How to flatten rolled posters for flat file storage

[lalatin]

I just purchased a flat file storage cabinet for storage of my posters. What is the best way to flatten a rolled poster? How do you keep them from wanting to roll up?
 

[erik1925]

One method many have done is to unroll them and place between a couple pieces of foamcore or cardboard, and then apply even weight, to help relax the folds.

In this case, time and patience, are also your good friends.   

[jedgerley]

One method many have done is to unroll them and place between a couple pieces of foamcore or cardboard, and then apply even weight, to help relax the folds.

In this case, time and patience, are also your good friends.   

+1

That was a quick response

[lalatin]

Patience for sure. I am stretching them out with magnets onto a magnetic board. But it is one poster at a time....so far haven't done many posters. Hoping to get suggestions to speed up the process.  

[marklawd]

Put your posters into mylar pockets first. They will flatten out in no time particularly if they are under weight.

Mark

[lalatin]

Thanks guys.

[theartofmovieposters]

Pftt...one at a time...ahem.
I just stack them all one on top of the other on a hard flat surface...put a piece of foamcore on top and then just load up the corners with weight.
I come back in a couple weeks time and wah-lah, flat!

Time and weight are definitely your key!

[eatbrie]

I keep my rolled posters in tubes and my folded posters in flat files, so I'm not necessarily an expert, but one way to flatten a rolled poster is to roll it the reverse way and hold it tight for a couple of minutes.  It usually comes out pretty straight.  That's what I do if I have to take a picture of a rolled poster.  To keep folded posters flat, I use Emovieposter books.  They are the perfect size and weight.  I probably have 100 of those books, so I use them in every drawer, at every corner.  Then stack your posters on top of each other, you can probably stack 300 posters per drawer, and they will eventually all be flat.

T

[Harry Caul]

I keep my rolled posters in tubes and my folded posters in flat files, so I'm not necessarily an expert, but one way to flatten a rolled poster is to roll it the reverse way and hold it tight for a couple of minutes.  It usually comes out pretty straight.  That's what I do if I have to take a picture of a rolled poster.  To keep folded posters flat, I use Emovieposter books.  They are the perfect size and weight.  I probably have 100 of those books, so I use them in every drawer, at every corner.  Then stack your posters on top of each other, you can probably stack 300 posters per drawer, and they will eventually all be flat.

T

My method is pretty similar… if the posters are very curled, I reverse roll them, tape a piece of brown paper around them and leave them for a day or two. Once everything is reasonably flat I stack a bunch of them in a flat file cabinet drawer, place a piece of foamcore on top and then spread out a bunch of thin books. They'll flatten out in no time.  And you can always remove the books/foamcore to add your latest purchases to the top of the stack. 

[Harry Caul]

I should add that I don't reverse roll them very tight... just enough to soften the curl.

[eatbrie]

Okay, not very very tight, but tight enough.

T

[Harry Caul]

Okay, not very very tight, but tight enough.

T

Sorry, didn't intentionally contradict you... if I was reverse rolling a handful of modern posters I would be comfortable rolling them pretty tight. 

I actually left out a step in my process.  The very first thing I do is take the rolled poster and lay it flat in a pile -- which ever way the curl is, I point that down.  A tightly rolled poster that has also been stored rolled is at a huge risk for edge tears and kinks (when the two corners roll in independently -- SHIT, SHIT, SHIT is usually what I'm saying at that point!).  When I first lay those rolled posters down is when I'm most careful in terms of handling.  Anyway, that stack gets pretty much everything -- curled, flat and folded posters -- added to it.  I also occasionally interleaved with a piece of brown paper from eMovie shipment, another one to top it off and then some weights/books.  Then after a few weeks/months, I take that pile and carefully reverse roll them in a big 6-8" diameter roll.  I wrap it in one more piece of brown paper and wait a few days.  When they come out, the curled ones are flat enough to filed and the folded ones are on their way to laying flat too.  If you have the space it's not a bad little system -- I typically just use the top of the flat file.

Which is all to say, I can't reverse-roll my posters too tightly at that point for risk of damaging something.

[Ari]

lay a number flat one way, then lay more on-top, with the curl the other way, and repeat step until done, then something flat over it all, then weigh it down, and leave.

[CSM]

lay a number flat one way, then lay more on-top, with the curl the other way, and repeat step until done, then something flat over it all, then weigh it down, and leave.

Just make sure to come back for them at some point

[Ari]

Just make sure to come back for them at some point

come back after you bought a FOLDING MACHINE!

[CSM]

come back after you bought a FOLDING MACHINE!

Isn't that another name for a woman?   



 

[lalatin]

Maybe I do need a steam roller to flatten my rolled posters. 

Thank you everyone for your advise. I will try each if I have too, time is all I need since I have many many rolled posters.

[MoviePosterBid.com]

Maybe I do need a steam roller to flatten my rolled posters. 

 

if you search old threads on the subject, you can also find how I handle posters in my flat files.

[guest8]

I stack 5-10 posters and then place a copy of the LOTR extended edition DVDs on each corner and wait a day or 10 and then put them in my flat file with some of Bruces movie poster books on each corner and forget about them, Works every time!

[eatbrie]

place a copy of the LOTR extended edition DVDs on each corner

Better than Bruce's books?

[50s]

I stack 5-10 posters and then place a copy of the LOTR extended edition DVDs on each corner

This is a great idea. Would a Fraggle Rock boxset work instead ?

[Ari]

No, its so good you keep putting the disks in the player.

[guest8]

Better than Bruce's books?

the only issue Ive had with the books are if I have a good number of posters and the curl is too strong I need 2-3 books per corner but the DVDs seem to weight just enough. Other than that they are the same really I just happen to have the DVDs handy more often than not.

[guest8]

This is a great idea. Would a Fraggle Rock boxset work instead ?

haha .. I dont use physical media anymore unless I have to.. so they are just about as worthless as the next IMHO.