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Author Topic: Breathing Color EasyWrappe  (Read 24976 times)

Rob Reiter

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Breathing Color EasyWrappe
« on: October 12, 2010, 05:04:52 pm »

Anybody using this canvas wrapping system? I tried the 12x16 sample kit and it worked well. Has anyone used it large prints?
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neile

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Re: Breathing Color EasyWrappe
« Reply #1 on: October 12, 2010, 07:06:46 pm »

I just noticed them today, and ordered the two sample kits to give it a spin. I tried doing a few the standard way (stretcher with staplers) and it was just so much hassle to get right I gave up.

When you tried the EasyWrappe (guh, what a name!) did you do mirrored wrap edges? If so, how hard was it to line up the mirrored edges with the edge of the stretcher bars? That seems like the hardest thing to do with the EasyWrappe system.

Neil
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na goodman

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Re: Breathing Color EasyWrappe
« Reply #2 on: October 12, 2010, 07:27:59 pm »

This is the same system as the Hahnemuhle system only cheaper (which is nice). I have done 24x36 with a mirrored edge and did not find it hard to line up. I have done about 5 or 6 with this system. The only thing I personally don't like is the edge not wrapping around to the back. We may try a sample and wrap to the back and staple. I just think it gives it a more professional looking edge. But, the system is very easy to do and well constructed.
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Rob Reiter

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Re: Breathing Color EasyWrappe
« Reply #3 on: October 12, 2010, 07:52:03 pm »

Hi, Neile. I did soft stretched edges and although I didn't do anything special this time, I think in the future I would pencil in lines on the back of the canvas to indicate where to lay the bars. Overall, that small print was easy to wrap-sorry-"wrappe". BTW, Breathing Color is the company who once called their premier inkjet paper "Kisses". If I remember correctly, that was a precursor to their current "Elegance" paper, one of my favorites. It's a good thing they changed the name. I refused to buy a paper I would have to identify as Breathing Color Kisses!

As for stapling a flap of canvas around to the back side, that would not be difficult. I don't know if I will do that-the current method seem quite nice. And the corners are definitely cleaner looking than the typical folded canvas corners I usually see. My biggest concern with the system is that it is made for defined sizes, not for a chop service to fit the more oddball dimensions most of my clients need. I'm going to try and chop to size from the longer bars. Some double-sided tape for the corners and hammering in staples between each corner brace shouldn't add much to the assembly time.

All in all, I like the concept. I never want to try traditional stapling, for just the reasons you mentioned.

Also Neil, I've been really pleased with your folio covers. Several clients have had me produce folios for them and m any more are interested. I hung a piece of 3x8 foot galvanized sheet metal and display a folio cover and twelve pictures on it, held in place with little round BB sized magnets.
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neile

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Re: Breathing Color EasyWrappe
« Reply #4 on: October 12, 2010, 09:12:32 pm »

Cool, thanks for the detail on the new stretcher bars. Can't wait for my order to arrive, I got some nice photos from the Washington Coast this weekend, one of which would be perfect on canvas. Not having to have canvas to stretch around the back means I can print a slightly larger canvas (the perils of a printer that's only 17" wide :()

Glad you like the covers. Can you e-mail me a photo of that display? I'd love to see what it looks like.

Neil
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natas

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Re: Breathing Color EasyWrappe
« Reply #5 on: October 13, 2010, 10:53:55 am »

I am working on a review of this product. I bought into the system when it came out.

So far I love it. It is very easy to use

Last night I did 2 20x44 canvas wraps for a client. Total time was around 15 minutes. The best part is no staples on the back...overall I think the end product looks more professional than anything I have done.


If your already invested in a expensive stretching machine this system is more and likely not for you, unless you want to get rid of staples. The added bonus to me is that you don't need the extra blank canvas on all corners for stretching. I am limited because I run a Epson 7900. Before I had to use 3/4inch stretcher bars to get 20x30's, now I can get 20x30's with a 1.75in stretcher bar!

Price isn't to bad if you have bought into high quality stretcher bars
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Alan Davis

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Re: Breathing Color EasyWrappe
« Reply #6 on: October 14, 2010, 07:50:29 am »

This "Breathing Color Easy  Wrappe" is a GREAT product! Same as the Hahnemuhle system but a better price.

I've tried the traditional Gallery Wrap technique with the wrapped corners and was never really happy with the results.

The Easy Wrappe is just that "Easy" and it finished results look great!

BTW in the Breathing Color video of the "Easy Wrappe" there is a cutter being used that I can't find out anything about. Does anyone know where to get this cutter?

Regards,
Alan
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Rob Reiter

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Re: Breathing Color EasyWrappe
« Reply #7 on: October 16, 2010, 03:30:11 pm »

The cutter used in the videos is in production and will be available at some point, this according to BC.

I placed my first order for the EasyWrappe Pro bars in 60" length. I decided to try chopping them to the size I need since few of my clients will have pieces that fit standard sizes to the inch. Even if I wanted to offer only sizes that fit the lengths provided, I'd have to stock all the sizes to cover my bases. I strongly suggested to my BC sales rep that they offer a design that easily allows for chopping, and at the very least, provide rolls of their archival double sided tape to cover the ends of bars that have been chopped.

This appears to be a great system but still needs a few  small improvements. After I try a chop/wrap I'll let this forum know how it went.
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neile

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Re: Breathing Color EasyWrappe
« Reply #8 on: October 16, 2010, 11:26:22 pm »

I got my bars and a sample pint of the new coating in the mail yesterday. Challenge will be finding a way to try it before heading to Utah/Arizona for two weeks this Saturday.

Neil
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Rob Reiter

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Re: Breathing Color EasyWrappe
« Reply #9 on: October 17, 2010, 12:29:14 pm »

If you have a canvas ready, Neil, it really does take only 5 minutes or less to wrappe wrap it.
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larryg

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Re: Breathing Color EasyWrappe
« Reply #10 on: October 17, 2010, 08:12:00 pm »

Wow  just watched the demo video on Breathing Color website   This looks great and easy to do.  I am going to have to try this myself.

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Rob Reiter

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Re: Breathing Color EasyWrappe
« Reply #11 on: October 27, 2010, 01:52:06 am »

Quote
This appears to be a great system but still needs a few  small improvements. After I try a chop/wrap I'll let this forum know how it went.

OK. I have over a dozen canvases to wrap and a large order of EasyWrappe Pro bars of various sizes arrived today. As it turns out, almost all the images have fractional inch sizes in at least one dimension, so I have to chop bars to size, as I expected. Plus, BC doesn't offer bars in some sizes-19", 25" and others that would have worked if they had been available.

Cutting to the chase, it takes about 20 minutes for me to prep, chop, assemble and stretch a custom sized canvas. Let me explain the issues that crop up when not using their precut bars, and the simple solutions.

I have a power miter saw, and it's much better than trying to do the chopping with a hand saw. Some of my cuts were a quarter inch or less from an end. When an end is cut from these bars, the plastic corner braces/guides featured in the demo video no longer work, as a needed notch in the bar is removed or it's placement from the bar end is changed by the cut and that notch will now no longer fit appropriately in the corner brace.

The braces are a convenience but not a necessity. Measure the distance from each edge of the canvas to the point at which the image and border for that side meet and transfer that measurement to the back of the canvas, then draw a rectangle on the back that represents the extent of the image. Everything outside the rectangle is border. Now you can easily lay the bars along the drawn lines, corner to corner and use the double sided tape that is on each bar to hold it to the canvas in the proper alignment.

When chopping off one end, the piece of tape that folds over the cut end is also removed, so buy a roll of heavy duty double sided tape and just replace what you cut off. Easy.

Continue to trim the outside edge of canvas as shown in the demo video and apply the bead of bookbinder's glue that BC sells at along the edge of the bars as they lay on the canvas, then fold as necessary and insert the U-pins/nails supplied with the bars. On an uncut bar, there are slots you can insert and hammer the pins into, but a chopped bar will be lacking these on at least one side of each corner. In any case, simply use a pin to make a little indentation and drill a starter hole for the pins to be hammered into. The started hole itself may not even be needed-the pins are sturdy enough just to hammer in.

While not as fast to assemble as precut bars, chopping these to a needed length is a great boon if you frequently need to accommodate odd sizes and the results are just as good. I should mention that BC sells an extender bar that will allow you to simply cut a piece out of the middle of a longer bar with a straight, non-beveled cut. The extender bar will hold the two new lengths together to create the needed length without destroying the ability to use the corner braces or the need for any of the other work arounds I came up with to deal with the removal of a bar end. But you have to buy the extenders and I don't see the time saved by their use to be significant.

The EasyWrappe system is pretty darn good. The resulting pieces look very clean and avoid the hassle of staples and the sometimes awkward folded corners on traditional stretcher bars. If you just do the occasional stretch and don't mind limiting you images to the sizes you can make from precut bars, it's a super-simple way to finish your canvases. The results are sturdy and the 1.75" thick bars look good even on smaller pieces and are really welcome on the bigger sizes. As designed, the canvas does not wrap around to the back of the bars, but is held by the double sided tape that runs along the edge of every bar. If you want to staple, it's a simple matter to add 1/4" to 1/2" additional border and staple away after the frame is assembled.

Chopping and custom sizing is not at all difficult with this system. Cleaning up all the sawdust from the chop saw after doing a over a dozen frames...that's something else!
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ternst

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Re: Breathing Color EasyWrappe
« Reply #12 on: October 27, 2010, 07:16:56 am »

I wonder how long the tape will last? I assume this is the same system that has been advertised before by another company so I guess it has been in the marketplace for a year or two, but having to rely on tape that may or may not be archival and may or may not stick for generations is a bit of a concern. Does anyone know if this tape has ever been tested? And also how well does it hold up in a hot, humid environ? Large canvases sometimes can sag if not stretched enough. Seems like a good alternative for smaller prints that don't need to last a long time though.
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neile

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Re: Breathing Color EasyWrappe
« Reply #13 on: October 27, 2010, 10:03:23 am »

Thanks for the detailed write-up Rob. Makes me even more excited to give this a try when I'm back from vacation!

Neil
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Rob Reiter

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Re: Breathing Color EasyWrappe
« Reply #14 on: October 27, 2010, 11:28:58 am »

According to BC, the bead of bookbinder's glue is what supplies most of the strength for holding the canvas to the bars, not the tape. If there is a concern about the tape coming undone anyway, just extend the canvas edge behind the bars and staple. Call BC and ask about the archival properties of the tape. When talking to my rep he may have mentioned that, but I don't remember. A hot humid environment can stress any mounting system. Even on large canvases, this system is quite tight. Corner bracing (supplied) and cross bracing (available) will help even more.
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John Nollendorfs

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Re: Breathing Color EasyWrappe
« Reply #15 on: October 27, 2010, 11:35:57 am »

Instead of trying to cut the stretcher bars custom, why not just print out the image to accommodate the sizes? You would probably never notice the minor size discrepancies in the image, due to reformatting the size.
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Rob Reiter

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Re: Breathing Color EasyWrappe
« Reply #16 on: October 27, 2010, 12:32:19 pm »

Quote
Instead of trying to cut the stretcher bars custom, why not just print out the image to accommodate the sizes?

Because I print for clients who often supply their own files and it is not my prerogative to alter their work. That and the lack of bars cut to many sizes I could reasonably expect to need, such as 25" (I have four 25" square prints to wrap right now.)

But I certainly would like it if it were a perfect world...
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Ernst Dinkla

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Re: Breathing Color EasyWrappe
« Reply #17 on: October 27, 2010, 04:28:05 pm »

And also how well does it hold up in a hot, humid environ? Large canvases sometimes can sag if not stretched enough. Seems like a good alternative for smaller prints that don't need to last a long time though.

Is there some tension created on the canvas at all? I have seen similar concepts where by turning the bars there is some tension created on small frames but with increased frame sizes that method will not be enough. Over the last two weeks I made a 55" pneumatic canvas stretcher to make it easier with larger frames. I see 60" bars mentioned in this thread ...

met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst Dinkla

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na goodman

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Re: Breathing Color EasyWrappe
« Reply #18 on: October 27, 2010, 05:54:15 pm »

The system has corner braces that help to tighten the canvas. There are also cross braces if you need them for larger canvases. I have had some up for a year now that are as tight as the day they were put together. It's a nice system. The issue for me is that the artist I work with want the canvas to wrap around the edge and staple. If you are going to staple than you would not use the glue. I do have some 60" bars here but have not gone that large yet.
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Ernst Dinkla

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Re: Breathing Color EasyWrappe
« Reply #19 on: October 28, 2010, 03:03:00 am »

The system has corner braces that help to tighten the canvas. There are also cross braces if you need them for larger canvases. I have had some up for a year now that are as tight as the day they were put together. It's a nice system. The issue for me is that the artist I work with want the canvas to wrap around the edge and staple. If you are going to staple than you would not use the glue. I do have some 60" bars here but have not gone that large yet.

The braces make the frame stronger but doesn't increase the tension. On a 1.4x1.4 meter frame the canvas has more slack that you like to take out when the frame is made. Turning over the bars will not be enough then I guess.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst Dinkla

Dinkla Gallery Canvas Wrap Actions for Photoshop
http://www.pigment-print.com/dinklacanvaswraps/index.html
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