The Framers Forum

Hello,

I have just done a course in picture framing and I loved it.
I would really like to buy the equipment to start a very small picture framing business from home.
So far I have managed to purchase a Morso Mitre.

I NEED:

1 x good quality secondhand or new MountCutter (ideally Keencut Ultimat Futura Straight Line Mountcutter)
1 x good quality secondhand or new Underpinner (ideally Cassese foot operated)
1 x good quality secondhand or new Vacuum Heat Press (ideally Hot Press)

Please let me know if there is a business closing down or if you have surplus equipment or if you are retiring and I would be interested.

Many thanks.

Buy a pneumatic underpinner. You won't regret it...

I second that, and are you sure you'll need a heat press?

Jamesnkr wrote:Buy a pneumatic underpinner. You won't regret it...

Thank you for the advice. I would love to buy a pneumatic one but they are so much more expensive and my budget is tight. I will keep checking ebay and this forum, perhaps one will become available soon.

Alex

GeoSpectrum wrote:I second that, and are you sure you'll need a heat press?

Hi Alan,

I'm not sure if I will need a heat press just yet, but if one is available at a reasonable price, I would definitely consider it for dry mounting.

Alex

I am almost 20 years in and 10s of thousands of pictures (if not more) framed, and still haven't found the need of a vacuum press, we have a cold roller and it is less than one in a thousand pictures that gets dry mounted, IMHO your money would be better spent on a pnumatic under pinner.

IFGL wrote:I am almost 20 years in and 10s of thousands of pictures (if not more) framed, and still haven't found the need of a vacuum press, we have a cold roller and it is less than one in a thousand pictures that gets dry mounted, IMHO your money would be better spent on a pnumatic under pinner.

Thank you for your advice.
You are now the third person advising me to go for a pneumatic underpinner.
I shall change my search criterion.

kind regards,

Alex

It depends on what sort of work you are doing to whether you need a vacuum press or not. I use one a lot but most of my work is commercial. If I was doing bespoke work I would very rarely use one. The only thing that gets pressed is low value posters as they press better in a vacuum press than rollers. Photo's are better using a cold roller. Commercially anything hoing in a commercial environment gets pressed but I am considering switching to a large cold roller for speed.

Personally I would look for a pneumatic underpinner and not by a vacuum press. You can always contract any press work out to another framer if you need to.

You could probably pick up a JM26 roller for about £300 which would probably be wide enough for 90% of jobs, the money saved should go an an air underpinner but don't forget to budget for the compressor.

I would also urge the pneumatic underpinner. I would only deem the Hotpress to be essential if you want to laminate photo canvases which I find a much easier process than hand varnishing.

i have a Keencut Ultimat Gold 1200 and a Jet Mounter JM26 for sale, looking for £700 for the pair. We are based in Nottingham but may be able to deliver.

Whitewater Gallery wrote:I would also urge the pneumatic underpinner. I would only deem the Hotpress to be essential if you want to laminate photo canvases which I find a much easier process than hand varnishing.

Even with laminating canvas prints you don't need a hotpress, once you get the knack of using the roller it is faster and produces a better finish, I have seen canvases laminated with a hotpress de laminating on numerous occasions, liquid laminate soaks into the cotton fiber, binding the ink, not just sat on top like a plastic film.

https://youtu.be/wKqCqSSxgGU

There's a Minigraf on eBay. Starting at 295; it's been up before too, didn't make much (any) more than that; they don't. You might need to buy some more wedge blocks for different sized wedges. It lacks the front clamp but many people don't bother with them (mine came without and I've never bought one).

GeoSpectrum wrote:You could probably pick up a JM26 roller for about £300 which would probably be wide enough for 90% of jobs, the money saved should go an an air underpinner but don't forget to budget for the compressor.

Thank you. I am looking for a compressor as we speak. I understand BAMBI is a good make. I don't want to buy these secondhand as I heard if they have rust marks on them, they tend to explode!!!

Alex

Jamesnkr wrote:There's a Minigraf on eBay. Starting at 295; it's been up before too, didn't make much (any) more than that; they don't. You might need to buy some more wedge blocks for different sized wedges. It lacks the front clamp but many people don't bother with them (mine came without and I've never bought one).

Thanks.

Is this the electrical /computerised underpinner one for £395? I saw it. I considered it, but found a lovely Cassese C20 pneumatic with extendable arms in excellent condition and I bought it!

Alex

Even with laminating canvas prints you don't need a hotpress, once you get the knack of using the roller it is faster and produces a better finish, I have seen canvases laminated with a hotpress de laminating on numerous occasions, liquid laminate soaks into the cotton fiber, binding the ink, not just sat on top like a plastic film.

https://youtu.be/wKqCqSSxgGU[/quote]

Thank you for your advice. I have decided not to bother with a heat press at all. I really enjoyed the youtube video it was interesting. I shall look into rollering liquid laminate though I am not sure where I might buy some from.

Alex

Here you go Glamour2 just try not to get as excited as that guy in the video!

I have used glamour 2 it is good, we are permajet stockists so we use their product, it is also good.

You will need to practice this, once you have the knack it is far cheaper and faster than laminating, spraying is good, but if you take set up and clean up time into consideration the roller is still faster.

Don't fanny around once you pour the varnish on get it spread out quickly, don't over work it, if it is streaky a second coat will sort it out, on second coats use less varnish about half of the first coat.

I varnished for 3 years before deciding to buy the Hotpress. I find laminating easier, quicker and more consistent, though I do admit to marginally preferring the finish of the glamour, but not enough to go back. I have never workout the costings as they are not that important to me. I certainly have less failures laminating, but that might just be me!

I am probably biased as we are very short of space so leaving canvases around the workshop to dry meant they could only be done at the end of the day (so invariable that would mean I would have to do it once everyone had left), and I could only do 6 canvases in one session if varnishing, but have no such limits if laminating. If I really have to I can print, laminate and stretch a canvas within an hour (though I really prefer to let the canvases dry over night), which I could not do if varnishing.

And in ten years some of them will be pealing (delaminating) none of mine will be.