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Author Topic: Flat or Rolled?  (Read 3760 times)

Jeff Magidson

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Flat or Rolled?
« on: January 24, 2009, 12:41:50 pm »

Hi Forum Folks;

Currently I make prints up to 17"x22", sleeve them individually with clearbags and put the prints between 2 sheets of board for delivery to clients. Soon I will start to make lager prints and wanted to know how others pack their prints. For larger prints, say over 20x24, do you pack them flat or use large tubes? Is there a good source for THICK large ( wide diameter ) packing tubes? If rolled, do you use interleaving material?

Thanks,

-Jeff

http://artslidesboston.com

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mikeseb

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Flat or Rolled?
« Reply #1 on: January 24, 2009, 01:26:25 pm »

For prints that size, I'd favor the mailing tubes sold by Uline, among others. I'd even do it for anything much past 13x19 size.

What Ive done is to cut a piece of interleaving material (like an acid free "glassine" paper) to a size slightly wider and longer than the print, and then fold a flap back over the short side of the print to form a kind of "envelope" that will stay on the print. The interleaving is generally placed against the back of the print with the flap over its face.

I then stack the rest of the prints in the shipment, all similarly protected by interleaving, atop each other, and roll them gently to fit the diameter of the shipping tube. I roll the prints with the back of the prints outward; the interleaving of each print's back protects the face of the print below. There's no reason I can think of why the interleaving couldn't be placed on the image side of the print, and/or the prints rolled image-side out. The tube itself is several inches longer than needed so that there is empty space at each end once pack. A crumpled up bunch of interleaving at each end, plus the redundant interleaving at each end of the "roll" of prints, cushions the "cylinder" of prints.

This has worked well for me. I think shipping very large flat prints is just asking for trouble. Something smaller and more compact, like a tube, has to be safer. It can survive being tossed or dropped without damage, if properly packed internally. And the prints, if laid flat by the recipient, will unbend quickly and sufficiently enough to enable whatever matting/presentation they choose.
« Last Edit: January 24, 2009, 01:30:15 pm by mikeseb »
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michael sebast

howardm

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Flat or Rolled?
« Reply #2 on: January 24, 2009, 03:51:50 pm »

I just got a package of 13x38 from RedRiver and they packed in a very thick tube 10.5" in diameter w/ removable plastic end caps.

Definitely check Uline.com and maybe even Lowe's/Home Depot for things like Sonotube concrete form tubes.

bill t.

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Flat or Rolled?
« Reply #3 on: January 24, 2009, 08:05:24 pm »

Shipping supply places usually have 3" to 8" diameter tubes that they can cut to length for you, plus the end caps.  The ones I buy have 1/4" walls, very tough indeed.  Cost is a little more than ULine, but shipping a huge carton of tubes to you is not cheap either.

I ship my pano prints in 4" tubes, which makes insertion and removal pretty easy.  If you want to use interleaved paper, best to roll the print with the natural curve of the print (which is image out for all inkjets) since for some reason when you roll interleaved the other way you wind up with a lot of ripple in the print over time.  Rather than use a long sheet of paper, I usually cap the print with 2 or 3 lint-less blue paper towels (Scott Shop Towels) to protect the image from the edge of the print at the inside of the roll.  If you want wad up some wrapping tissue and push a few pieces into the empty space inside the print roll to keep it spread out against the walls of the tube.  It's a good idea to slightly burnish down any lip at the inside ends of the tubes so the buyer can slide the print out without any hangups.

The biggest drawback to tubes is that the client often can not constrain himself from unrolling the print on their carpet or dining room table, inviting kinks, gritty dirt,scratches, grease spots and fingerprints.  I usually give customers a stern warning not to unroll the print "except at the framer's shop."  Often I will throw in one of the small proofing prints I do at 6" x 20" or so sandwiched against foamcore under mylar.  Good for client relations and gives the customer something to show & tell until he gets the print framed.
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Bill Caulfeild-Browne

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Flat or Rolled?
« Reply #4 on: January 24, 2009, 09:14:59 pm »

Quote from: Jeff Magidson
Hi Forum Folks;

Currently I make prints up to 17"x22", sleeve them individually with clearbags and put the prints between 2 sheets of board for delivery to clients. Soon I will start to make lager prints and wanted to know how others pack their prints. For larger prints, say over 20x24, do you pack them flat or use large tubes? Is there a good source for THICK large ( wide diameter ) packing tubes? If rolled, do you use interleaving material?

Thanks,

-Jeff

http://artslidesboston.com

I have shipped prints to customers three times in what I thought were very strong tubes. Three times they arrived at their destination bent. Looks like the PO employees just throw them anywhere and if they land propped up at an angle and a heavy parcel lands on them, goodbye.

I now try to deliver personally. So far that's been OK because most of my customers are not too far away. Otherwise, I'm going to have to find some really really heavy duty armoured tubes!

Bill
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howseth

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Flat or Rolled?
« Reply #5 on: January 24, 2009, 09:55:37 pm »

[a href=\'index.php?act=findpost&pid=0\']best to roll the print with the natural curve of the print (which is image out for all inkjets) since for some reason when you roll interleaved the other way you wind up with a lot of ripple in the print over time. [/a]

billt - The tube method sounds like a sensible way to mail large prints, but what did you mean by "image out." My inkjet prints always curl in towards the image side; as they do with traditional darkroom prints.

Howard Seth
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JeffKohn

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Flat or Rolled?
« Reply #6 on: January 25, 2009, 01:07:25 am »

Quote from: howseth
billt - The tube method sounds like a sensible way to mail large prints, but what did you mean by "image out." My inkjet prints always curl in towards the image side; as they do with traditional darkroom prints.

Howard Seth
When printing on roll paper, the natural curl will be "image out", since the roll has the printable side out.

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Jeff Kohn
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bill t.

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Flat or Rolled?
« Reply #7 on: January 25, 2009, 01:11:25 am »

Quote from: howseth
My inkjet prints always curl in towards the image side; as they do with traditional darkroom prints.
Sorry, I was thinking of rolls which are always come wound emulsion-out.  I see you are using sheets.  Prints on roll paper usually hold on to that curl for quite while even when they are stored flat, some papers longer than others.  When you wind up a curly print against its "normal" wind with some cover paper, the two don't mesh up well and that finally results in a slightly rippled print.  So basically your cover paper should be placed on whatever side of the print that is buckled forward, and the wind should be made along the same curve as the buckle.  One school of thought is that if you put the print made on roll paper in the tube wound opposite the natural buckle that will condition the print to lay flat when it is removed, but I have not seen that be the case in fact.
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Peter McLennan

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Flat or Rolled?
« Reply #8 on: January 25, 2009, 10:09:47 am »

When I expressed shock at the mailing cost of a print shipment recently, the Canada Post Office employee said "That's because you used a cylindrical mailing tube.  They tend to fall off the automated mail-handling conveyors and so they require special handling, which costs more.  Triangular mailing tubes don't need this"



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howseth

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Flat or Rolled?
« Reply #9 on: January 25, 2009, 03:54:17 pm »

Sorry Bill t. - You are right. When printing on rolls - the printed side does have the curve. I think you are correct; don't fight the curve of the paper - go with it when rolling up the print for shipping or storage.

Howard
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