The Framers Forum

Received this in my emails, thought I’d share it.

Haven’t read it really but it’s by Jim Miller, say no more

https://www.monarchexpositions.com/pdfs ... papers.pdf

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Interesting article John, thanks for sharing.

I'm not totally sure, though, why he's gone for direct contact overlay when he already has the newspaper encased in melinex and 'floating' on its own. Why not just have larger spacers and then use glass that isn't touching the melinex?

I still haven’t read it all but I did note this

I’m surprised there’s no opinion on this, I have some but am feeling a bit agoraphobic!

I like the 3D effect and admire the clever way the newspaper is cushioned against the acrylic glazing.
Even though the author describes the method as cost-effective, I'm not a great fan of having the glazing up against the art.
Not worried about the conservation, just the visual appearance.

Would it have been possible to follow Pramsay's suugestion of avoiding the direct overlay method by spacing the glazing away from the newspaper and providing some sort of support to the top right corner of the front page?
Some sort of clear plastic clip or even a small antique paper-clip?

Why didn't he just wrap the whole paper in the clear film?

This is one I did using Jim Miller's own method of completely wrapping in melinex and the glass is spaced away from the package.

I think he's made things more complicated using this direct contact method.

Just a question - does the newspaper in the frame you showed, looked wrapped?
Jim Millar's version was to attempt to show a no wrapped effect.
Whether overlaying then with a sheet of acrylic is a better effect becomes another matter.

Nice bit of Optium Acrylic on there and Vintage is right, it will give the effect of it floating without support rather than the visual effect of the wrap itself.

My first impressions were “why fold the newspaper in half”? and “what’s that skinny mount for”?

I had the book describing how Pramsay did it but never really studied that particular method because I simply would never suggest folding a newspaper in half. I did do quite a few, tabloid and broadsheet, and I did them almost like a magazine mount - ie
one vertical wrap of melinex around all bar the front page - then all you need do is prevent it sliding out to the left and the front page from opening against the glazing, and there are a number of ways of doing that including another wrap around the whole thing if it’s not too big.

If it is a bit too big, then the melinex, unless there’s heavier weights than I ever used, will be too wavy and reflection becomes an issue.

Now there’s this other method - direct contact with the glazing, there would have to be absolutely no other way for me to do that, regardless of quality of said glazing - and there are other ways.
It has to be acrylic - dearer than glass, it should also be abrasion resistant, dearer still - then of course UV is desirable - getting worried now - then optically coated - so now we’re talking optimum museum - for my customers - on a newspaper, that would be out of the question - probably would be a few commas back too!

Cost effective and option museum don’t appear in the same job here I’m afraid.

I also thought DCO using wadding like that was the actual mounting method - something pushed in to a ‘pillow’ - usually something very light. But this is mounted with melinex wraps and straps and all that’s left to do is prevent the front from flopping forward from the top right.

Rebate spacers need no concealing unless they’re wider than the rebate lip.

There’s plenty to be taken method-wise for other things though, I suppose, but for this the customer would have to insist on the paper being folded and also absolutely no way of seeing any mounting method. Then they’d run at the cost anyway, which I’d be totally fine with!

Suppose top right corner could be stuck down though!

Edit - “optium museum”; not the other things my phone prefers to call it!

The customer was in charge of deciding whether the newspaper was folded in half or not, the undermount width (around 50mm), colour, and frame style (around 30mm wide).
I was in charge of the method for mounting the newspaper, and the spacer under the frame rebate. The customer wasn't particularly concerned how I achieved the look.
I'm not sure why they wanted it folded but even if it was a full front page, or open in the middle, I would have used the same method. It was the only method I knew of, and even now that I think I understand this direct contact overlay method, I'm not going to suggest it as an option.

I wasn’t suggesting folding the paper in half was your idea, just that I never would suggest it after seeing this method and the one before it that you used. It would have to be customer’s insistence.