July 2012
The shop has now been open for a few weeks and I am reasonably happy with progress. It will take time for the word to spread and a lot of people are looking round to see what is on offer. I have added a lot more pictures and the full compliment of notebooks. The latest supplier is "Otterypottery" from Latheron Wheel in Caithness. I hope to get an advert in the local papers over the next couple of weeks and produce flyers so that should help.
The 2013 panoramic calendar is almost finished and I will start printing soon. Normally I would not be producing these until September/October but many people have been asking for them already. It has been quite difficult to find another 12 pictures that work as panoramas so I need to get out with the camera more often. However this is more difficult now that I have to be in the shop for 3.5 days a week and I don't have the free time.
The picture shows a sun halo caused by ice crystals in very high sirrus clouds. The crystals are all roughly the same shape and refract light at about 22.5 degrees. Only light from the sun that hits the crystals at a certain angle are visible hence the impression of a halo. All other light is sent in different directions which creates the hole inside the halo.
Not really much else to mention this month, it seems that our run of good weather might be broken as the jet stream moves north and we go back to "normal".
Pat
February 2012
Well the Achfary fair went well and it was interesting to meet up with other people in the trade so to speak. I did make several useful contacts so this year I hope to be getting my pictures, mats etc out to a few local businesses so fingers crossed I will make more sales.
I have finally mastered the techniques for laminating prints onto Aluminium Composite Panels (ACP). ACP is two sheets of thin aluminium either side of a plastic core and about 2mm thick overall. It is very rigid, light and a perfect base on which to fix laminated prints. The back of the panel has a wooden subframe that is used to support the picture after hanging. The subframe spaces the panel off the wall by around 15mm which gives it a 3d shadow. I had many problens with getting a clean cut on the panel edges, my large board cutter will do the job but leaves a deformed edge that spoils the picture. To get round this I have manufactured a sliding router table with vacuum bed so the edges can be trimmed to perfection.
The table is made from two pieces of mdf separated by strips of neoprene to create an airtight chamber connected to my shop vacuum. Similar strips of neoprene are fixed to the top surface to create individual vacuum chambers. Each chamber has a small ball operated valve that connects to the vacuum area between the boards. The valve only allows a vacuum to form when the ball is pressed. This means that a sheet of ACP pressed onto several of these vacuum chambers is held firmly, even down to a 110mm square coaster.
The router slides on two rails and trims off around 2mm from each side of the panel. This leaves the panel perfectly square and no distortion on the edges to spoil the picture. The current chamber layout is a prototype but very simple to add more as needed. Overall length of the table is 1.5m and I can secure ACP panels up to 1.2m which is big enough for most panoramas.
The reason for using a vacuum bed was during a eureka moment when I realised that I could not clamp small panels without fouling the router sled. This may seem like a lot of effort but but there was no way I would be happy selling the panels and I considered them sub standard. Anyway this has allowed me to build a unique machine which may have other uses.
I have sold a few of these panels and given some as xmas presents, all have been well received so I am hopefull they will be a good seller. The main reason for getting this sorted is to move away from conventional picture framing and therby cut the vicious circle of trying to control stock but at the same time keep sufficient variety to cater for all types of print & pictures. Since I stopped framing for the general public I have actually saved quite a lot of money.
Naturally any new technique requires new tooling so I have had to invest in a professional cold roller laminator. Expensive but worth it's weight in gold. Mind you it does not stop me making mistakes.
Another angle to using ACP is that I now use it for all my tablemats/coasters. The mats are completely handmade including the cork backing. This opens up yet more possibilities as I am no longer restricted to the size of the blanks I was using. Theoretically I can produce a mat 420mm wide and 3m long !!. I think that smaller sizes are in order for the time being.
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A major event before xmas saw the arrival of a new printer. Well the first one was dead on arrival and it was 3 weeks before the replacement arrived. The printer is a beast, weighs over 105lbs and takes up a lot of space. It took two of us to install it but once again is worth every penny. One advantage is that the 4900 uses larger ink cartdridges that the 3800 which lowers the running costs. Ink is a major expense with any print, not a problem when selling A2 pics as the ink cost is added to the sale price. The issue is with lower cost items such as calendars. I am hopefull now that I can produce an A4 calendar for 2012 alongside the panoramic & cd types.
Another major improvement with the 4900 is the roll paper facility. Previously I have been stuck with a maximum print size of A2, big enough for normal prints but too small for panoramas. I can now print up to 420mm wide and 10m long if necessary..... however that would cost my customer a tidy sum. Normal panoramas are now printed about 1.1m long which is large enough for most people.
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After nigh on 3 years my wood workshop finally has lighting. It has also had a makeover and a clearout so I actually have space to work. I am hoping to start making presentation boxes for the table mats and other small boxes so I need to hone (find!) my woodworking skills. Having blocked up a few holes in the workshop and added a heater the room is now quite pleasant to work in, even when it is sub zero outside.
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On the subject of the weather we finally seem to have shaken off the spell of continuous rain and wind. I say "spell" as it has gone on for several months and even the die hard locals are complaning.
Pat