showing through, look for some thinner hinging materials.
Lions stock a Hayaku gummed tape by Lineco and the even thinner 7238 Spiders Wet Strength Tarantula Tissue which is fairly sheer in comparison. These are strong tapes as long as they are adhered correctly.

[Jag62]

Thanks Justin, I really appreciate the advice. What's your view on the glazing as I have steered the customer towards acrylic glazing on this (probably 4mm) ?

Regards,

Neil

[Justintime]

Glazing would depend on the subject matter for me. If it would benefit from anti-reflective then I would suggest it, acrylic or glass. Whether I use glass or acrylic depends on a few factors. The weight is a primary factor. Can the frame take the weight? Will it need an additional subframe? Where will it be hung? Over a bed, I would prefer acrylic than 3mm glass! If 3mm glass I would want it hung on strap hangers or mirror plates rather than cord, which unless it is corded to give maximum angle and 2 hanging points can add extra pressure/weight to the hanging points (ask a physicist..).
I'm not an expert on large size acrylics but I think others would recommend 4mm acrylic for this size to prevent bowing. Glass I'd be happy with 3mm, I think.

[Jag62]

Many thanks Justin. Clinching factor for acrylic is they have young 'spirited' children !

Cheers,

Neil

[Jag62]

Sorry, a couple more questions.
What's the best method to attach the undermount to backing board or are there pre-coloured foamboards available (I couldn't find any) ?
Similarly what's the best method of attaching the hedgehog mounting to the undermount ?

Cheers,

Neil

[Justintime]

First question I don't understand. Do you mean that you're doing a floating hedgehog? In which case hinge the piece of work to a piece of smaller than the work bevelled mountboard and then EVA glue that to your undermount mountboard. Confusion is that backing board is the last piece of board before taping up.

[Jag62]

Apologies, I didn't explain myself very well, I meant foamboard (not backing board). Yes, the Image will be floating / hedgehog mounted then glued to undermount. My concern is that at this size whether the undermount should be fixed to foamboard or similar else I'm worried it may sag forwards as it will only be supported round the edge by the spacers.

[Justintime]

If the piece is EVA'd down onto 2400 undermount, I wouldn't expect this to warp. Foamboard is quite flexible and glueing one side down to foamboard may actually make it warp. It's a tricky one.

[Gesso&Bole]

Yes I would definitely glue (PVA) the foam core board to the mount board, and then glue the (hedgehog) mountboard to the mount board.

I use a combination of double sided tape and blobs of PVA at approx 2 inch intervals all the way across. This way the tape will hold things in place, and avoid anything sliding until the pva goes off. If you dont have a big enough press, glue these up last thing at night, and weigh them down overnight.

I've never had an issue with this sort of construction warping, but I suppose if that was a possibility, you could glue mountboard to both sides of the foam core

[Jag62]

Many thanks both !

Regards,

Neil