Lessons learned from preservation float mounting

[Natalya Murphy]

Here's a picture of my first-ever preservation float mount. It's a l/e Dr. Seuss print titled "The Economic Situation Explained." The print is floated above an 8-ply white ragmat cut smaller than the artwork. S-hinges pass through the slots in the black Alpharag mat. Stacked frame consisting of 3/4" flat white inside a 1-5/8" flat black frame. Overall mat dimension measured about 38" high by 20-something inches wide. The customer didn't want to get into oversize mat/glass, hence the narrow margins around the print (but the art is just over an inch away from the frame on all sides, per FACTS 10.02, with a sealed rabbet). The shiny stuff around the edges is protective plastic wrap on the frame.

Lessons learned:

• Cutting slots about a 1/4" wider than the hinges passing through them makes adjustment much easier
• When using a piece of folded-over mylar to "thread" the hinge through the slot, be sure the mylar is wider than the hinge.
• The spacing mat doesn't need to be perfectly aligned since it's not going to show anyway
• .....so THAT'S why they gave me so many blotter squares in the package.....
• .....so THAT'S why I need so many print weights....
• Waiting for starch paste to get dry enough on the hinge is about as much fun as waiting for water to boil
• It is impossible to make a deckled-edge item appear square
• Remember to charge extra for float-mounting

 

[j Paul]

Natalya, looks nice. With such a large white area (bleed) on print I think that the 1" mat looks fine. :smiley:

 

[PaulSF]

Did you use museum glass on this? Where is the outer moulding from?

I can add one more thing to your list -- take your pictures before putting on the glass, so you don't have to worry about reflections.

 

[Twin2]

Nice framing, Natalya and I agree with j Paul that the 1" wide mat looks just fine. Thanks for the 'live and learn' tips that you posted. I always find them quite helpful.

How many 'S' hinges did you end up using on the artwork and where did you place them?

 

[Val]

Nice work, Natalya, and thanks for doing the research for us!

 

[Natalya Murphy]

Your questions answered

Yes, we used museum glass. The customer had a tough time deciding between the ConClear and the Museum because of the price difference. We originally rang up the order with ConClear, but he e-mailed me back the next day asking for Museum instead.

Inner frame: LJ 210286
Outer frame: LJ 493615

There are 3 S-hinges along the top and 3 down each side (1 about 4" from the top, and then the others spaced about 12" apart down the sides). The print was on pretty heavy paper, so I wanted to be sure it had sufficient support while floating.

 

[Kirstie]

Nice work! I looked at your web site and found your page on visualization interesting. Now I want to have a visualization page!

 

[neven]

Those tips were great, especially the one about using mylar to thread the hinge. I just finished my first float mount about a week ago and that tip would have really come in handy. I will be sure to remember that for next time.

 

[Natalya Murphy]

Hugh Phibbs gets the credit for the mylar threader trick. I learned it from him in his advanced hinging class at the PPFA convention.