The Framers Forum

Hi All

Customer is concerned about 2 large prints (screen or linocut, I can't remember) that are showing signs of buckling under the mount.

Glass size about 1.2m, paper about 350gsm, t hinged in a book mount. Backing is probably ArtBak, but probably should have been mdf, could this be the problem? What else could it be? How to fix? I'm pretty confident that I hinged them correctly.
Thanks in advance,
Megan

I should add they've been correctly stored and hung, away from moisture/ heat, and were framed in June.

That definitely appears to be an "expansion / contraction" problem of paper that was not 100% covered with a paint layer. As a relatively humid environment(SE England), this is evidence of seasonal changes in relative humidity.

How tight did you fit the contents when you assembled the package? Does this prevent the art from expanding/contracting? Did you have any hinges on the sides or bottom to prevent movement?

Are these handmade prints using a press? Where the paper is stretched slightly in the printed area, easiest to see from the back

Interesting that it has affected both prints in the same way. Are you able to open it up and have a look at the hinging? It could potentially be a problem with that. Especially if all the boards are still completely flat.

Having said that, I always take with a very large pinch of salt customer statements about hanging/storing them correctly.

Last one we had to deal with (not previously framed by us) the hinges weren't done correctly, which definitely won't have helped, but the customer storing them for a few months in a damp shed while they did some redecorating was the main culprit.

Exactly what I was thinking, pinch of salt! My recent experience of this was a customer who came back a week after collection. They'd hung it on the wall and promptly gone on holiday for a week having turned their central heating off. After two days back in my studio the paper settled down again. I checked and refitted it, only for it to come back a week later with the same problem. The customer was most indignant when I suggested that there may be some damp or particularly cold wall. Again it settled down in my studio. I replaced the backing with Correx fluted poly backing and silver waterproof tape and haven't heard from her again!