A short rant on Bainbridge

[wpfay]

:fire: I am in the middle of doing a bunch of embellished mats for a client...everything must be done by Friday.
I was preparing 3 mats for watercolor panels (B8462V) and all was going well until I started removing the masking tape (Kleenedge...been using it for years). The mat boards had swelled up to about twice their original thickness, and the pigment had run under the tape! It was as if the surface wasn't sized at all. Into the trash they went.
This morning I started again with another color (B8464V), and am having the same experience! Earlier this week I did 9 mats on a combination of B8431v and B8188V, and they worked perfectly.
The only difference that I can think of is that the successful mats were those i have had in stock for a while, whereas the failures were all delivered within the last couple of months (show special from Atlanta).
I have a call into Bainbridge to see if they changed the sizing formula, or if they have quit sizing these particular mats. When a mat board has the suffix "V" it is supposed to be part of the Vellum series and be sized to accept watercolor.

Anybody else notice the difference?

[jframe]

I truly feel your pain, Wally.

[Rick Granick]

Sounds like you do quite a bit of French mat work, Wally. Love to see some if you get a chance to post pictures.
Let us know what response you get from bainbridge.
:kaffeetrinker_2: Rick

[wpfay]

I heard back from Bainbridge and they want samples of the board, and are going to replace the bad board in compensation for my time. The rep seemed genuinely concerned that the mats were not performing as expected.
I will be sending samples of the board to their NJ offices for analysis.

[RoboFramer]

I've had so many similar problem with artcare vellum boards that I only do French mats on cotton board.

My rep says it is due to two different manufacturers, one European, one American, the American one does not size their boards as Mat decoration is 'not popular in The States'

Don't worry, I put him straight!

[PaulSF]

I'm trying to teach myself how to do French mats, and I'm having beaucoup problems with the ruling pen. I can't seem to get it started without leaving a healthy glob of ink on the mat, and too often it seeps under the straightedge. Is there a certain angle for handling the ruling pen? Also, is there any reason I couldn't just use a fountain pen for drawing lines?

[tnframer408]

Paul==oneof theBIG PPFA instructors==who shall remain nameless--once did a class in Atlanta using one of those pens, but admitted he "cheated" by usually using just a fineline gel-type pen bought at an art store. Personally, while they look neat and cool, I feel they take way too much time to be truly profitable; why not farm them out to those folks who advertise in the mags as specialists??

[preservator]

Wash and line designs on windows are a tremendous aesthetic addition to
antique framing, but a GOOD ruling pen is required, for maintenance of one's
sanity. The really good ones stopped being made in the '70's and the best
chance of finding one, today is by asking elderly relative who did drafting,
decades ago. Anything professional grade made before 1960 and anything that says "Kern" should bring joy to its user.


Hugh

[susang]

Wally,

I put a fair amount of french lines on my mats and I did have a few over the past few months that bled. I attributed it to having the acrylic/water ratio of my paint mix being a little on the watery side. Now that I hear that I am not the only one with this problem, I think that maybe it wasn't the thickness of my paint. I've been doing French lines on mats for about 18 years and I never had this problem. When I use French lines, they are on smaller pieces, so I probably just took another piece of fallout, which might have been from an older batch and it worked. I just assumed that Freddy was passing through and was having some holiday fun in my shop.

Susan
Whispering Woods Gallery
Holland PA

[wpfay]

Mike, any labor intensive technique is only as profitable as you make it. Between improved production (with this being a major exception) and aggressive pricing, I find that I can average about $100/hr. doing mat embellishments. I know this isn't huge money, but is pretty good filler for when I don't have anything else to do.

As Hugh said, the quality of the tool is important. The sharpness and cleanliness of the pen is equally so. I lost a bid on a Kern offset pen on eBay a while back. I put in a proxy bid of $200.00 and lost. It was part of a set in pristine condition.

With inconsistancies evident from Bainbridge, I will be more careful to test the surface before spending too much time in prep. The last mat of the bunch was BTM8462VL and it had the same reaction to the watercolor as the B8462V, So I changed the design to use opaque acrylic paints and decorative papers.

[Jim Miller]

As a calligrapher, I have had to deal with just about every paint/pen issue you can imagine.

For pen lines on mats, I prefer to use a ruling pen; I have several good ones, but with enough practice, even a cheap one will work.

First, make sure the metal surfaces are free of oil or other contaminants. Every new pen is coated with something, so I always apply heat from a match for a moment, and then quench quickly in water/ammonia solution to remove varnish or oil. Too much heat anneals the metal and ruins the pen, so be careful. Older pens may become oxidized, so they need careful cleaning, as well. A coated or dirty pen will not hold fluid properly in its reservoir.

After cleaning the pen, adjust the point-spread and then apply one -- and only one -- drop of fluid into the pen, making sure it is contained between the inner surfaces of the tines. If you dip the pen into the fluid, disaster will follow shortly.

Use a ruler that has a backing of cork or other material that elevates the ruling edges off the paper's surface. You can glue a strip of 4-ply matboard to the back of a ruler to serve this purpose. The separation of ruler from paper eliminates most of the bleed-under problem.

My fluid of choice is no longer ink. Instead, I use acrylic gouache, aka "airbrush color". I especially like to use Dr. Ph. Martin's Spectralite Airbrush Color. It comes in small dropper-bottles, perfect for loading a single drop into a pen.

When the acrylic paint dries, it is water-proof. That means it is possible to ink the lines first, and then add diluted watercolor washes between them just a few minutes later, without having the lines bleed.

If I use traditional gouache or ink, I often add a smidge (technical term, meaning a very small pinch) of powdered gum arabic. That is the traditional binder in gouache and watercolors, and it is compatible with most brands. Experiment to see how much is needed. The goal is to make the fluid "puddle" instead of bleeding/running/spreading. If you add too much gum arabic, the fluid will not want to come out of the pen, and then it will gush out uncontrollably when forced.

When all is prepared, hold the pen absolutely vertically, with the thinner, straight tine squared to the ruler. Then, tilt the pen about 15 degrees in the direction of travel, and draw the pen slowly and consistently to the end of the line in one motion. Watch the angles as you draw the line, making sure not to twist the pen as you go.

[PaulSF]

I'm using the little kit that Columba Publishing sells. I'll keep practicing, but I'm taking in one of my good fountain pens and several bottles of different color inks today, and I'm going to see if that works better for me. I can understand the difference between using a good quality ruling pen and a poor quality ruling pen, but I'm still not sure whether a ruling pen is essential if another type of pen (such as a fountain pen with a big big ink reservoir) would draw a nice line.

[Dave]

Paul, be careful what inks you use in any fountain pen. You must use only fountain pen inks or liquid transparent watercolors like Dr. Martin's Synchromatic Watercolors or the pen will clog. India Ink is shellac based and the shellac will build up a coating over use and ruin the pen. Any heavily pigmented liquid, such as gouache (opaqe watercolor) will clog the pen.

This is the reason that a ruling pen is the instrument of choice.

Of course, if your using a throw-a-way fountain pen, such as Mont Blanc or an antique Dunhill, experiment to your hearts content...:eek:!!!

I'm surprised no one has mentioned using technical pens like Rapidograph or Mars-Staedtler. They are excellent for ruling, easy to use and will last for years if proper care and feeding advice is followed. There are various waterproof transparent and opaque inks specifically intended for tech pens available and any water soluable dye based pigment could be used. On the larger size pens (#2 and higher) an artist's grade gouache, such as Winsor & Newton will flow well too if thinned to the right viscosity.

Jim...thanks for taking the time to give excellent technique advice. Your descriptions make me want to dig out my french mat tool box and play again. I haven't had a large call for french mats lately and need to practice my technique.

Dave Makielski

[Dave]

Jim mentioned the use of gum arabic to thicken up watercolors that are too thin to adhere properly to the ruling pen. If you are having trouble with thicker watercolors not flowing properly and thinning with distilled water doesn't solve the problem, try ox gall. Ox gall is a surfactant and intended to make watercolors have less surface tension allowing the watercolor to more easily flow off the ruling pen.


Be forewarned!

Ox Gall is the fluid from an ox's gall bladder and is somewhere near the top of the list of the foulest smelling odors known to man.

:vomit:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ox_gall

Dave Makielski

[PaulSF]

Paul, be careful what inks you use in any fountain pen. You must use only fountain pen inks or liquid transparent watercolors like Dr. Martin's Synchromatic Watercolors or the pen will clog. India Ink is shellac based and the shellac will build up a coating over use and ruin the pen. Any heavily pigmented liquid, such as gouache (opaqe watercolor) will clog the pen.

This is the reason that a ruling pen is the instrument of choice.

Of course, if your using a throw-a-way fountain pen, such as Mont Blanc or an antique Dunhill, experiment to your hearts content...:eek:!!!

I'm surprised no one has mentioned using technical pens like Rapidograph or Mars-Staedtler. They are excellent for ruling, easy to use and will last for years if proper care and feeding advice is followed. There are various waterproof transparent and opaque inks specifically intended for tech pens available and any water soluable dye based pigment could be used. On the larger size pens (#2 and higher) an artist's grade gouache, such as Winsor & Newton will flow well too if thinned to the right viscosity.

Jim...thanks for taking the time to give excellent technique advice. Your descriptions make me want to dig out my french mat tool box and play again. I haven't had a large call for french mats lately and need to practice my technique.

Dave Makielski

Thanks for the advice. I wasn't planning on using anything other than fountain pen inks in my pens, since I do collect good quality new and antique fountain pens. So let me ask this -- is there any problem using fountain pen inks on French mats?

[Twin2]

I've been interested in trying my hand at french lines, etc., but I don't have a ruling pen. I tried looking for one on a couple on-line art stores in Canada, but didn't seem to find anything. Where might I purchase a good quality ruling pen. (I did read Hugh's post about the really good ones haven't been made for years...)

thanks.

[Dave]

One problem I forsee is that I believe the fountain pen inks will not be as colorfast as other liquid mediums. I'm basing this on an assumption having observed older documents where the inks have faded dramatically. This could easily be misinformation if the manufacturers of fountain pen inks have improved the lightfastness over the years.

You may want to contact the manufacturer of whichever inks you use and inquire about their products lightfastness.

Also most fountain pens will have a curved point such that you won't have a surface to keep flush against a raised straightedge making it difficult to keep a truly straight line. If the edge of the straightedge is flat to the paper you would definately have problems with the ink crawling under the surface of your ruler.

One other potential problem...a steel tipped fountain pen may not flow well enough and you may have skipping problems. I don't know if ox gall would affect the internal bladder or syringe fill system. Steel tipped pens would be less flexible and give you a more even line than a gold point, however the ink flows better from a "broken in" gold point fountain pen.

Changing the angle of any fountain pen will take a breaking in period to allow the pen to flow well and mold to the users way of holding the pen. That's why gold tipped fountain pens are as personal as a toothbrush and you shouldn't allow any one else to use your pen for any extended period of time...that is...unless they are signing a purchase order for $ 10,000 worth of framing...then you just give them the pen as a gift after they sign the contract!

Dave Makielski

[Dave]

Karen...Mars-Staedtler still makes decent quality ruling pens. They should be available at any good art material or drafting supply store. If not in stock, there should be no problem special ordering.

The quality of the newer ruling pens is not as good as the old nickel steel pens of years past but should suffice. The older ones may be able to be found on ebay or even an antique store...or...if you know of anyone who's father or grandfather was an architect, engineer or draftsman ask them if they would be willing to part with one of their tools if they still have them. Tell them you would treasure it and think of the original user and ask them to steady your hand whenever you use it!

:rolleyes:

Dave Makielski

[Bogframe]

I've been doing french lines for years using a Dahle ruling pen Like this one (http://www.pearlpaint.com/shop_details~ocID~1999~parentID~1999~categoryID~19 51~sku~791429.htm) and Cottman watercolor for ink. I add sugar water drop by drop to the watercolor until I get a slightly wetter than gel consistency. I use the same "ink" for my panels, highly diluted with water to the consistency of tea and do about 5 or 6 coats for a nice, translucent look.

[JFeig]

look at this pen

http://www.draftingsteals.com/996.html

http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/draftingsteals-store_1927_7619698

[tnframer408]

Wally--yeah you're right--at that price/labor point, Ican see the profitability. Yeah, Mars/Staedler were the pens I was thinking of and what the instructor used, but as I say, this was years ago in Atlanta and from what I'm reading here, maybe techniques have changed

[Rick Granick]

I usually use a pen from an antique drafting tool set I've had for years. It works very well but unfortunately the blades are fairly narrow, so its ink capacity is small, and I have to reload/continue on longer lines. I also have one of the wider Dahle pens that I got from United some years ago, but I don't like it as well.
When we browse antique shops I'm always on the lookout for good old drafting sets or pens. They are not easy to find.
For gold and silver lines I use Winsor newton metallic goache, thinned to a creamy consistancy with distilled water.
:cool: Rick
I used to use Rapidograph pens for drawing back in high school and college (when they were "cool"), but I remember spending more time cleaning them and/or getting them to start flowing, than actually productively drawing with them.:fire:

[RoboFramer]

I find the 'ecobra' ruling pen excellent.

http://www.lionpic.co.uk/index.php?sess_id=oxggtyyhx1gdi64jfpqfcwc87tfa7cmn&mode=product_info&productid=1375

[Dave]

Technical pens are wonderful but you have to know the care and feeding of them.

The most common clogging problems:

1.) Old ink. Once you open a bottle of tech pen ink, date it...don't use the ink in a tech pen if it has been open for over a year. It begins to coagulate and have sediment which will clog your finer tech pens (#0 or smaller). You can use this older ink with a brush or a ruling pen. Be aware that India ink is very hard on a natural hair sable brush.

2.) Wrong ink. Use only ink made for a tech pen. Regular India ink has a shellac base which will build up a coating in the pen and clog it in a realtively short period of time. You can use any non-pigmented water based ink such as Dr. Martin's Synchromatic Watercolors. Using Acrylic inks are asking for trouble as acrylic is pigmented and dries very quickly.

3.) NEVER shake the pen to get it started...#1 reason for clogging by new users. The threads on the point serve as an air feed to replace the ink flowing out of the cartridge resevoir. If you shake the pen to start it ink is forced into the air feed and as soon as it dries air will not be able to get into the pen and and the ink will be unable to flow out the point. Instead of shaking lightly tap the pen with the cap on in both directions and slowly move from side to side so that the reamer needle in the pen moves back and forth. The pen, depending on the size of the point, will start within about 30 seconds.

4.) Dried ink. Rule of thumb...if you don't know when the next time you are going to use the pen, flush it out. Once the ink has dried in the pen it can be very difficult to clean it and near impossible with anything below a #00. If you know you'll be using the pen soon...a few days or so...moisten a cotton ball and put it in a sandwhich bag with the pen or in the case if you have a set of pens. This will help to humidify the pen and keep it from drying out.

Another care and feeding tip...Always fill the pen cartridge at least three quarters full. A tech pen is a gravity feed pen. If there is more air in the cartridge than ink the heat of your hand will expand the air faster in the cartridge than the ink and the pen will become a force fed pen. The result will be a blob at the start and finish of each line you draw. Ink is inexpensive...don't be cheap and try to save a few drops by not filling the entire cartridge.

Tech pens are the next best alternative to using a ruling pen and take less practice than a ruling pen. They will last many years if proper care is taken...just like any tool a framer uses.

I know...more information than you needed...can't help myself...I sold art supplies all my life until a few years ago and it's in my blood and still a passion for me.

Dave Makielski

[Twin2]

Thanks to all for the ruling pen suggestions. I will check them out soon.

[Rick Granick]

Dave, I wish I had known all that back in school ! It would have saved me hours of tapping the point on a pad or table, rubbing it in spit on my left fingertip, scratching away holes in paper, and disassembling the nibs, cleaning them, and trying to thread the tiny wire rod back down into the needle tip.
If I could get back all that time now, my hair would be dark again and I would be a few pounds thinner.
:popc: Rick

[PaulSF]

Thanks for all the advice.

I tried my good Waterman medium-nib fountain pen, with some ink from Levenger, and it worked beautifully. No bleeding under the edge of the ruler, no blobs, and no need to refill. The lines are straight, with no unusual variation in width or color density.

[freakquency]

I have been 'french' matting for many years and have found that the older the ruling pen the better the performance. I found an entire set, with hand carved handles at a garage sale. Paid a dollar and it works fabulous. As for keeping it from running under the ruler. Line the ruler with 1 or 2 ply rag set just back from edge so it does not absorb the ink or paint. I only use water color, no kits. Guess I'm old school. I've ordered and tried the newer ruling pens. Hate em.

[PaulSF]

As a calligrapher, I have had to deal with just about every paint/pen issue you can imagine.

When all is prepared, hold the pen absolutely vertically, with the thinner, straight tine squared to the ruler. Then, tilt the pen about 15 degrees in the direction of travel, and draw the pen slowly and consistently to the end of the line in one motion. Watch the angles as you draw the line, making sure not to twist the pen as you go.

Jim, THANK YOU!! That last bit of advice as to how to hold the ruling pen really made ALL THE DIFFERENCE! I've just tried it, and except for a couple of boo-boos, it has really worked for me! So thank you, I really appreciate it. Such a basic little thing -- how to hold the tool -- but that's actually not covered in the kit or the Vivian Kistler DVD that came with the kit.

[Ron Eggers]

This is a great thread and an example of The Grumble at its best.

I have little personal use for the information, but it's great to see, since a lot of it won't be found anywhere else.

[Val]

You guys got me all fired up about ruling pens and lines and all, I couldn't sleep and got up and (finally) watched Brian Wolf's "Mat Decoration" DVD. After reading your explanations, and then watching Brian, I'm chomping at the bit to get back at it, did it years ago, but out of practice, and never had such good advice/education resources as we do now.

Then, I dug out a book I bought from Decor from years ago, 1983 in fact, "Modern Matting". Forgot how far mat cutters have advanced since then!!Brian's picture was in there, demonstrating his mat carving. My goodness, Brian, you've aged well! And really, not much has changed in the mat-carving/decorating techniques. Well, not counting the CMC's anyway, but some things just can't be done better than "by hand".

Today I'm going to get new x-acto blades, and look for a good ruling pen, I've lost my old one. Weird....I'm getting a Wizard, but I'm also looking for an old ruling pen! What a funny industry we are!

[Mark Wallington GCF]

some useful info on ruling lines - but how many of you are experiencing problems with Bainbridge board. My experience of Bainbridge board has been somewhat patchy - Poor take up of pen lines - washes etc. inconsistent quality of the board surface - and increasingly boards with marks all over them - often in the same place on each board in the pack - I have just opened a pack of Artcare french white with a dark streak - and lots of little gritty black marks on them. I have complained and had board replaced on previous bad batches - but I have to say I am not impressed with Bainbridges quality control - they could improve the packaging as well.

[Jim Miller]

For paper & board surfaces that do not have adequate sizing, powdered gum arabic makes a good "rub", which adds considerable "tooth" to improve the acceptance of penned fluid. Apply it sparingly and massage it into the surface, being careful not to abrade the surface.

Another way to add sizing is to paint the surface with a highly-diluted mixture of water and liquid gum arabic, or water and acrylic medium.

Test these techniques on a small scrap first, as the off-white powder may discolor the surface -- especially a dark-colored board.

Ox gall was mentioned earlier as a surfactant. That it is, and it works. However, like gum arabic, ox gall must be used very sparingly, or the fluid will run and bleed.

If you add too much gum arabic and too much ox gall to the same batch of fluid, it will seem to linger in the pen forever, and when it does come out, it will run like crazy. If you ever want to put a smart-a&& calligrapher in his place, load his pen with this stuff and watch him struggle. Ask me how I know that.

Fortunately, writing fluids are cheap, so you can afford to experiment and throw away what doesn't work. Indeed, in my 30 years as a calligrapher, I have thrown away a lot more old, dried-up, deteriorated ink than I have used. Play, experiment, and find that happy place where you are "one" with the pen.

[miterbox]

Da Vinci???

[wpfay]

I have not heard any test results of the samples I sent Bainbridge, but I got a nice "Care Package" in UPS today. 10 Sheets of AlphaRag Artcare 4-ply, and 6 sheets of their Artcare foam centered board used as padding.
Nice gesture on their part.:beer: