Digital Prints

the print had turned a bright yellow. It was guessed that either the high acid content of
the pillow’s materials or chemical outgassing of formaldehyde interacted with the paper’s
coating to cause the problem.
Shipping Prints
What’s the safest way to ship prints? In tubes or flat? Royce Bair of BairArtEditions.com
uses Yazoo mailing tubes (yazoomills.com), which he believes are the strongest mailing
tubes in the world. Here’s how he does it: “You want tubes that are large in diameter (5–12
inches) so that your prints arrive with less curl memory, especially if you are using thicker
fine-art papers in the 250-gsm or higher weights. Yazoo’s 6-inch-diameter tubes will handle
super-thick 425-gsm Epson Smooth Fine Art quite nicely.
“For creaseless rolling,” Bair continues, “we recommend you roll the print in tissue or
Pellon (a semi-transparent, acid-free material used in the sewing industry), image side in,
and then loosely around a 4- or 5-inch tube, wrap a strip of junk paper around the print,
secure the strip with adhesive tape (to prevent the print from unrolling; you don’t want a
print that’s snug against the inside tube wall), slide the tube out, and then insert the rolled
print into the 6-inch tube. Add tissue or padding on both ends to fill any extra space so
the print doesn’t move back and forth inside the tube. Use the snap-on end caps and tape
them securely before shipping.”
You can also ship prints flat, but it’s riskier in terms of potential damage. If the prints are
already matted and/or framed, they will have to ship flat. Artist Jean Anne Allen uses a twopiece
(inner and outer) mirror-picture carton from a moving-supply company with the artwork
inside protected with bubble wrap. “My advice,” business manager Michael Allen
says, “is to wrap both directions with bubble wrap and use a two-part mirror box that is
the largest practical size so that it fully inserts into itself giving double-walled protection.”
If possible, avoid shipping a print framed with glass; use Plexiglas instead. Some art
shows and contests will refuse artwork shipped with glass. The potential for damage and
injury is too high.
Displaying Prints
Print display choices range from the simple (push-pinning a print to your office wall) to
the complex (museum display conditions). In fact, even in lofty museums, I’ve seen
unframed digital prints that were attached to the walls with building nails. When it comes
to displaying prints, there are few rules, and even those are frequently broken. Let’s break
this topic down into two components: display aesthetics and display permanence.
Display Aesthetics
Continuing the “Print Aesthetics” section that started off this chapter, there are varied theories
about the best way to display prints. The purpose of the display is, of course, paramount.
Are you trying to maximize print sales in a gallery setting or just mounting a
pleasant arrangement that goes well with the room decor?
Chapter 9 ■ Finishing and Displaying Your Prints 303