The Framers Forum

What are the implications of glazing a laminated poster (both sides) without using spacers? Cheap invaluable Posters are usually mounted on adhesive card then spacers added to the glass before putting together. Placing the laminated Poster directly against the glass would ensure it was perfectly flat but is this wrong???

No problem putting glass directly on to poster just give the customer the options and reasons for each method then it’s down to cost and how much they want to pay.

The lamination provides the necessary protection from any condensation that may form from time to time on the inside of the glass.

As the laminate is normally glossy and very smooth, you could get Newton's rings where both the laminate and glass get pressed together and show as dark patches, so as long as you don't press too hard when fixing into the frame you should be okay

Framing a laminated poster between two sheets of glass so that both sides can be seen and
keeping it perfectly flat is not impossible.

Fairly close though.

Easier to get two un-laminated copies, dry mount them and frame them back-to-back with spacers.

A lot of the modern laminated posters are not produced using paper of the best quality, or thickness. I don't have the advantage of being able to examine the poster concerned to make a proper judgement, but framing a large poster in a frame to be viewed from both side can be less than easy and the outcome not always easy to determine beforehand. It does have to be recognised that unless you can take steps to guard against certain undesireable outcomes occurring, that may be exactly what happens instead of the desired result. To assume that you will somehow manage to get away with it, is just not being realistic. Life is full of unwanted outcomes, which don't turn out the way that we wanted and why should this case be any different!

We are in the business of delivering known outcomes, we are not magicians and it's dangerous for us to think otherwise. The only guarranteed outcome here is to dry mount two posters on to both faces of a sheet of mountboard and frame it between spacers. To do anything else is asking for trouble. When you have be framing long enough you learn that if you cannot mitigate the risks, don't do it at all. What is the solution to correct undesireable outcomes if it goes wrong. unless there is a guarranteed, cannot fail corrective action, which cannot fail to deliver the perfect outcome, leave well alone. You do need to undertake a well reasoned risk assessment, identify the risks and determine how to mitigate and overcome all those risks beforehand. Well I'm sorry, but on my reckonning the only viable option depends of needing two posters.

Oooooh, I thought it was laminated both sides like those heat sealed plastic pockets... nevermind...

Justintime wrote
"Oooooh, I thought it was laminated both sides like those heat sealed plastic pockets... nevermind..."
It is
Blaggard wrote
"..implications of glazing a laminated poster (both sides).."

Well that's how I read it..........

If it is laminated both sides it may be safe to frame after all.