Urban Art Association

I've DIY framed tons of prints before with great success - just never floated with spacers. What makes the self adhesive tape better than the Japanese tape - besides not having to wet it? I've read that the Japanese tape has a better chance of not leaving residue when reversed? thx

thanks for the info... I'm going to go to the local art supply store tomorrow and see if they have of the self adhesive linen tape

Am I wrong to avoid buying something I really like because it has tape damage on the reverse?

It's not going to be visible in a frame but something tells me that I'm not going to be able to block out the fact that it's there.

I think my standards may be too high when it comes to condition.

It's a 2003 signed Banksy.

Lots of early Banksys were framed using masking tape etc, they were cheap prints so people werent likely to spend 100's on conservation framing, lots have tape removal marks, better the non conservation tape removed and leave a tape mark on the back than leave it there to do more damage in the long run, if it hasnt damaged the print image/front then isnt a big issue, lots of early banksys have issues of some sort, tape removal on the back is a minor issue imo if it hasnt affected the image/front of the print, the banksy print market will have to have to be more leniant to minor issues as so many have them, they were  handled like cheaper prints rather than investable works of art.
Obviously one without tape issues will be worth a bit more

If it wasn't north of £6k then I wouldn't be quite so concerned.

Have to agree. Just a tiny bit of tape residue on this one!!!

I recommend Neschen P90 (regular). The P90plus is too strong. For pasting some papers and backboards (not the artwork) P90plus is usefull. But for the prints P90 is perfect.
In case of reframing or putting the artwork out of the frame you should leave the tape on the artwork and just cut it of.
The acid-free tape wont hurt the paper, but the removing might damage it.
Just use smal stripes.

Good luck.

What's your reasoning behind it Roy? I've been gathering everything I need to begin Some DIY framing myself and have yet to settle on archival tape or corners. I know tape is safer if the frame were to fall, but is it a better piece of mind not to use tape at all?

I've just finished floating a print with Japanese paper and a mix of tylose, ethanol and water. I used four hinges and some spacers to support the middle part of the print. I'm pretty happy with the result.

Before throwing myself into this project I experimented exhaustedly with various amounts of glue and different styles of paper. In all cases I was able to reverse the process with absolutely no damage to the piece. In 90% of cases I just had to pull gently on the hinge and it would come off without tearing anything. The trick is to have enough surface contact to hold the art properly but not too much that it gets tricky to remove the hinge, I suppose....

In the case that the hinges don't come off mechanically, the advantage of tylose is that you can reactivate it with a bit of water and thus proceed to safe removal of the hinge.

All these techniques I learnt from a specialist, who's job it is to restore, frame and conserve paper artworks. This person also supplied me with the appropriate materials and methodology.

A couple of points to take into consideration:

Use acid free mounting supports.
Also the frame should not be made of wood which has been glued: MDF plywood etc...
Uv plexi or treated glass is better. (I used normal glass because I live in a dark Parisian appartement and made sure my art never gets direct sunlight, plus I couldn't afford the special glass....)

Good luck with framing!

PS: I built the frame myself.

hi sic, these are not your only two options. I like to use spacers under the lip of the frame to give a distance between the print and the artwork. You can get spacers in different colours and materials. I like to use perspex one but depends on the piece. So the print is pressed up against the spacers and does not need any adhesives of any sort and is very stable in its position. You can see an example of a Zanda Frog framed this way on my homepage www.printcave.co.uk/

I got my spacers from Lion Picture Framers, they do have a minimum order though.

I always wondered, is there a chance the spacers could press a crease into the front of the print?

I reframed a Peter Blake print that had been framed with econospace spacers and it hadn't affected the print. I use lion too and they're pretty good on prices.

Lion do a chop service as do Brampton Framing.

And that's only if you need to float it...