Accidentally ordered a print in gloss - ripple problem

[Im Bald Ok]

I recently ordered a 30x20 print from Loxely. It was supposed to be a lustre print but obviously it went through as gloss somehow.

The quality is fantastic as usual, but as it's by a window there's horrible glare coming from it. It's also started to ripple and that really shows when the light is on or the sun is shining through. It's in a cheap Ikea frame behind glass (well actually plastic), as it's an exact colour and texture match to the other furniture in the room. Are ripples something that just happen naturally and you have to live with them? Is there anything I can do to minimise the ripples, or is it a case of just ordering again on lustre?

 

[Nod]

If the gloss print is pretty much unviewable due to the ripples, you could try sticking it to a sheet of hardboard (or paper board) to keep it flat. TBH, I would think that a lustre print would ripple as badly as the gloss one has in the same place and frame.

 

[mho]

Once a print has ripples in it you cannot get them out, to stop them, you could have it bonded to a board, foamboard, dibond etc, this will solve your ripple problem. Ordering in Lustre will not solve the problem.

 

[Im Bald Ok]

Blimey that was quick! Thank you very much, both of you.

When ordering I did wonder what the foam board option was for and why you'd want it, ha. Lesson learnt.

 

[mho]

Be careful when using foamboard under a print, if the print is gloss or thin paper you can get the texture of the foamboard paper coating showing through on the print, this is sometimes called the orange peel effect. Some people are, shall we say more susceptible to seeing the effect than others.

 

[Ozei]

What's causing the print to ripple - is it a moisture problem?

 

[Im Bald Ok]

What's causing the print to ripple - is it a moisture problem?

Quite possibly. We have a small damp patch in the corner of the room due to all the rain we've had recently. It's only small but I guess that could be a cause?

 

[snapalot]

On a regular basis we get people into the shop with rippled photographs, posters etc. What we do with them is heat seal them using a vacuum press onto either foam core or card backing board. The whole job takes about 10 minutes and restores the print to a flat state, but once heat sealed it cannot be removed. Most framers or graphic shops should be able to do this for you - alternatively send it back to Loxley to mount. Shame you don't live near Durham, we could certainly have helped you with this.