In art republic in brighton they sugest to keep them flat and not in tubes, me pesonally i have 5 picure frames that i alternate my prints in, with an A1 art folder that has indervidual plastic wallets in it. if u keep them in tubes they get mega curled, i preffer going to POW in person and putting them straight in my art folder, then they never get folded. i find by keeping them in the art folder you can show people them easyer. Id purchase a good one with a ring binder and some plastic wallets, they cost a little but well worth it.

I can see clear walls Bonesy! ;D Get them pictures up ;D

Don't it just make you sick to see people that are so well organized ;D Naaa, well done Bonesy! and great advise

Hi Bonesy, very interesting nice one. I'm on the hunt for some storage like this right now. Do ou think the foamboard is a good idea - or would acid free card do the trick too?

Rgds,

Ive never seen the acid free card in person to be honest, so I really cant say...
I would guess it would work assuming it is thick enough and it is archival for the long term.

Sorry, dont know of anywhere online for spiked spacers. For a specialty item like this or fillets (the thin gold b/w the matte and print in the pic) Id swing by a custom framer and see if they can sell you some and cut it for you too. Or you can drop the cash and have them frame it altogether.

Hi retep101, there is an ebay art supplier who sells good quality A1 ring bound art folders and A1 acid free sleeves, the folder was about 25 quid the sleeves were about a ten spot for 6, each sleeve is double sided, so its really how many sleeves you buy will limit your capacity. Not had any problems and it feels very sturdy.

Try this:
stores.ebay.co.uk/Niks-Naks

If not then just search for A1 art folders, the seller has a name like iwvshoddy05, they can sort you out with folders and plastic acid free sleeves for your stuff.

found a good website - check out the portfolio's in www.graphicsdirect.co.uk

Help an American bloke out and answer my above post

Thank you sir! My cousin actually owns a printmaking studio in Chicago so my guess is she will be able to help - never thought of asking her ;D

Maybe I can invite all my favorite artists to Chicago and they can do nothing but produce prints for me

I've been using bagsunlimited for a while and they are pretty effecient. Supposedly their poly bags are top notch. I recently got a 10 pack of the 31x42" 4mm mylar for some of my new larger prints and they seemed to have a bit of an oily something near the bottom seal, though. Still can't figure out what it is.

The one thing I'm still confused about is how to keep the prints from sliding to the bottom of the sleeve.

Yes search mylar corners on bagsunlimited and theyll ahve them for you, like $15 a pack

my question is then if the prints come from POW in a tube is it relatively easy to get them flat again and put into a portfolio?

In brief, the longer a print has been kept in a tube, the longer it will take and the trickier it will be to get the print flat again. Larger prints are also more difficult to get flat because they have been rolled up more.

If you have a clean table, remove your print from the tube with white cotton gloves (rather than latex surgical ones which can leave a residue on prints). Leave the print on the table so that it can begin to unroll naturally as the fibres in the paper start to relax. This may take just a few hours if you have recently received your tubed print from POW. If you have kept your print in a tube for more than a month, I would give it a few days. [Remember also that POW tubes are not acid-free.]

The temptation to immediately force the print flat by holding it down with objects should be avoided, as this will increase the risk of damage. [It is similar to the risk of pulling a muscle if you start stretching without a proper warm-up.]

Although is safer to have another person assisting you when inserting the print into a portfolio, I tend to do it on my own, with great care and slight trepidation.

Good luck.