Protective Framing/Archiving your collection?

[Disheveledamethyst]

I selectively collect animation posters and don't see myself ever having more than one hundred of them. It brings me great dissatisfaction to have them all rolled up in tubes and so I have been exploring different ways to display them.

The first is an enormous binder (32x42) full of archival mylar sleeves that I will have to have custom made. The binder I have already made myself, and the sleeves get cheaper the more I commission. So if I buy 50 now, it would only cost about $10-$11 a sleeve. The sleeves have protective dust flaps and are approved by the library of congress for archiving, so I assume it will protect the posters from everything but UVs. Hence the binder covering.

But this only makes the posters easier to view when I wish to behold or display them specifically. I also wish to have certain posters of which I am especially affectionate hung around my home in frames. However, most of my house is in either direct sunlight or under harsh florescent light. As an experiment, I hung a piece of blue construction paper on my wall for six months. When I took it off, the face of the paper was several shades bleached from the back of the paper and therefore if I'm going to display a poster I need to be very cautious of light exposure.

I have invested in one frame thus far with museum glass that I was guaranteed would protect my poster from UV bleaching. However, the frame cost me $99. Since this is a community of collectors, I was hoping others might shed some light (no pun intended) on how you display your posters, and how you store the ones you don't have on your walls.

[Neo]

Most of my frames have Acrylite OP-3 in them.  It blocks 98% of UV light.  The windows in my condo are also tinted, blocking out a substantial percentage of UV light.  I don't use a lot of interior lights in my condo, and most interior lights other than halogens do not emit a lot of UV light anyway - but even a low level on for significant amounts of time would obviously not be good.  Luckily, my windows are all facing North (one is slightly Northwest), so being in the Northern Hemisphere, there is usually no direct sun light in my condo.  Taking these factors into consideration, I am confident that my posters will not fade much, if it all.  It just boils down to how far you want to go with protecting them.  They can sit in a drawer, box, etc. forever and not suffer damage, or they can be framed and appreciated, possibly being slightly damaged a little bit even if precautions are taken.  Personally, I'd say if it's not the Mona Lisa or something like that, then take a few preventive measures, and don't get too worked up over it, but that's just me.

[Disheveledamethyst]

Did you order those frames online, or did you buy them some place local?

I've had a hard time online because a lot of places won't ship the glass with any kind of warranty, so if they break in transit I'm stuck with them.

[tstatum]

Just stay away from glass go with some style of plexi.

[Neo]

Did you order those frames online, or did you buy them some place local?

I've had a hard time online because a lot of places won't ship the glass with any kind of warranty, so if they break in transit I'm stuck with them.

I get them from a local framer at close to wholesale price.  They chop and join the frames, cut the foamboard and acrylic (all at a very reasonable price) and I assemble them with a point driver and flexible points.  But yeah, it's probably best to go with acrylic (commonly referred to as plexi-glass).  For several years I had a few posters in frames with glass in a garage right near the Gulf, the most humid garage/room I have ever been in (because I didn't know any better) and none of the posters adhered to the glass.  With originals of any value, I would not take the chance.

[Disheveledamethyst]

I've been reading up a little on acrylic and it keeps saying that while lighter and shatter resistant it's twice as expensive and scratches at the brush of an eyelash.

Is there scratch resistant acrylic? These hundred dollar frames are a bit hard on the wallet, but preservation is paramount.

[Tang Lung in Rome]

Just bought 50 11x14 rigid pockets...they fit :

US lobbys
Spain lobbys
old French lobbys (Dr No and FRWL)
Turk mag posters (1" too small)
old Turk newspaper mags
Italy/Japan clippings (same as above)
R82 Big Boss lobbys (71 lobbys were half inch too big)

[tstatum]

I've never had a problem with it scratching,  but make sure not to use windex on it or it will over time ruin.

[Disheveledamethyst]

Just bought 50 11x14 rigid pockets...they fit :

US lobbys
Spain lobbys
old French lobbys (Dr No and FRWL)
Turk mag posters (1" too small)
old Turk newspaper mags
Italy/Japan clippings (same as above)
R82 Big Boss lobbys (71 lobbys were half inch too big)

I wish I could do that. I have a bunch of lobby cards I want to display but, again, the UVs will ruin them in six months.

[Neo]

I've been reading up a little on acrylic and it keeps saying that while lighter and shatter resistant it's twice as expensive and scratches at the brush of an eyelash.

Is there scratch resistant acrylic? These hundred dollar frames are a bit hard on the wallet, but preservation is paramount.

I have had acrylic for years and do not have any scratches on it.  Just use a clean, microfiber towel to clean it and a little acrylic cleaner (making sure it doesn't run to the lower edge of the frame after it is sprayed on there).  If it is cleaned with an abrasive terry cloth towel or something like that it would probably get swirl marks or more serious scratches.

[Cj]

I was told using a paper towel to clean will scratch acrylic due to fiberglass used in the paper towel.

[CSM]

www.hollywoodposterframes.com

www.americanframe.com

[CSM]

Others have used:

http://www.spotlightdisplays.com/

[Disheveledamethyst]

Others have used:

http://www.spotlightdisplays.com/

I haven't checked the other two yet, but the ones from Spotlight don't seem to have UV protection, which is essential. :/

[Neo]

I was told using a paper towel to clean will scratch acrylic due to fiberglass used in the paper towel.

Yeah, it wouldn't surprise me if they did.  Micro-fiber is the best  After re-reading my last post about cleaning, I realized I mis-wrote.  The acrylic cleaner I use is only when the posters are not in the frame and it is almost like a coat of wax on the acrylic, so the posters can slide easily (not stick to the acrylic from static) and when I clean the outside while posters are inside it (using only a micro-fiber towel), the lint or dust wipes right off like a fresh coat of wax on a car. 

[Disheveledamethyst]

Does anybody know what degree of UV protection the archival frames on hollywoodposterframes are? I've been using glass (which is heavy and expensive...) because it's 99.9% UV protective and my posters are under constant exposure to such rays. I've yet to find a cheaper, lighter alternative...

[jayn_j]

I haven't checked the other two yet, but the ones from Spotlight don't seem to have UV protection, which is essential. :/

I just took delivery of my first spotlight display frame last night.  The frame is well made and is of a front opening design.  It looks like it will be easy to create a lightbox design for double sided posters.  This was my goal.

The frame came with 2 layers of glazing, one clear and one semi-frosted.  The clear one still had some texturing and can provide moderate anti-glare.  However, the material is thin mylar and came rolled inside the 10" square x 4' box.

I went back and looked on the spotlight website just now to check out UV protection.  They claim the material is PETG:

The material we use (PETG) has been put through a  Photographic Activity Test (PAT). There is some great information about this test at the following link. I think that it would be beneficial to all who collect posters to look at this information.

The website they reference: http://www.archives.gov/preservation/family-archives/album-types.html claims that the material they use passes an ANSI test for reactivity and fading.  That test is specified by the National Archives who wrote the article in the link.

Searching PETG took me to this wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyethylene_terephthalate.  This is basically the stuff 2L soda bottles are made from.  The article doesn't claim any UV protection, and says the material will degrade over time under UV exposure.  However, it does seem relatively inert.

Based on that, I would tentatively say their material is UV safe, but only time will tell.

[Cj]

I just took delivery of my first spotlight display frame last night.  The frame is well made and is of a front opening design.  It looks like it will be easy to create a lightbox design for double sided posters.  This was my goal.

Here is a link to my website of my lightboxes that I built using Spotlight Displays frames.
http://www.moviepostermadness.com/Movie_Poster_Madness/Light_Boxes.html

Holiday and Supraman also used Spotlight frames to build theirs.

Here are links to their sites.
http://web.mac.com/supraman079/iWeb/Movie%20Poster%20Collection/Lightbox.html

I cant seem to get Holidays to link.

Cj

[CSM]

Does anybody know what degree of UV protection the archival frames on hollywoodposterframes are? I've been using glass (which is heavy and expensive...) because it's 99.9% UV protective and my posters are under constant exposure to such rays. I've yet to find a cheaper, lighter alternative...

I am pretty sure Sue's archival frames have the same 99+ % UV filtering.  She also has non-glare UV plexi.  Keep in mind you also need a acid free backing as well (which Sue's frames have).

I have one of Sue's frames up on the wall for an Aussie one sheet and it looks great!

All my daybills are framed with materials from Americanframe.com - all archival - UV filtered non-glare plexi and acid free backing board.

Here is an educational read on the dangers of using glass frames:

http://www.hollywoodposterframes.com/index.php?p=page&page_id=protect_investment

[Disheveledamethyst]

I actually sent her an e-mail asking for some advice. She uses 76% UV filtering or something, but I believe that should be enough. I'm still waiting for a second reply from her.

[jayn_j]

Here is a link to my website of my lightboxes that I built using Spotlight Displays frames.
http://www.moviepostermadness.com/Movie_Poster_Madness/Light_Boxes.html

Holiday and Supraman also used Spotlight frames to build theirs.

Here are links to their sites.
http://web.mac.com/supraman079/iWeb/Movie%20Poster%20Collection/Lightbox.html

Great links.  I was actually going to try and use LED rope light.  I picked up a 50' string yesterday, but one segment was burned out.  I'm also not sure it is going to be bright enough, although the prevailing folklore said 50'.

I was looking at lED to keep the heat down, and to provide a lower profile.

[Harry Caul]

I was looking at lED to keep the heat down, and to provide a lower profile.

IEDs!!!?!     


 

[CJ138]

Has anyone bought from Wholesale Poster Frames? I am wondering if they are comprable to Hollywood Poster Frames. They seem to be similar but Wholesale is a little cheaper. Here is the ebay store:
http://stores.ebay.com/Wholesale-Poster-Frames