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Preservation Section

If you collect it.....
Protect IT

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NOTE: Preservation is a very controversial area, almost like our court system....
Every expert has a different opinion!!!

So we have set this section up a little different than the others.
We want to show as many variations from experts as possible and
combine the information with our own experiences.
Then we present it in a 'Pros and Cons' type of format to try to
give you the advantage of seeing all sides.

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The old cliche is true....

'An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure'

Protecting your collectible is a lot of common sense with some info included. So let's look at a few facts to use our common sense on..
  • Movie paper was primarily a cheap form of advertising for the movie.
  • Movie paper was meant to be thrown away when the promotion was finished.
  • Because it was to be thrown away, quite often the cheapest quality ink and paper was normally used.
  • Poorer quality paper normally gets damaged by the elements easier

With this in mind, let's take a look at the 'enemies' of your collectibles

  • moisture (water damage)
  • humidity (mold and fungus)
  • heat (makes brittle and brown)
  • light (fades the colors)
  • acidity (disintegrates the paper)
  • critters (eats thru it)

ALL of these areas have to be covered to protect your collectible. ANY weakness in ANY of these areas will affect the value and longevity so as we cover each different situation, let's look back to make sure each area is covered.

Where do we start?

Let's look at it's current condition of your poster... what kind of shape is it in? Let's say that there are some blemishes on your poster....... ok... what do you do???

We have prepared a variety of blemishes and how to handle them. So let's take a look at the main ones

Next we need to look at what you plan to do with your collectible...WHY do you have this piece?

Is it a beautiful piece you want to show off?
Is it an investment for future profits?
Do you just LOVE this movie?

You see what I mean... the point is... are you wanting to display it for everyone to enjoy or are you wanting to put it away for protection. Let's look at how you want to display your poster.

Displaying your poster
you want to protect it AND be able to display it

We know that trying to cover this area presents a little different problem. Each situation is different and can range from someone in college just trying to put something on their wall for the semester to a collector hanging a $5000 poster.

You hear something different from every direction.. ALL the different things that YOU need to do to YOUR poster. Well, please remember this..... there are pros and cons to EVERYTHING.... that's why we try to put them for you. BUT BE SURE TO LOOK AT ALL THE PROBLEMS AND NOT JUST THE BENEFITS.

Let's look at a variety of ways starting with the least expensive and working our way up.

B&B

The cheapest way to both give some protection and be able to display your item too.

B&B variation

Here's a slight step up from the B&B BUT read the B&B first.

Binders and sleeves

Let's look at some ways of handling smaller pieces in your collection.

Larger Items

OK, how do you display LARGE pieces inexpensively.

Display Racks and sleeves

Better when you have multiple items you want to show but very little room to show them in.

Encapsulation

Sounds like you're going in space or something! What is encapsulation and can it help?

Lamination

Let's look at the differences - is it a viable alternative?

Dry Mounting

This is what your framer will recommend! What is it and what will it do to the poster?

Linen Backing

The good, the bad and the not-suppose-to-be ugly. Different points of view. Here's a real can of worms.......

Framing

Like saying .... 'buying a car' - there are so many different ways and types that you need to do a little research before you do damage to your collectible

Lightboxes

Yes, they look just like the theater... BUT...what about the heat?

Storing your poster

OK, let's start with the simplest first and work our way up.....the first 3 sections are different ways to STORE your poster.

NOTE: Before you store your poster.. make sure that it's clean and free from all tape, dirt and marks that may continue to eat away at your poster while you have it stored.

Storing your FOLDED poster

This breaks down all the ins and outs of storing your poster folded.

Storing your ROLLED poster

This gives the ins and outs of storing it rolled.

Storing your posters FLAT

How, where and what to put them in..

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Besides preservation, our hobby needs to look at some major changes in the area of poster restoration to help protect our hobby, our collectors AND our posters. If NOT addressed and something implemented, I believe that there is a high probability that there will be a major negative impact on our hobby coming in the future.

Proposed Restoration Code

Instituting a Restoration Certificate



This section is for reference use. Images found on this site are property of L.A.M.P. and are for reference purposes only with NO rights implied or given. See LAMP Disclaimer
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