How do I protect my Tron: OST poster?

[AnonymsDogMan]

I ordered the Tron official soundtrack with the poster and I love it.
I really like the poster and want to keep it in good condition forever by laminating it. However I am not sure how the glow in the dark aspect of the poster would do under the heat of the laminating machine.
Does anyone else have any idea of what I should do to keep it in good condition?
Please help

[piroteki]

tbh, i wouldn't suggest laminating it. (i mean then again i'm approaching this from a fine art perspective rather than a poster perspective.)

if you really, really want to protect it in the best way and keep it pristine forever, i have some suggestions for you. however, these suggestions will also probably be pretty pricey. (also i think they're a little overboard for a poster, if you ask me, lol, but whatever.) also, i'm not a super expert on this stuff, just saying what i do know.

first of all, i suggest framing or matting instead of lamination. when you're doing this you want to try to use archival, acid-free materials. (most paper has acid in it, which is what makes paper get brittle, yellow, and decay as it ages.) now, i have no idea if the paper the poster is printed on is archival to start with or not, but i wouldn't bet on it. even so, i don't think it's really a problem, as i've heard that even most modern nonarchival papers hold up a lot better than their counterparts from the past. (something about modern production methods i guess.)

in framing/matting, if you're taking the super archival approach, you're probably going to have to get it custom framed, since i don't expect the off-the-shelf poster frames to be archival (but who knows. take a look, you might find something!). if you mat it, choose archival mat board. for a clear overlay, choose glass (expensive, heavy, and breakable) or plexiglass (lighter, cheaper, harder-to-break, but not archival). if you use plexi, use a spacer to keep the poster from being in contact with the nonarchival surface of the plexi. if you go the custom route, you may have the option of getting glass (or maybe plexi? idk) with an anti-UV coating to prevent sun damage.

tbh, i think sun damage is really going to be the biggest concern for damage (aside from accidental rips/tears) much more so than the acid/archival issue that i've been talking about thus far. you're going to see sun-bleaching much, much sooner than you'll see yellowing or brittleness from the acids i mentioned. even though i just was talking about the really proper/expensive archival way to go about it, i think putting it in a cheap frame and hanging it out of direct sunlight will really be your best bet and the most sensible approach.

you can still go ahead and laminate it of course, though. i don't think lamination will effect the glow-in-the-dark elements, but i also don't think it will protect against the acid/sun-bleaching i talked about above. i'm also guessing that if it's ever considered a collectible or something at some point in the future, lamination will probably depreciate it's value, but i really have no idea about that sort of thing, since i'm not an expert on posters.

tl;dr: i don't think you should laminate it. look into matting/framing instead. also hang out of direct sunlight. sun-bleaching is a bitch.

[AnonymsDogMan]

I am not really looking to keep it pristine forever, just that it still looks reasonable a fair few years down the track and doesn't get torn over time. I don't intend on hanging it in the sun. The reason that I wanted to laminate it is that it is only a poster, and Laminating still retains that poster 'feel' of being a piece of paper that decorates a room, not a massive art piece that draws too much attention and also that it is cheap, only about $20. However I am not convinced that the glow in dark will be safe during the laminating process for 2 reasons.
1) The laminating process is really hot and that could damage the glowing areas.
2) The glow in the dark areas on this poster are relativity thicker than the paper areas, and this could cause bubbles in the lamination.
What do you think?

[Agent RayBans]

My vote would be to frame it personally. They make poster frames that are very minimalistic and wouldn't be distracting from the poster itself. With a quick search this site came up, and after going through their shop you can get a movie sized frame with an acid free backing and a UV blocking lens for around $50.

http://wholesaleposterframes.com/index.php

When I think of lamination I think about how glossy the final product is, and if I had a laminated poster hanging up I would think it would reflect the light in the room so badly it would be kind of hard to actually see it and enjoy it. Where as you can get a glare resistant glass/lens in a frame.

But that's just my 2 cents!

[staceylala]

I'd frame it is I were you. My and my sister frame most of ours. They look neater and they keep nice.

[piroteki]

i think wolfboy has a lot of good points.

i know my brothers had several framed posters hanging in their bedroom for quite a while. i don't remember the size, so i'm not quite sure if those frames would be big enough for this poster, but they were very light-weight and minimal frames. the frame edges were very thin (maybe half an inch, max?) and did not at all detract from the poster itself. (the edges were basically designed as a sort of slide-on, lengthened clamp made from metallic-painted plastic to hold the plastic/plexi and the backing board together.) i don't know the price, but i would imagine they are considerably cheap.

i'd suggest taking a look at a craft/art/hobby store to look at their selection of premade poster frames. idk if you're in the US (i think i remember reading you were in Aus at one point?), but some chain stores that i'd suggest looking at are like Michael's, Hobby Lobby, and A. C. Moore. (though tbh, i think even those last two might be regional chains near me. lol)

[daq422]

I'm buying a frame tomorrow. I didn't wanna use tape because i don't want it too rip and i didn't wanna use tacs for obvious reasons.

[AnonymsDogMan]

I might go and see what the frame store near me has to offer.
Yes I live in Australia
Thanks for the advice guys/girls.

[DJPixcell]

i have it temporarily up with sticky tac. its not sticky enough to leave resedue on the back, but it holds the poster where i want it for the time being.

I plan on getting it framed in the near future.

[LePoisson]

I agree with the anti-laminating views. I have had a couple of posters laminated before and the have worn at the edges and have gotten small bends in the corners where they have been accidentally bashed.

Framing = Much better.