The Framers Forum

I've been given two original anatomical drawings by a well-known artist that have been drawn (inks) on a semi-transparent medium (akin to a "greaseproof" paper) that is not acid free and has discoloured somewhat. As they were never intended to be framed there is no margin so a window mount cannot be used, so I guess they need to somehow be surface mounted to the mountboard. You can just about see white archival gum tape through the documents although this diminishes against the off-white of the mountboard. So, being fairly new to framing I would welcome any advice as to the best way to proceed. My customer (related to the artist) would like them mounted on a board similar in colour to Colourmount 300, Pearl, as this is close to the colour of the documents.Thanks everyone!

I would give some consideration to encapsulation.

Thanks, Prospero. Do you mean dry mounting?

Noooooo. Putting it between two sheets of Polyesther film (Mylar/Melinex). Simple to do if you set your stall out correctly. Cut two sheets of film maybe 2" bigger than the paper. Find a nice clean surface and lay the paper on the first sheet. Drop the second sheet on top and smooth out any air pockets. Then lay some weights (books?) on top to hold down the paper area. Carefully lift each edge of the top film am run doublestick tape between. Not too close to the paper - maybe 1/2". Once inside this envelope the paper will stay in place.
This is a method used for archiving old an fragile documents and such. No adhesive used and the film is very strong so it provides good support.
This type of paper, as you observe, will deteriorate and will get increasingly fragile. Hinging is not a good thing as the hinges will be a lot tougher than the paper. Any shocks will tear the paper and not the hinges.
Once you have the paper encapsulated you can tape the film to a backing and window mount on top - leaving the edges showing but covering the doublestick tape.

One slight drawback is that the film is very shiny, but under glass this effect diminishes.

If the drawing were of no value you could drymount them. But this process is quite violent and not recommended for delicate paper. You just don't know how the inks will react to heat and once knackered there is no going back.

Hi Graham,

Encapsulation may be a nice easy solution for this sort of problem, but encapsulation works best when you are encapsulating items which are flat, without any significant creases, or undulations, etc?

Can I ask the size of these drawings?

Thanks All. Much appreciated.

Mark, one drawing is 31 x 28cm approx & the other is 36.5 x 29ccm. The larger of the two is more "crinkled" (i.e. not perfectly flat) than the other.

The sizes are not large enough to cause any concerns at all. The extent of the crinkles you mention may, or may not be an issue depending upon how they manifest themslves and the customers requirements, or expectations.

Since you are considering encapsulation, any unwanted visual effects from the reflective surface of the Mylar film should be evaluated, to see if the crinkles will need to be flattened before encapsulating the drawings. There are ways of flattening the drawings before encapsulation, if the need arises, but determining the best method requires knowledge, experience and examining the item to be flattened.