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Is Plexi replacing glass

Bruce Osgood

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Aside from shipping a framed picture, is Plexi, or its' counterparts, a desirable way to display a picture?

Do reflections increase, are image subtitles lost behind Plexi, are there inherent anti-archival elements to Plexi?

TIA
 
I've heard that Plexi absorbs more UV rays than glass so actually protects the print better than glass. Plexi does scratch easy so care must be taken when cleaning it. My 1995 Clyde Butcher Limited Edition series was framed with Plexi by Clyde. So far no problems with it.
 
Subtitles? I don't use no stinkin' subtitles!!

No, there are no subtleties (I think that's what you meant) lost when using plexiglass. I prefer it because it is clear of any colour unlike the sickly green colour glass casts over a print and the mount. Go to a framing shop and pop a piece of plexi and a piece of glass on some white mat board...prepare to be shocked at the difference.

It does scratch easily and will drive you INSANE if you do your own framing, as it will attract dust from a 10 kilometer radius. Despite this it's worth the extra hassle and cost.

I don't know of any achival problems...

Murray
 
The two biggest issues with using Plexi are A: scratching and B: static attraction. Plexi scratches much easier than glass when cleaning or transporting. It is also a major static attractant, so it sucks in all dust particles within a thousand yard radius, and the more you try and remove them, the better the static charge in the plexi gets built up, so it draws in three particles for every one you remove. I would say that plexi also seems to be more reflection prone, only because it is more flexible than glass so it is more likely to have subtle curves/bends in it in the frame, so it is harder to light it without having some kind of glare spot somewhere. That said, once you get above an 11x14 frame, Plexi starts to be the preferred option, and once you're above 20x24, it's almost the only option. Big frames bend and twist, and big glass doesn't. Applying the naturally occuring torque of a large picture frame to a plate of glass will make it shatter. To get glass thick enough that this doesn't happen, the weight of the glass is so great that it will rip the picture off the wall, and pull the frame apart.
 
For those who frame using acrylic (plexiglass is a tradename for acrylic), Novus has a several products for cleaning and removing scratches. I bought them from my acrylic supplier.

I frame exclusively with acrylic and have used these products and they do work.
 
Two or three Staticmaster brushes can be connected in sequence and should have enough oomph to neutralize the static charge a big piece of plexiglass accumulates. This should let you work with the plexi without attracting so much dust.
 
There's also some stuff called Acrylite-AR, which is plex that has been coated to be more scratch resistant. It's not cheap, but apparently it's worth the extra cost.

I will say that I've never used it, so I'm only repeating what I've heard from other sources.
 
As others have stated Acrylic (Plexiglass is soft) and scratches more easily than glass. High quality Acrylic is clear and tends to absorb about 97% of UV light. It also has more tendency to warp than the glass. It does not break as easily as glass and is as mentioned a dust magnet. Additionally, it is approximately 1/2 of the weight of glass of like size.

Cyro Industries makes very high quality Plexiglass (trade name Cyro) that is available as AR OP3 which optically pure and abrasive resistant. It is also offered by Tru Vue through their dealer network under their label. It is quite expensive and usually is available in 4' X 8' sheets as well as smaller sizes.
Tru Vue also offers this product with antireflective coatings like their Museum Glass at a premium of about 2X ???? the cost of Museum Glass.

Tru Vue offers an assortment of glasses including their Conservation Clear and Nonglare glasses that filter out 97 or 98% of the UV. I believe that Tru Vue also offers a white glass (no color as green) as well as their AR (anti reflection) which only filters about 78% of UV and their top of the line Museum glass which is antireflective and filters out 97 to 98% of the UV.

Rich
 
In regard to large work, does plexi weigh less that glass?
 
JBrunner said:
In regard to large work, does plexi weigh less that glass?
Click to expand...

Hi Jason,

Yes the Plexi does weigh much less than a like size sheet of glass. I believe that Plexi is about 1/2 the weight of glass. Pieces that I frame as 40" X 48" in Plexi weigh approximately what a piece that is framed as a 32" x 40" in glass weighs. I have not actually weighed them, but lifting the pieces seem to be about the same weight.

Rich
 
naturephoto1 said:
...
Tru Vue also offers this product with antireflective coatings like their Museum Glass at a premium of about 2X ???? the cost of Museum Glass.
...
Click to expand...

Here in New York I have paid about 50% more for Optium Museum (acrylic) than for Museum (glass) anti-reflective coated glazing ($50 for Museum, $75 for Optium Museum in 16x20). The price difference may be influenced by the different margins applied by the two different vendors. The anti-reflective coating is soft, so glass has no advantage in that respect when coated.

Best,
Helen
 

Helen,

That is correct, however, the harder coating (UV) of the Museum Glass is on the outside. The softer anti-reflective sputter coating on the Museum Glass and the and the Optimum Museum (acrylic) is on the inside of the glazing material facing the art work. I am not sure, how the harder (UV) coating of the Museum Glass compares to the scratchability of the softer Acrylic outer surface of the regular Cryo AR OP3 or the Optimum Museum Acrylic.

Rich
 

Rich,

I think that you have your glazing the wrong way round. The anti-reflective coating goes on the exterior surface (ie the one that would otherwise be responsible for the majority of the reflections), the UV on the interior (because it doesn't matter which face that is on). The exterior surface of Museum glass, mounted in the way that Tru Vue recommend, needs very careful treatment - but it is well worth it if your work is shown in less-than-ideal lighting.

Best,
Helen
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Hi Helen,

I almost got it right for the description (I do it correctly and I do frame some work in it for clients). I just confirmed with Tru-Vue. The Museum glass actually has the AR (anti-reflective) coating on both sides of the glass. The softer Green Coating is what faces the Art Work (as marked on the edge of the glass) which is the UV coating for this glass. The Conservation clear glass is installed the same way into the frame with the UV side (marked at the edge of the glass) facing the art work. Though you could actually reverse the direction for the Museum Glass, the softer Green coated side is on the inside of the frame facing the art work so that it is not removed through multiple cleanings as by a customer over time.

Rich
 
Rich,

The UV (inside surface) coating may be softer than the outside surface coating, but I would call the coating on both sides soft and easily damaged - hence my original comment that the anti-reflective coating (on the outside) means that glass loses its advantage over acrylic in terms of resistance to damage.

Best,
Helen
 

I use Tru Vue glass for my prints. I've been quite satisfied with it.
 
Mostly, I take dead mice out of the swimming pool. I don't talk to them. Sometimes I find a live mouse and those try to bite when I remove (save) them with a pair of ice tongs.

But I understand your concern. Thanks. I'm not that far round the bend, but remember that ST was very popular at the EK research labs.

Sometimes, when you work 8+ hours/day in a DR, totally dark, you start to talk to yourself though.

PE
 
Photo Engineer said:
I use transparent aluminum.

PE
Click to expand...
Dude, you are like, this totally smart science guy, and for a second I thought you were serious. I thought, "old PE, he probably invented some breakthrough new material". You are joking right? Right? :confused:
 
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