Im in the process of preparing my prints for the browse bins. however, im having difficulty deciding what to use for support of the print in the clearbag. Do I use foam board, backer board, or what? What is the common product used for achieving this? I went to clearbags website for the bags. Im not going to use matt as frame for picture. just the bag, picture, and whatever I use to back the picture. The sizes I will have are 8x10, and 17x22.
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As others have mentioned, 1/8 inch foamcore is the most common. Foam core can be used as a mounting board and a picture frame backing board. 3/16 inch is a little more stable than 1/8 but takes up more precious space in your bins. For 8x10 you can also consider blank mat board if you want the thickness to just be 1/16 inch but I would not recommend that for the 17x22 since it will bow. The least expensive way to obtain foamcore is to buy it by the box and cut it yourself. This of course is more labor intensive so you have to determine the cost of your time. If you just buy sheets then you might only save about 20 cents over buying cut to size in quantities of 10 or more from a company like mine for archival foamboard. Shipping full boxes of foamboard can be an issue and most companies do not pack well enough to avoid corner damage. If you go for qty 2-17x22 and 4-8x10 on the sheet you can trim damages edges off and the sheet. If you order precut and the edges are damaged you should be able to get replacements. Those sizes are easy to pack and ship and although I cant speak for other companies, we almost never have damage at that size.
If you are using archival materials use archival foamboard. More expensive but if you do archival printing and an archival mat why spoil it with a non-archival back.
As to source try Frame Destination who is a great supporter. (FYI Larson Juhl only sells to store front/brick and morter frame shops.)
I agree ... 1/8" works great but you are much better off buying from Framing suppliers. You can get boxes of 25 32"x40" boards and cut them yourself on your mat cutter (I assume you have one).
REFERENCES:
AMPF, Inc. (Long Island City, NY - Phone 718-472-1969) Larson Juhl 770-279-5200
Also, for small sizes, (like 6x8 or even your 8x10s) you can use the economy backing boards from www.ClearBags.com ... Can't go wrong. Call them for a free sample to test.
Foam core works. I recommend the 1/8 inch thickness instead of 3/16. That way you'll be able to fit more prints in the bin. If you're using archival materials you can use rag board, or regular mat board if you're not using archival materials.
Replies
As others have mentioned, 1/8 inch foamcore is the most common. Foam core can be used as a mounting board and a picture frame backing board. 3/16 inch is a little more stable than 1/8 but takes up more precious space in your bins. For 8x10 you can also consider blank mat board if you want the thickness to just be 1/16 inch but I would not recommend that for the 17x22 since it will bow. The least expensive way to obtain foamcore is to buy it by the box and cut it yourself. This of course is more labor intensive so you have to determine the cost of your time. If you just buy sheets then you might only save about 20 cents over buying cut to size in quantities of 10 or more from a company like mine for archival foamboard. Shipping full boxes of foamboard can be an issue and most companies do not pack well enough to avoid corner damage. If you go for qty 2-17x22 and 4-8x10 on the sheet you can trim damages edges off and the sheet. If you order precut and the edges are damaged you should be able to get replacements. Those sizes are easy to pack and ship and although I cant speak for other companies, we almost never have damage at that size.
Cheers, Mark
Frame Destination, Inc.
If you are using archival materials use archival foamboard. More expensive but if you do archival printing and an archival mat why spoil it with a non-archival back.
As to source try Frame Destination who is a great supporter. (FYI Larson Juhl only sells to store front/brick and morter frame shops.)
I agree ... 1/8" works great but you are much better off buying from Framing suppliers. You can get boxes of 25 32"x40" boards and cut them yourself on your mat cutter (I assume you have one).
REFERENCES:
AMPF, Inc. (Long Island City, NY - Phone 718-472-1969)
Larson Juhl 770-279-5200
Also, for small sizes, (like 6x8 or even your 8x10s) you can use the economy backing boards from www.ClearBags.com ... Can't go wrong. Call them for a free sample to test.
Larry Berman
Digital J u r y Services
http://BermanGraphics.com
412-401-8100