As most of you know I have a small gallery in Estes and primarily sell my prints in a wood-mounted (colorplak, laminate, plaque) format. This has proved to be very popular with customers because it allows the photo to be seen without any glare or reflection and when lit with a halogen light the images seem to come to life.
Since April I have had a new company in Denver do my mounting. It has taken a while to get the bugs out of the system, but it now seems to be working well, so I want to let the word out about my secret mounting company. The company's name is "Artist Showcase". They are located just off of SantaFe and I25 in Denver.
The main reason I moved to having my mounting done with Artist Showcase is that they actually answer my questions and are willing to work with my needs. When I have a problem they bend over backward to try and fix it. They also ship most of my orders directly to my customers in their custom designed crates. Their pricing is comparable to others and their production times are about 10 days. I've done over 100 pieces with them during the last months and this morning I went down to check out a 40"x60" and a 20"x100" piece that they did. Wow, did they look terrific! (The lighting made these snaps look quite flat) These guys are great to work with and also offer additional framing and mounting options which have also come in handy.
If this is of interest to you, contact is Sam Noyes at 303-480-5300.
Posted by Paul Beiser on October 30, 2007 at 4:38 PM
Thanks, Erik. If I ever get good enough to have prints this big, I know where to go for mounting!
Posted by Jesse Speer on October 30, 2007 at 4:49 PM
Thanks for the details Erik. I know many here are frustrated with the service of other vendors. Myself included. I plan to call them. And congrats on the business success!
Posted by Brent Murphy on October 30, 2007 at 6:57 PM
Thanks for the info. I noticed Denver Digital Imaging was now offering this type of mounting. When I asked them about it, they indicated that they actually send the orders to Artist Showcase for mounting.
Posted by Kalin Wilson on October 30, 2007 at 8:23 PM
Great info, Eric. I'm gearing up for some Christmas mounted prints. I may give them a call. Thanks!
Thanks Erik! I spoke to Sam today and he was very helpful. I plan to take some stuff to them soon. I was happy to hear they are partners with DDI, where I go for presentation prints.
Posted by Bill Pelzmann on October 30, 2007 at 9:39 PM
I've also used Artist Showcase based on Erik's recommendation, even though Lafayette would be much closer. They have certainly lived up to Erik's endorsement. I'm about to send them a 40"x60" and can't wait to see the results.
On my first order, my wife dropped off the prints. Sam had a question that she couldn't answer, so they told her to pay on delivery. I picked up the order when the office staff was out of town. They gave me the prints and said Sam would give me a call to settle the bill.
Now that's a terribly trusting way to run a business, especially when dealing with a phone number in Houston!
In general, I still prefer to see a print behind the museum grade nonreflective glass.
There is no question that the lamination film reduces contrast. However, I much prefer the lamination over attempting to view a large print behind standard glass. There is nothing that destroys my enjoyment of a great print faster that trying to find an angle without reflections. Unfortunately, very few people are willing to pay for the glass upgrade, so I really push the plaque mount as a cost effective alternative.
Posted by John Klotz on October 30, 2007 at 11:55 PM
Nice Erik! That pano is awesome. I checked out Artist Showcase on your recomendaton
last August. Sam was out of town but the guys gave me the tour and the demo then Sam called me the next week. I was impressed but what I saw.
John
Posted by Kipp Schoen on October 31, 2007 at 12:47 AM
Erik,
Thanks for the info, I had been meaning to ask you where you had this done. Looks and sounds like they do a great job.
Kipp
Posted by Craig Schultz on October 31, 2007 at 1:23 AM
Hey, it sounds like a lot of you are doing this type of mounting now. I'm curious. How much does something like this weigh? MDF is very dense so I'm guessing prints at large sizes can get very heavy.
Eric, how much did that 40x60in run in lbs? I'd probably only print/mount something in the 24x36in category so if someone owns a Colorplak in this size I'd like to know what it weighs and how you mounted it on a wall; can you just use a normal picture frame hook?
Thanks
Posted by Les Barstow on October 31, 2007 at 1:36 AM
Craig,
I'm mounting on plaque in the "box" style, and it is definitely not a picture hook setup. Some if not most of the companies use a "french cleat" mounting bracket - the top edge of the print is beveled inward and a matching piece of MDF is then screwed in to the wall for the print to rest upon. You can temporarily hang the prints with a slightly bent pair of 50lb. picture hooks (not for the weight, but for the size...), and I hang my 20x30" prints on a pair of gridwall hooks when doing art shows.
The main body of the mount is only 1/8" deep, so there's not *too* much weight for the size. Couldn't quote you poundage, though.
Posted by bill meikle on October 31, 2007 at 11:15 PM
Erik, thanks, I asked a friend recently for advice on this and he recommended them too since he has had success using them. Cheers,
Bill
Posted by Jack Garrett on November 8, 2007 at 1:02 AM
Erik, I went there today and met with Sam and Brian. They were great to talk to and they showed me the operation..they are even doing a couple of test floats for me. Thanks for the endorsement!
Discussion
12 repliesSince April I have had a new company in Denver do my mounting. It has taken a while to get the bugs out of the system, but it now seems to be working well, so I want to let the word out about my secret mounting company. The company's name is "Artist Showcase". They are located just off of SantaFe and I25 in Denver.
The main reason I moved to having my mounting done with Artist Showcase is that they actually answer my questions and are willing to work with my needs. When I have a problem they bend over backward to try and fix it. They also ship most of my orders directly to my customers in their custom designed crates. Their pricing is comparable to others and their production times are about 10 days. I've done over 100 pieces with them during the last months and this morning I went down to check out a 40"x60" and a 20"x100" piece that they did. Wow, did they look terrific! (The lighting made these snaps look quite flat) These guys are great to work with and also offer additional framing and mounting options which have also come in handy.
If this is of interest to you, contact is Sam Noyes at 303-480-5300.
On my first order, my wife dropped off the prints. Sam had a question that she couldn't answer, so they told her to pay on delivery. I picked up the order when the office staff was out of town. They gave me the prints and said Sam would give me a call to settle the bill.
Now that's a terribly trusting way to run a business, especially when dealing with a phone number in Houston!
In general, I still prefer to see a print behind the museum grade nonreflective glass.
There is no question that the lamination film reduces contrast. However, I much prefer the lamination over attempting to view a large print behind standard glass. There is nothing that destroys my enjoyment of a great print faster that trying to find an angle without reflections. Unfortunately, very few people are willing to pay for the glass upgrade, so I really push the plaque mount as a cost effective alternative.
last August. Sam was out of town but the guys gave me the tour and the demo then Sam called me the next week. I was impressed but what I saw.
John
Thanks for the info, I had been meaning to ask you where you had this done. Looks and sounds like they do a great job.
Kipp
Eric, how much did that 40x60in run in lbs? I'd probably only print/mount something in the 24x36in category so if someone owns a Colorplak in this size I'd like to know what it weighs and how you mounted it on a wall; can you just use a normal picture frame hook?
Thanks
I'm mounting on plaque in the "box" style, and it is definitely not a picture hook setup. Some if not most of the companies use a "french cleat" mounting bracket - the top edge of the print is beveled inward and a matching piece of MDF is then screwed in to the wall for the print to rest upon. You can temporarily hang the prints with a slightly bent pair of 50lb. picture hooks (not for the weight, but for the size...), and I hang my 20x30" prints on a pair of gridwall hooks when doing art shows.
The main body of the mount is only 1/8" deep, so there's not *too* much weight for the size. Couldn't quote you poundage, though.
Bill
John Garrett
Light of Nature Photography