The Green Man comic book by Nic

It isn’t often that something really new comes along in the field of comics or graphic novels but this is an amazing achievement.  The whole of the Green Man comic book, story, text and pictures was created by one talented man whose family supported him in giving up his job to produce this masterpiece.  There really is nothing quite like it and for anyone into Playmobil or Lego seeing the toys come to life like this is amazing.  It has a fabulous storyline with clever and artistically produced photographs of Playmobil toys in real or created landscapes or settings.  The reader can have absolutely no idea how much work is involved just to get the shadow right that one of the little Playmobil toys casts in a realistic landscape setting!  This kind of design work is really creative and required a good eye for detail and a lot of skill and patience on the part of the author.  If you want to find out more you can visit the author’s website here.

The Green Man comic book is available in English and German with the French and Spanish versions due for release anytime now.  The author worked with a numbedr of skilled translators to have the Green Man comic book translated into the other languages from the original English.  The German was translated by Johanne Ostendorf whose website is here where you can read in her project examples how much she enjoyed working on this unique project.

Thor in 3D - Wow!  Thor the Norse god, Thor the comic hero and now Thor the film star!

Here are some guidelines for looking after framed prints and posters:

1. Never, ever store framed prints or posters in an attic, shed, garage or anywhere else that is subject to large changes in humidity and/or temperature.  Even within a short space of time the print or poster will wrinkle up.  Even dry-mounted posters and prints are not completely immune to bubbling or going wavy in such conditions.  Over a longer period there is likely to be mould growth etc and the print or poster will be completely irreparable.
2. Know the difference between glass and plastic glass.  Prints or posters framed using glass will be heavier but apart from that it is hard to tell the difference as good quality plastic glass is as clear as normal glass.  The only limitation of plastic glass is that it will scratch if it is cleaned with anything abrasive, whereas  normal glass won’t.  In normal conditions it is unlikely that more than a wipe with a dry cloth will be needed.  If a more thorough cleaning is necessary then just use a soft damp cloth for plastic glass.  Do not use alcohol based cleaners as this may discolour the plastic glass.
3. For landscape style prints and posters always hang them with two hangers rather than one.  Not only will this mean you won’t have to keep straightening the picture up there is less risk of it being knocked off the hook when cleaning, or someone knocking against it (in a hallway for instance).  Even heavy portrait style prints or posters can sometimes benefit from being hung on two hooks to keep them completely stable.
4. Check the solidity of the wall before hanging a picture even if it is a light frame using plastic glass.  If in doubt forget using a normal picture hook and drill a hole, put in a plug and screw in a screw with a large head to hang the picture on.
5. Even though many modern prints and even posters are printed using light-fast inks it is always a good idea to keep them out of direct sunlight.  Even if the inks are completely light-fast (and this can vary), if the print is a limited edition signed by the artist in anything other than pencil it is quite possible that the signature and numbering will fade.  In fact, this can occur over time even when not in direct sunlight so imagine how much quicker it will be in direct sunlight.  Direct sunlight can also add to the damage to the frame and its contents by the large changes in temperature in a short space of time that the frame and the print or poster are subjected to.
6. If you need to pack a framed print or poster away somewhere or for transportation then make sure you pack it in bubble wrap to stop it getting knocked about whilst in storage.  If you are packing several framed prints or posters of similar size then pack each pair face to face.  They need to be of very similar size in order to be sure that the frame of one is not pressing on the glass of the other one it is facing.

Following these simple guidelines should help to keep your prints and posters in good condition for many years to come and prevent you having to scour the Internet for a replacement one day.

We have had plenty of compliments about our packaging over the years. One of our favourites was the American customer who enthused that it looked as if it had come from the next state rather than across the ocean. Of course, given the extremely fragile natures of most of our products, especially mounted prints etc we wouldn’t have survived these nearly 14 years in business if we hadn’t got the packaging right very early on and the extremely low level of damages in transit we get is the proof that we have got it right. Zero is pretty much impossible but if we were to get more than a couple in a year we’d be thinking there is something wrong. Now, if we were selfish and small-minded we’d not want to publish our way of doing this so that other companies can read it and benefit from it but we don’t think like that. Every damaged package is a disappointed person somewhere and there are enough disappointments in life without poorly packaged orders adding to it So here’s a reasonably complete list of how best to package pretty much anything from a book to a concerete rhinoceros

1. One basic principle is “hard on the outside, soft on the inside”. The only times you can usually get away with not observing this rule are (a) where the goods are completely flexible like the T-Shirts, Skinnies and Hoodies etc that we supply where a good quality jiffy bag should do the trick or (b) where the external packaging is VERY stiff because the contents must not be bent under any circumstances. We package our mounted prints in this way using double layers of our specially made heavy duty corrugated card.
2. Another basic rule is that any package where the contents can move in transit is badly packed. No movement means no possibility of damage by rapid movement against an internal wall of the packing.
3. We wrap posters in polpropalene so that the polypropalene extends beyond the poster and protects the ends of it. Then we wrap the posters in bubblewrap to protect all around. Although we do use tubes sometimes we tend to prefer constructing triangular packages for posters from our specially made heavy duty corrugated card as these have proved more durable than tubes. Avoid cheap thin walled tubes - you might just as well go the whole hog and write “please twist this tube into a spaghetti shape” on it! Another thing with posters that many companies ignore is the problem of movement mentioned above. A poster sent loose in a tube can bunch up against one end and arrive with creasing all the way down one side.
4. Although it is certainly true that there are plenty of conscientious and good people working in the Post Office and the various courier depots if you package something on this basis that it will be handled lightly and carefully you are asking for trouble. It is certainly not true that the Post Office and the various courier depots employ a large workforce of gorrillas and orang-utans but packaging based on this assumption will result in far less damages than the optimistic option
5. Glass goods are the hardest to pack well and that’s why we frame everything with high grade plastic glass instead, especially because we are now shipping so many framed orders overseas. If you are sending glass goods then the “hard on the outside, soft on the inside” rule definitely applies. Be careful about your courier though as there are very few who will insure glass goods and if they smash it you might have no come-back at all even if you packed it really well.
6. If you are sending CDs in jewel cases DO NOT send them in a jiffy bag like many online CD mail-order companies do. Jiffy bags should only be used for items that can be bent and CD jewel cases tend to shed little bits and fall apart after being bent. CDs in jewel cases need to be packed in stiff packaging. Even a cardboard envelope is better protection than a jify bag. Best bet is to wrap the CD in a bit of bubblewrap and then pack it in stiff card.
7. Who do you choose to send it through? Despite the bad press they often get the normal postal service is not as bad as you might think as long as you get the packaging right! Who don’t we use? In the early years we had problems with two companies - Business Post and ParcelForce - so we never use either of them.

We hope this is of use to people in packaging goods so they arrive in one piece rather than several If you have any comments, additions or ideas about this then click the comments tab and let us know.