Question Bainbridge Board 172 Hot press

jajo

jajo

Grumbler in Training
Joined
Jan 24, 2013
Posts
2
Good Evening! I am reframing three pieces of art, with a new moulding and different glass. I am also framing four from scratch, all from the same series. When I took the framed pieces out of their frames (which I love doing because you never know what you're going to see!) I saw that they were mounted on Bainbridge Board 172, hot press. Has anyone ever used this for mounting art?? I saw that it is an illustration board, made of rag.
I was planning on using Bainbridge Artcare Archival. I have always used acid free foamboard, but am afraid it is not truly conservation grade.
I look forward to input!
 
Hi Jajo, and welcome to the G.
Rag is the term for cotton linters that fine framing paper products are made from.
"Acid free" is a vague term refering to the pH at a specific time in production, not a guarantee of preservation qualities. The issue with faom centered boards is the styrene foam center. They are OKish for support boards, behind the mount, but only as mount boards at entry level preservation framing. A better option for a support board is Coroplast fluted polypropylene
The board in question, B172, may be sufficient if it supports the art. Most mount boards are the same thickness (4-ply) as basic mats. I don't know what thickness B172 is.
Bainbridge Artcare is a good brand, with their Alpharag boatds being the best of their offerings to be used in a frame package.
 
If you're worried about conservation, 8 ply ragboard is probably the way to go. That said, anything valuable enough for conservation to be a concern probably shouldn't be dry mounted in the first place.
 
Bainbridge 172 Hot Press is the name of the board, more commonly referred to as illustration board.
Here's the blurb from Quill, and online retailer:

Fine hot press, (smooth), high rag content surface. For lettering, fine line pen and ink and airbrush. Good production board. Single thick. White only.
  • High rag content surface
  • Great for lettering, fine line pen, and ink and airbrush
  • Good production board
  • Single thick
  • size: 30 in. x 40 in.
This leads me to believe that only the surface papers are "high rag content", and what lies beneath is not preservation quality board. That the surface papers are less than 100% rag is a negative as well.
If that is the case, any of the Bainbridge Alpahrag, or ragboard matting from any of the other suppliers (Crescent, Peterboro, Artique, Rising, and others) would be preferable from a preservation standpoint. Those boards would be much more rigid as well, being 4X the thickness of the 172 Hot Press.

The mat manufacturers make thinner and thicker rag boards (1, 2, 4, 6, & 8 ply) but the 4-ply is the mainstay in framing with 8-ply used mostly in preservation matting. The thickness, ~1/8", is the recommended minimum gap between the face of the art and the inside of the glass/acrylic glazing.
 
wpfay, and Bruce, thank you for your replies! These pieces will definitely not be dry mounted, and I will consider the 8 ply ragboard for the unframed pieces. I was not considering the B172, just curious about this product. These pieces were framed 40 years ago, and have held up beautifully, except for the moulding. I am not sure if the framer dry mounted these, but that is not my plan for the others!
Thanks again for the input!
 
Back
Top