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Author Topic: how much does museum glass cost?  (Read 76188 times)

Aristoc

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how much does museum glass cost?
« on: February 07, 2011, 03:02:46 pm »

where do you get museum glass and how much does it cost?

Thanks
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Alan Goldhammer

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Re: how much does museum glass cost?
« Reply #1 on: February 07, 2011, 03:13:49 pm »

Personally I use acrylic since it doesn't break and with care works just as well as glass but if it's glass you want, Frame Destination has both:  http://www.framedestination.com/  I also see no need to pay extra for UV acrylic either, saving a little more money along the way.
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Aristoc

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Re: how much does museum glass cost?
« Reply #2 on: February 07, 2011, 03:20:29 pm »

alan by acrylic you mean plastic? Doesn't that warp from heating / cooling  over time ?  It also scratches easier ?

Thanks for the link but they don't ship out of USA right now.
« Last Edit: February 07, 2011, 03:23:10 pm by Aristoc »
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elliot_n

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Re: how much does museum glass cost?
« Reply #3 on: February 07, 2011, 03:28:56 pm »

It can cost thousands, depending on the grade.
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neile

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Re: how much does museum glass cost?
« Reply #4 on: February 07, 2011, 03:43:08 pm »

I believe the official price for museum glass is "crazy freaking expensive". Any local glass cutting shop (such as an auto shop, window/door supply shop) should be able get it for you.

I'm also in the acrylic camp. I use TruVue Acrylite Conservation Reflection Control. It's way less expensive, I can cut it myself easily on a table saw, and it looks fantastic. Yes, it can scratch easier than glass, but it's not like I claw at the stuff every day.

Neil
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Neil Enns
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Alan Goldhammer

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Re: how much does museum glass cost?
« Reply #5 on: February 07, 2011, 03:57:18 pm »

alan by acrylic you mean plastic? Doesn't that warp from heating / cooling  over time ?  It also scratches easier ?

Thanks for the link but they don't ship out of USA right now.

Yes, it can scratch easier but I've not noticed any scratching with normal care.  Under normal temperatures and light conditions acrylic does not warp.  You would have to get up to extremely high temperatures for this to happen.  According to the data, the deflection temperature under load (where bending will be seen) is 210 degrees F (99 C) at 264 psi (I don't get these kinds of conditions with framed prints in my house or at my former office where I have framed prints on display).
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AFairley

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Re: how much does museum glass cost?
« Reply #6 on: February 07, 2011, 05:18:25 pm »

It depends what you are talking about, i.e., generic UV filtering glass or the coated anti-reflective glass made by Tru-Vue, which they call by the brand name "Musuem Glass"  If the latter, you get it Via True-Vue distributors, it costs around $40-$50 per 24x30" per sheet in packages of 7 (L.A. area, YMMV), other sizes are also available in differening packaeg sizes.  The 2 distributors in the L.A. area do not sell by the sheet.  Some framers such as Aaron Bros. sell it, but the cost at Aaron Bros (in L.A.) is about twice as much.  BTW, the Tru-Vue Museum Glass is much less reflective than the Tru-Vue anti-reflective acrylite, to judge from the info on its website.
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Aristoc

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Re: how much does museum glass cost?
« Reply #7 on: February 07, 2011, 05:45:58 pm »

it doesnt sound that expensive at all.

im pretty sure that much like closed  car windows, when light passes through it, the temperature of your print will get very very high....given enough time. this heat may cause the acrylic to be weaker as compared to its counter part glass.  Given enough time. And over a period of weeks/months/years acrylic has to show differences. And the damage to print ? well who knows what would happen. prob. better to be safer.
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Alan Goldhammer

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Re: how much does museum glass cost?
« Reply #8 on: February 07, 2011, 07:35:16 pm »

it doesnt sound that expensive at all.

im pretty sure that much like closed  car windows, when light passes through it, the temperature of your print will get very very high....given enough time. this heat may cause the acrylic to be weaker as compared to its counter part glass.  Given enough time. And over a period of weeks/months/years acrylic has to show differences. And the damage to print ? well who knows what would happen. prob. better to be safer.
Only if there is direct exposure to sunlight will you reach those temperatures.  Remember the print is not in a "sealed" environment to the same extend that the interior of a car is. 
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elliot_n

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Re: how much does museum glass cost?
« Reply #9 on: February 07, 2011, 08:34:40 pm »

It seems there's museum glass and 'Museum Glass'. The former can cost several thousand dollars a sheet, whilst the latter is apparently MUCH cheaper.
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neile

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Re: how much does museum glass cost?
« Reply #10 on: February 08, 2011, 12:28:52 am »

Am finally at my studio where I have my pricelist for glazing from my wholesaler. These prices are for the Pacific Northwest of the US:

TruVue Museum Glass 32x40" box of 3: $245.00
TruVue Acrylite Conservation Reflection Control 32x40" box of 3: $103.79
TruVue Acrylite Reflection Control 32x40" box of 3: $90.53
TruVue Acrylite Optimum Museum 48x96": $876.16

You can see why for my own work I go with the Conservation Reflection Control Acrylite. It's only $13 more expensive per box than the next grade down which is just Reflection Control, but less than half the price of Museum Glass.

Neil
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Aristoc

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Re: how much does museum glass cost?
« Reply #11 on: February 08, 2011, 09:35:15 am »

does acrylic look the same when you hold it in your hand ?  Does it flex ?  Does it attract dust on the surface more than glass ?  ??? ??? ??? ???
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neile

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Re: how much does museum glass cost?
« Reply #12 on: February 08, 2011, 10:36:15 am »

No it doesn't, yes it does but in a frame it doesn't so who cares, and no it doesn't if you clean it with a proper plexi polish like Novus.

Neil
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Alan Goldhammer

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Re: how much does museum glass cost?
« Reply #13 on: February 08, 2011, 11:57:32 am »

I use a microfiber cloth for routine cleaning of plexi-framed pictures.  Gets the dust off and doesn't scratch.
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Robcat

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Re: how much does museum glass cost?
« Reply #14 on: February 08, 2011, 12:27:05 pm »

My glass source (US East coast, Philadelphia area) is M&M Distributors,http://www.mmdistributors.com. Their prices seem equivalent to poster above: 4 32 x 40" for $316.45. I think if you're serious about both non-reflective surfaces and transparency, museum glass is the way to go. Bewareit's more brittle than your standard glass, so cutting it yourself requires some skill (and fortitude, given the cost).
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neile

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Re: how much does museum glass cost?
« Reply #15 on: February 08, 2011, 12:37:09 pm »

I use a microfiber cloth for routine cleaning of plexi-framed pictures.  Gets the dust off and doesn't scratch.

I was always taught to stay away from microfiber when cleaning plexi, as the fibers can catch grit that you can't get out and will then scratch the glass. My prefered way to clean plexi is with Wypall lint-free wipes and Novus 1 polish. This combination has the added benefit of killing the static charge which is particularly useful when closing up the frame.

Neil
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Alan Goldhammer

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Re: how much does museum glass cost?
« Reply #16 on: February 08, 2011, 12:56:11 pm »

I was always taught to stay away from microfiber when cleaning plexi, as the fibers can catch grit that you can't get out and will then scratch the glass. My prefered way to clean plexi is with Wypall lint-free wipes and Novus 1 polish. This combination has the added benefit of killing the static charge which is particularly useful when closing up the frame.

Neil
As long as you keep the microfiber clean, this is a non issue (or at least I've never experienced it).  After peeling off the protective layer, I wash the plexi in dilute dishwasher soap (Dawn from P&G since that is what we use); rinse with lukewarm water; and then dried with a microfiber cloth prior to framing.  I've probably framed 100 prints by now and have not seen any visual scratches.  Just an additional note, I went back to my well used copy of Ansel Adams's "The Print" and plexi is what he recommends.  I know the Ansel Adams gallery uses plexi in their special edition Yosemite prints.
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framah

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Re: how much does museum glass cost?
« Reply #17 on: February 08, 2011, 02:37:08 pm »

They probably use plexi in the gallery instead of glass to lessen the chances of breakage when the customer transports it.

If you are a business with tax numbers and such, you can buy from some of our distributors at our costs. Which is about what was posted earlier for Tru Vue museum glass.

Not sure what is meant by the statement by elliot:  It seems there's museum glass and 'Museum Glass'.

Museum Glass is only sold by the company who uses that name for their glass and that is Tru Vue.

Any glass that costs several thousands per sheet is nothing I have ever known in the business after almost 18 years. A 4x8 foot sheet of Optium acrylic would cost me 41.50 per square foot if my supplier cut it for me. At that price, it would cost $1328 for the whole sheet.  Optium is the plastic equivalent of the low reflection uv protecting properties of TV Museum Glass. Way more expensive but sometimes needed. If you come to me for any of this, you better believe it will cost you much more!! I run a business (theoretically) to make a profit.  2.5 to 3 times mark up is the norm from a frame shop.


If you ever get a piece of art to reach temperatures high enough to warp a piece of plexi,  the odds are that you are storing it wrong... like next to a furnace for melting glass!

Even if you hang it so the sun beats on it every day, it wouldn't soften the plexi enough to allow it to warp. Again, for that to happen, it needs to be temps WAY more than the sun could give you.

Hanging it so the sun hits it WILL destroy the art quickly no matter WHAT you put in front of it.  None of these products give 100% protection from the suns damaging rays. They only slow the process down.

Don't confuse reflection control with museum glass or Optium acrylic. A piece of reflection control plexi or glass has been micro etched and will diffuse the image even with only 2 mats on it. A piece of Museum Glass or Optium will still be almost crystal clear even in a deep shadow box. That's why it costs  so much more... it does more.


Carry on. ;)
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Light Seeker

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Re: how much does museum glass cost?
« Reply #18 on: February 08, 2011, 04:43:49 pm »

Do any of the products mentioned in this thread add a green tint? The regular glass I can get adds a green tint whereas plexi does not. This can be an issue with a monochrome print.

Terry.
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framah

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Re: how much does museum glass cost?
« Reply #19 on: February 08, 2011, 05:00:12 pm »

Yes, Museum Glass will show reflections as a green tint. It doesn't change the color of the art. Regular glass actually changes the color of art. Put a piece of regular glass next to a piece of MG on top of art and you will see the difference.
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