Q re: OA Storage 0

[G.D. Kennedy]

Hey folks -- looking for a bit of advice.  I only have a few pieces of OA and store them all in an archival portfolio.  I have a piece coming in the mail that is really big -- 19"x24".  I am trying to find a way to store this, but it's bigger than my portfolio and just about every other one I can find.  Would storing this in a tube be a terrible idea?  It's not an expensive piece, but still want to keep it in good shape.   

[Bird]

The tube is pretty close to a terrible idea. I have a few nice prints in tubes but I wouldn't risk it with OA regardless of the cost. You bought it as you liked it, so keep it nice! You are going to have to get a larger portfolio of some kind. You could get two very sturdy sheets of cardboard and tape them closed around it, then put behind the sofa or under the bed but that is a bit iffy as well. I also have a cardboard portfolio-ish thing I use to go to cons and stored some larger pieces in there before I got a bigger portfolio.

[Peter L]

3 hours ago, G.D. Kennedy said:

Hey folks -- looking for a bit of advice.  I only have a few pieces of OA and store them all in an archival portfolio.  I have a piece coming in the mail that is really big -- 19"x24".  I am trying to find a way to store this, but it's bigger than my portfolio and just about every other one I can find.  Would storing this in a tube be a terrible idea?  It's not an expensive piece, but still want to keep it in good shape.   

A tube is a bad idea because paper fibers bend and after awhile it is impossible to return to its flat state, basically destroying the art forever.  For example I had a very expensive print that I had stored in a tube for three years.  When I took it to the framer, he said he tried many archival methods to straighten it out and it was already too far gone and he explained this to me.

They do make flat mylars that big and that's what I have done.  They get pricey (like $20 each) but I couldn't find a better way around this.  

Another thing I have done, like with that now damaged print, was I got a cheap frame from Aaron Brothers and stuck it in there.  I bought two when they had the buy one get one for a penny sale to hold some posters in when I wanted to show them.  I just have the print in there.  It doesn't fit and it is not for display, but just to keep it flat and not banged up.  It is not archival by itself, but it does keep it flat and otherwise undamaged.  

[Andahaion]

Put it in a frame on the wall?

[G.D. Kennedy]

Appreciate the responses.  Thanks.