Need Blueprint Advice

[SusanG]

I young guy brought in the blueprints (2) to his folk's shore house. The prints are roughly 60 years old 21 x 36 (rolled tightly of course). They are a nice dark blue and suffering a little from age related crumbling around the edges. I advised him to make copies and then let us frame them as I know the light at the shore is pretty intense especially with those huge windows...

So... Question 1--was I right to tell him not to frame the originals?

Question 2--In previous threads some advised to take to Kinkos/Fed Ex for copies. I'm not familiar with their work but will the copies be good quality? I have a couple of sources that do scanning and giclee printing but I wonder if this will be way out of line for his budget. Any idea of what prices might run for a copy? I'm near Philadelphia.

Thanks!
Susan

 

[monkey]

You are correct in advising your customer to have a reproduction made.

I just had a similar situation. Customer came in a few weeks ago to have 3 original blueprints from 1923 framed. I advised her that blueprints are highly sensitive to light even with UV glass and that she should have a copy made for framing. I went so far as contacting the Library of Congress and forwarding the email and recommendation to the customer. She really appreciated me going out of my way to care for her blueprints. She had some copies made but just wasn't happy with the color and appearance of the copies. She decided to frame the originals anywas and will not hold me responsible if it fades. Said she will keep it covered and only show when guests are around. Pretty much did all I could.

 

[Goodtwin]

Try a reprograhics company

You should try your local reprographices company. They have experience in projects like this. You'll get a much better copy at a reasonable price. Locally we've used Thomas reprographics with great results.

 

[wvframer]

You should look for a blueprint company nearby. They are used to working with them and have to scanners and printers available to print faithful copies. I have also found them to be less expensive than Fedex/Kinkos or any of the quick prints shops.

I was surprised to learn that my local blueprint shop does a significant amount of this work.

 

[Shayla]

I know this is an old thread, but will post here to make
future archive searches easier. I have the same sort of
original blueprint in the shop right now, and I told the
lady I'd check here to see if it needed any special
treatment.

What I'm curious about is, are old blueprints the only kind
susceptible to fading quickly? It seems to me that if a blueprint
shop made one using the old methods, it would be just as
fugitive as the original. And if they're using a new scanner
with cotton based papers, is that print any different than
what my usual print guy would make? He has a great scanner
and uses good paper & ink.

Too, I'm curious if the scanning itself would harm the blueprint.

 

[Jim Miller]

Ironically, I also have two 1928 blueprints in house right now, which fit the original post's description, including the tight rolling. The customer found them in the attic of their house and wants to display them.

I photographed them using my Canon D60 camera with a good lens, on a tripod, in room light (no flash). In order to keep them flat, I placed them under Museum Glass and positioned the camera to avoid reflections. After the shots, I corrected the perspective and sharpened the images a little. Then I sent those 25+MB .tif files to a local company for printing on bond paper. They look enough like the originals that nobody would know they are reproductions.

Blueprints of all ages are very light sensitive. But I believe that today, nearly all construction drawings are digitally produced, and the actual blueprinting process has not been used in years.

Shayla, scanning or photography would not be harmful. Damage from light goes according to intensity of the light and time of exposure. Scanning or flash photography involves bright light, but only for a very short time - probably less damaging than 15 minutes of light exposure on the klitchen table.

 

[Baer Charlton]

The blueprint companies no longer do THAT kind of printing....
(commercially, ammonia is a controlled substance)

Mostly what is used now is a plasticized toner, or an inkjet.
If it's wide format, it will most likely be inkjet . . so it becomes
. . . yes, a giclee.

Scan and print, at 24" wide, I got quoted $20/sq ft from our
local Kinko's.
Oregon blue print just laughed.... "how can I print it if I don't
scan it?".... $7/sq ft. . . and he did it while I waited.

Then I asked about laminating it both sides . . . "I'll be right back"

"Here, try this and see if it works for you." No charge.

Any wonder why we have something for them about once
a month or more?

And He's getting in a flat-bed that will take a whole newspaper laid-out
and scan at 2,400dpi.