black mount and conservation

michelle · Post by **michelle** » Mon 18 Jun, 2007 2:12 pm

I have a customer that wants a black second mount on her cross stitch. All other materials are of conservation standard, is it acceptable practice to line the mount (and would it make a difference, if so with what?) to prevent it having direct contact with the material. I know that the ideal answre would be not to use it at all but is there a compromise?
Many thanks
Mich

Merlin · Post by **Merlin** » Mon 18 Jun, 2007 3:30 pm

Hi Mich
We have a W.I. competition 'stitcher' lady who has insisted on a black second mount and she uses white or antique white AIDA as her base fabric.

A technique I picked up in the states and works extremely well (although I am sure there are others) is to PVA 500 micron museum barrier paper to the back of the second mount.
When dry this cuts perfectly and the white does not show at all on the bevel again the white fabric.

absolute framing · Post by **absolute framing** » Mon 18 Jun, 2007 4:36 pm

Hi,

Is the black mount a "black core" mountboard or mountboard with a black face paper ?
If it is the later Daler Rowney do a Conservation Pro board 3712 Charcoal Black.
You can get it through Lion in England.

Regards,

Stephen

Roboframer · Post by **Roboframer** » Mon 18 Jun, 2007 5:12 pm

Why can't the black mount be of conservation quality - is it Arqadia? I think they do not class their black boards as conservation quality due to carbon content.

Alpharag artcare comes in black and alphamat artcare boards are fine too, be they black with a white core or solid black.

JFeig · Post by **JFeig** » Mon 18 Jun, 2007 7:25 pm

in addition to the solid core black "rag 100" boards from Bainbridge and Crescent, you could reverse bevel that black mount board with a white core so that the white core will not show.

Roboframer · Post by **Roboframer** » Mon 18 Jun, 2007 9:35 pm

Is the white bevel an issue?

If not and it IS an arquadia whitecore board, it's only the surface paper which is not 'conservation quality' so that will not be 'in direct contact' with the X Stitch anyway. The core, and backing which you are suggesting you should line, if indeed it is arquadia whitcore, is conservation quality anyway.

Another solution, if you do not want to buy a board from a supplier you do not already have an account with, is to put another mount, or even two, under the black one, but with a slightly smaller aperture - i.e. concealed and bevellled away from the aperture, then pad the X Stitch with 2oz polyester quilt wadding, cut just SLIGHTLY smaller than the aperture, which will also give it a nice 'cushioned' look.

osgood · Post by **osgood** » Mon 18 Jun, 2007 9:50 pm

Roboframer wrote: If not and it IS an arquadia whitecore board, it's only the surface paper which is not 'conservation quality' so that will not be 'in direct contact' with the X Stitch anyway.

John,
What about "outgassing"?

Michelle,
As some others have said, Bainbridge "Alphamats" are all cons/pres quality and they have the added benefit of "zeolytes" which absorb gases from the framing package.
If you have a supplier of Bainbridge available to you, my advice is to try them. It has been my "standard" for many years and there is a great range of colours, all of which are c/p quality.

Roboframer · Post by **Roboframer** » Mon 18 Jun, 2007 10:13 pm

osgood wrote: John,
What about "outgassing"?

My point was, that adding a liner of thin board, won't cure the problem of whatever is in the black surface paper. Nor will reversing the bevel, but adding another mount, or two, will lift the 'problem' another 1.5 or 3mm away from the artwork.

But now Michelle realises that there are boards out there that are top notch presrevation quality across the board (!) regardless of colour she may want to look at other suppliers, she may also be surprised when she compares prices.

Some artcare boards, such as rice paper - and some of their bevelled accents cannot be qualified as having full artcare protection, but they are still 'normal' preservation quality and the cores and backings are still artcare -zeolite/microchamber/all singing all dancing stuff.

osgood · Post by **osgood** » Mon 18 Jun, 2007 10:23 pm

John,
I should have used a "smilie" after my "outgassing" comment! I was being a teeny bit taunting with that one!

I agree with you and hope that Michelle has no problem sourcing a better quality matboard!

michelle · Post by **michelle** » Tue 19 Jun, 2007 9:14 am

Thanks everyone for all the advice. I clearly need to think about changing my mountboard ( colourmount ) as they just don't have the range of colour options in CG. Part of my problem is that I don't have the quantity of framing as you guys and my supplier will deliver weekly at low cost and supply small quantities. I obviously need to re think this.
Many thanks as usual
mich

osgood · Post by **osgood** » Tue 19 Jun, 2007 10:35 am

Michelle,

My supplier of Alphamat is about 300 miles away and I have to rely on all my mats taking between one and two days from despatch to delivery. The cost of this freight is built into my pricing structure as it is part of business and my customers have to pay for freight too.

My advice is to work out what colours you use regularly and keep some sheets of those commonly used colours in stock all the time.

When you use one of them add it to your order list for the next order. Sometimes you will need some other colours and those can be ordered at a specific interval, then you can notify your customer when their job will be complete based on your ordering interval. I place orders every monday morning early and sometimes again through the week if necessary. I find that having a specific ordering interval makes a beneficial difference.

Moglet · Post by **Moglet** » Fri 29 Jun, 2007 12:39 am

FWIW, Arqadia's Larson Juhl Artique range has a conservation level black board- Raven (ref. 4858 - whitecore).