damaged canvas prints,advice needed

Hi:

With so sensitive materials you should only try to flatten them applyin pressure…

Put on some heavy books on top of the prints…

Another idea is to look into taking them out of the canvas they are mounted into, and try to put into acid free cardboard or paper…

Just google archival and photography conservation for more tips.

Cheers,

Armando

thanks armando.actually they are printed directly onto the canvas,so separation is not an option.i looked at a few archival and preservation sites,but they only offered a service,they did not actually give any techniques.pressure sounds good,i will give it a whirl.

What kind of emulsion do you think was used?

For a liquid enlargement-speed silver-halide photographic emulsion:

After drying, a wrinkled print can be flattened by pressing with a flatiron or dry-mount press on low-heat setting.

I would also consider stringing up a clothes line, clipping the image up and weighting it at the bottom with more clothespins, and gently spraying the backside, canvas, with cool water if it’s really curled up.

Is there one you could do a test on, a sacrifice to the print gods if need be? good luck!

also, what do you mean by pretty old? under 20 years or more?

Mike,

I’m going to EM you with the procedure for flattening watercolor paper after it has buckled. This should work for your problem.
Cheers, G.

thanks everbody,i will do a few tests to see which ofyour ideas work best.i will answer more fully in a while,just got back from a road trip,where i managed to slice my focussing finger to the bone,so a bit of accident and emergency ward for me.(dont try cutting wood on the back of a moving tractor while drunk on rakia.yes,it was entirely my own fault!).