POSTERFIX ........"in trouble?"

[screenone]

Hi everyone, hope your all having a good week.
Just wanted to ask if anyone else has noticed emails from posterfix offering cheaper backing due to the fact that they cannot, "pay their rent!".
Seriously, is this for real?. Surely they have been going for long enough to be able to have funds available, especially as it is only for $2000. Not a vast fortune in this day and age.
Also, can someone please tell me why Posterfix are not thought that good.
Cheers.
Speaky later.

[50s]

I think they were saying that years ago too. Posterfix is discussed in numerous threads here detailing the problems

[screenone]

Thought so, I was sure I got a similar email last year from them

[Crazy Vick]

having digs on the water like that isn't cheap I imagine. 
https://www.google.ca/maps/search/63+Flushing+Ave.,+Unit+249+Brooklyn+NY+11205+/@40.7017726,-73.976572,16.5z

If you dont have the luxury of working directly with a gallery I am sure its not an easy business to thrive in particularly if your reputation has taken a beating over the years.  The crayons he uses, the canvas rolls etc aren't cheap as well, and at the rate he charges for 10 x 1 sheets on ebay they sometimes go for $600-700. After ebay and paypal fees, and supplies as mentioned, sounds like a week's worth of labour for probably just a few hundred bucks.

[screenone]

Well, I certainly know about the Ebay rip-off and true, materials cant be cheap. But I do find it strange that he doesn't have an emergency fund held for just such an occasion.
I don't get emails from others holding out the begging bowl, just find it strange.
And why does he get such bad feedback?

[erik1925]

I also got that same email, maybe 2+ months ago, with him saying they were close to not being able to afford rent, to pass the email along and to send him business.

[screenone]

Maybe it's just his way of drumming up more business by pleading poverty

[erik1925]

With a restoration and, imho, mishandling of the poster, in its prep for backing, is it any wonder this company may be in trouble?

These 2 clips are for the restoration of a French-African, 1950's RR one sheet for King Kong.

Watch and look at the appearance of the poster as it is initially unfolded (it was backed with kraft paper when received by PF).The poster, tho, is mostly all there. Watch and look at the amount of paper loss once the poster was backed (after being "cut" into sections, and the kraft paper removed). I was floored at how much of the poster was missing, especially around the title area, once the poster was re-assembled & on the linen.

Note how Mr Cloutier says he cant find an (online) image of this poster as a reference for his wife to use (who is doing the actual restoration. (Watching this section is also another eye opener, as she leans and lays her arms on the poster, has problems matching the yellow font/paint color etc.)

"No image exists" he says, at the start of Part II. Yet a quick search showed that HA sold this same poster (also backed) about 6 months before these clips were made, in July of 2014 in their Sig Auction, for $4481.25:

http://movieposters.ha.com/itm/horror/king-kong-union-films-afrique-r-1950s-french-north-african-two-sheet-39-x-53-/a/7098-83334.s?ic4=GalleryView-Thumbnail-071515

(BTW, Posterfix's 2 videos were made and uploaded in Jan. of 2015). 

Enjoy (if you dare). 

PART ONE:
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/ICHkn2zNuK0" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/ICHkn2zNuK0</a>


PART TWO:
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/cX9mCToL0uc" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/cX9mCToL0uc</a>

[laikaislost]

I know this isn't valuation forum, but what would the value of that french king kong poster be pre-"restoration" and post "restoration" compared to a better original condition version?  That just seems like a lot of painting on a poster, and I kind of like them being more original than not...  I mean if you need that much re-color, isn't a reproduction more enjoyable for the cost?!

edit: added quotation marks around "restoration"

[Simes]

There is a 'When is a Poster not a Poster' thread that this question would sit nicely in...

[erik1925]

The HA copy is on the left and the Posterfix restored poster is on the right.

If you look closely at the woman in blue at the bottom, she is lacking the proper "detail" and shading shown on the original. Also on the PF restore, Kong's body, as seen between the red title, is missing a couple yellow highlights. It was painted (recreated) as just a flat brown color:

[erik1925]

I know this isn't valuation forum, but what would the value of that french king kong poster be pre-"restoration" and post "restoration" compared to a better original condition version?  That just seems like a lot of painting on a poster, and I kind of like them being more original than not...  I mean if you need that much re-color, isn't a reproduction more enjoyable for the cost?!

edit: added quotation marks around "restoration"

Because it looks like a certain percentage of the original poster was lost when PF sloppily removed the kraft paper backing (most notably in the area of the title and bottom area), this poster got a lot more paint than should have been needed, imho. If you watch how Cloutier peels the brown paper backing off, and parts of the poster begin to pull away, is it any wonder that so much of the original poster ended up in the trash can. 

I think it could be safe to say that Posterfix actually DE-valued this poster due to the poor work done to it, vs its value, pre-"restoration." Looks to be another posterfixless travesty, paint job included. 

[DekeThornton]

I shudder to think I was tempted by one of posterfix's eBay specials as a brand new naive collector. I am sure googling the posterfix name spared me some inevitable disappointment/anger.

[erik1925]

I shudder to think I was tempted by one of posterfix's eBay specials as a brand new naive collector. I am sure googling the posterfix name spared me some inevitable disappointment/anger.

I can totally relate.

After a less than stellar experience with a local SoCal restorer (Debi Jacobson of L'Imagerie Gallery in North Hollywood, CA -- I know that fellow member Steve (50s) also loves her, too  ), I also almost opted to send a 1927 French 1P to posterfix, after talking with him on the phone for about an hour. I was also newer to the collecting game.

THANK god, i didnt mail it off to him  -- my main reason being that I didnt want to ship a poster 'cross country, and instead hand carried it to John Davis & Poster Mountain, instead. 

[Simes]

Because it looks like a certain percentage of the original poster was lost when PF sloppily removed the kraft paper backing (most notably in the area of the title and bottom area), this poster got a lot more paint than should have been needed, imho. If you watch how Cloutier peels the brown paper backing off, and parts of the poster begin to pull away, is it any wonder that so much of the original poster ended up in the trash can. 

I think it could be safe to say that Posterfix actually DE-valued this poster due to the poor work done to it, vs its value, pre-"restoration." Looks to be another posterfixless travesty, paint job included. 

Interesting to see side by side.  Thanks for that. 

In the past, I had mistakenly bought a Dr No quad that had had extensive paint work done to the whole surface area.  It was thought that the poster had been one of the Irish censored posters that someone wanted to restore to a non-censored presentation.  As a keen but newbie type, I did Not do a side by side comparison and was sent something with skin tones and no shading on Andress similar to that which you have highlighted.

And as for the bit now in Bold, I daresay you are absolutely correct.

[Neo]

Just browsing through YouTube and saw the most recent PosterFix video.

He mentions several times about the difficulty with linen backing modern glossies...  I have not had any issues like that with the few in my humble collection that were backed.  The final result on one of the Kiss posters at 19:17 is shocking.  Is that one made out of mylar?

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/2lItJWQ131c" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/2lItJWQ131c</a>

[guest4531]

It looks like a foil poster to me.

[erik1925]

The majority of the posters in the vid looks in good condition, prior to backing. Im sure the owner with get an eyeful when the are returned. Cloutier also mentioned how the surface of glossy posters is more prone to scratching. It probably doesnt help that he was (during the course of the video) keep laying the backed posters on top of the other, sliding the linen back across the face of the other, while stacking them.

Tis another video that shows more harm than good, in many respects.

[Simes]

Is this video supposed to be in some way, a marketing tool?

I only ask as he seems to start out with a list of all he Can't do.  And while the issues may (or may not) be real, the chap isn't inspiring confidence.

[MoviePosterBid.com]

Is this video supposed to be in some way, a marketing tool?

I only ask as he seems to start out with a list of all he Can't do.  And while the issues may (or may not) be real, the chap isn't inspiring confidence.

he wants to make linenbacking great again...

[erik1925]

he wants to make linenbacking great again...

 

[erik1925]

Seems it's happening again.  This was posted to MOPO just a couple days ago, on Nov 9th:


To Posterfix members,

Linen backing enhances value!

Please help Posterfix meet its expenses this week! A payment of $300 today  thru paypal will
give you credit for linen backing 4 posters! Please email me to work out the details.
We have not gotten any funds in several weeks despite these promotions.

We have over 25 years in the field of poster conservation and preservation. Please
give us a try this fall!

I wanted to alert you that I have over 100 original posters listed for sale or auction
on ebay. Many are movie posters, but some are military, political, advertising etc.
Artists like Keith Harring, Richard Amsel, RobertPeak, David Klein, Al Hirschfeld, and more.
From War Bonds to Star Wars; from bisquits to animal feed. Magic, Circus, etc.

and more will be listed as the week goes on.
We are trying hard to raise $2000 to pay our bills!


We look forward to seeing your posters

Chris Clouier

[timelessmoviemagic]

Seems it's happening again.  This was posted to MOPO just a couple days ago, on Nov 9th:


To Posterfix members,

Linen backing enhances value!

Please help Posterfix meet its expenses this week! A payment of $300 today  thru paypal will
give you credit for linen backing 4 posters! Please email me to work out the details.
We have not gotten any funds in several weeks despite these promotions.

We have over 25 years in the field of poster conservation and preservation. Please
give us a try this fall!

I wanted to alert you that I have over 100 original posters listed for sale or auction
on ebay. Many are movie posters, but some are military, political, advertising etc.
Artists like Keith Harring, Richard Amsel, RobertPeak, David Klein, Al Hirschfeld, and more.
From War Bonds to Star Wars; from bisquits to animal feed. Magic, Circus, etc.

and more will be listed as the week goes on.
We are trying hard to raise $2000 to pay our bills!


We look forward to seeing your posters

Chris Clouier

I don't wish hardship on anyone but because of the shoddy processes and undue care and attention of other peoples posters you can see why he/they aren't getting a lot of business.

The first point of call when you aren't getting the business is to review your processes and see if the slowdown of business is because of something you are doing incorrectly and in this case it certainly is that.

[erik1925]

I don't wish hardship on anyone but because of the shoddy processes and undue care and attention of other peoples posters you can see why he/they aren't getting a lot of business.

The first point of call when you aren't getting the business is to review your processes and see if the slowdown of business is because of something you are doing incorrectly and in this case it certainly is that.

So true Marc. I happened to watch this more recent clip of work he and his wife did on this 1853 lithograph. The rough handling, dry tape removal (watching that made me cringe, as the litho is SO brittle, and likely caused further damage) and what looks like resultant, additional paper loss, (that later had to be in-painted) exemplifies your comment above:

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/3RVAiG4R6PE" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/3RVAiG4R6PE</a>

[brude]

It pains me to watch this guy's videos.