Cigarette Cards

[Merlin]

I have got the job of mounting 3 lots of 50 of these things to do..
I have the mounts already cut out.

Obviously these are or will become collectors items in the future, so do not want to ruin them at all.

How would you fix them into the windows.
My thoughts are. to use the clear mylar photo corners OR to use mylar continuous mounts. this last item is a 25mm wide strip which is folded up into a V type hinge. This could be fixed to the backing board and the cards just slid into the groove..

Any other ideas please..

[markw]

cards placed in kiss fit mount - two sheets of glass - back of cards can then be read. wouldnt rate this as ideal way to conserve the cards but it is possibly the most frequently used method - as you can imagine cards drop out etc when assembling - but can give a very pleasing result - mounts need to be straight cut - not bevelled. I shall watch this posting as i have yet to see a good conservation level solution for multiple aperture card frames.

[JFeig]

We use what is called a "sling mat" to hold the cards in place. I would use 2 ply Rag due to the thin nature of the cards. The openings are the same size as the cards. The mount windows are cut 5mm smaller such that there would be a 2-3mm overlap of the mount to keep the cards from falling out. No clue tapes or mylar of any sort touching the art.

If the back of the cards are to be shown, a second mount for the back with the same 2-3mm overlap to hold the card in place.

[Merlin]

Thanks Guys. Still trying to sort this one out.
Customer does not want to show the back of the cards. Only the front. That sorts out the problems of the sandwich method.
One further problem. And dont you just love these type of customers.

Tried to go down the 2mm overlap route with the top mount. He wants the whole card showing. The reason for this is that one particular set of cards have images right up to the edges, which need to be displayed. All three completed frames will be hung next to each other, so they all have to be the same style.

That is why I have come back to the mylar type of envelope or continuous strip. The archival photo corners are another idea, have had a go on a gash piece of mountboard and they are almost invisible.

BUT, at 50 cards per set and 4 corners per card, that is one fiddly job of 200 corners to put in.

Sadly not even The Grumble could help, unless they are not called cigarette cards in the USA.

Unfortunately, not a job that can be sat on (giving me thinking space) for too long either.

[markw]

many of the cigarette cards produced in the uk have the image right up to the edge of the card - or very thin gutters around the card - making an overlap almost impossible - kiss fit mount and backing in conservation grade board - cards will sit away from the glass. Sometimes you cant meet the customers requirements and achieve a good conservation standard. All you can do in this circumstance is to advise your customer of the potential consequencies of framing the cards.

[John]

We use what is called a "sling mat" to hold the cards in place. I would use 2 ply Rag due to the thin nature of the cards.

Great solution Jerome, but how on earth do you cut the "sling mat"? Keeping it in register with the top mat must be a nightmare. I doubt if many of my customers could pay me to do such a job. I expect a CMC would be a lot of help.

[JFeig]

Yes, a CMC is a help with the hair loss.

However, when I started we had a employee who still used a draw knife to cut mats and it would be done the same way.............very carefully. BTY, this fellow was just as fast as any of us with a modern mat cutter (Fletcher, C&H, KeenKut). He just had larger bicepts.

In reality with or without a CMC the key is to "measure twice and cut once" using a good engraved ruler and a super fine mechanical pencil. A "Pentel 203" has a .3mm lead and has worked for many years.

As for showing all of the card (we call them "trading cards"), the mylar corners will cause hair loss as well. I would go for the strip method discussed.

If you come to a trade show and see Vivian Kistler who is from Ohio, she will give you her trademark line for this project. "We are framers and not magicians!!!!!"

good luck and success from this side of th pond.

Jerry


As I sent this message I thought of another method to make a sling mat. Strips of scrap mount board attached to the back of the mount board going accross and shorter strips going top to bottom, or partial from strip to strip. Attach a full sheet of Mylar (Milenex) to mount board prior to strips and another sheet to back of attached strips. Use 3M's 888 or 889 since they are acrylic based adhesives.

[Jim Miller]

I use a lot of what you call Mylar. Note that it hasn't been manufactured since 2001, so most of us are now using Melinex 516 or Hostaphan 43-SM. To avoid confusion, I now use its generic description, "clear polyester film".

If you have access to a CMC, I suggest cutting TWO identical mats with beveled opening for each card, carefully measuring so that the card's perimeter fits about halfway down the bevel. That is, the card recesses into the opening, but does not fall through. In the standard American 4-ply matboard, that makes the actual opening roughly 1/16" smaller than the card's height & width.

Place all of the cards in their openings, and cover the entire assembly with a sheet of clear film, with the outside of its curvature up. Then put the second mat over the clear film with 3M #889 double-sided tape, to hold it flat & retain the cards.

If you don't have access to a CMC, then cut one mat with openings about 1/8" larger than the cards, leaving 7/8" spacing between them.

After your mat is cut, attach a sheet of clear film to its backside, using 3M #889 tape in a grid between the openings. It is 3/4" wide, so it fits neatly between the openings.

Position the mat face down on the tabletop; clear film side up. Place another set of 3M #889 double-sided tape strips in a grid between the openings. Lay the cards in place (that would be face down) and secure the second layer of clear film to the first layter, as you remove the tape's release paper strips, taking care to avoid sticking the tape on the cards.

By this method you are essentially making an encapsulation mount for each card, except in a gang.

Confusing, eh? That's why we have classes, I guess.