What sort of climate resistant displays have you seen museums use? For example, we would like to put some sort of photo reproduction/displays in our restored rolling stock, but it will need to withstand some temperature and humidity extremes as the cars are not climate controlled. We have all seen too many displays through the years that end up tattered, yellowed, and worn just from the environment.

Any feedback appreciated for the best bang for the buck, barring HVAC...

Thanks

Matt Bumgarner

State/national parks use some kind of photo etching system on metal backing.

not sure this is the best place to order but it gives an example:
http://www.plaquemaker.com/bronze-headstones

I am pretty sure I have seem them as color photos as well.

Of course it's not cheap.

Other option would be to make the display out of weather resistant materials and add a photograph that's protected as much as possible but easily replaced.

For some situations a digital kiosk might be worth considering. Older, non-interactive Epson BrightLink digital projectors retired from educational institutions can be found on eBay for prices as low as $100 and are capable of projecting a very large image onto a white wall or white board from as little as 10 inches away from the screen. Most are designed for overhead mounting, some models can work in tabletop (inverted) mode as well. They are reasonably effective with some ambient lighting in the room or the interior of the car. You can run PowerPoint photo albums to show a random display or tell a story. PowerPoint does have provisions to work with narration tracks, either with slides timed to the track, or with some narration clips slide by slide.

PC

Matt,

If these are printed materials displayed inside the cars, you can have them laminated for not much cost. The laminate will seal the paper. Try to get a laminate good for UV exposure. That will help slow any pigment deterioration. Thin laminates look better than the cheap thick ones. Also, if you can, print with a dry pigment printer like a laser. Liquid inks/inkjet ink colors usually aren't stable in the long run. Yellowing paper is usually due to UV and the acid in the paper. Acid free paper is more expensive but it should last a good while.

If you google "weatherproof botanical garden signage" you will find several outfits that etch various metals for very permanent monochrome signs.
I have put four color printed vinyl imagery over aluminum clad sign board. Weather proof, but direct sunlight may fade it depending on the quality of the colors applied. But there is a lot out there to try.

I have done quite a fair bit of etching using ferric chloride and steel. Coated with a thin application of uv stable poly and touched up when needed, holds up incredibly well in the desert.

Thanks everyone for the input and suggestions!

Matt

At our museum we use a material that is laser printed aluminum, with a plastic core. They can be printed directly from computer files, such as jpg, or tiff, or most any graphics format. They don't weather (ours are outdoors) and have lasted now for about 4 years without any visible deterioration. The ones that are somewhat protected from the sun, show evidence of them being able to last for more than 20 years.

Even our 4'X8' entrance signs are made of the same material, mounted then on plywood for strength and they are significantly cheaper than a hand painted sign, with much greater durability.

Something I will be trying this year on our display info sheets, is laser printed, water-slide decal applied to the backside of clear lexan.

Recently I picked up a pack of the laser printer compatible clear decal paper, figuring I can print the display in reverse then apply the decal to the back of the lexan (so the plastic can be cleaned without damaging the decal). Then I will cover the back with paint so the panel has a solid color background, and to seal the decal from moisture.

If reminded, will let you know how it came out after the season closes in the fall.

Previously we tried:
. -Laser prints glued to foam board, which got dirty quickly, and edges would start to roll back. Even if sealed with clear paint, would smudge dirt instead of clean back to white paper.
. -Laminated (hot) laser and inkjet prints looked cheesy but worked as long as tack/ziptie hole was at least 1/4 inch from the paper, any closer the moisture would get to the paper in a month or two.
. -and of course laser/inkjet print in plastic sleeve, which only lasted outside till the next rain storm, and looks bad inside

Also this year we are purchasing professionally made fiberglass like signs with applied image (not sure of the material name or printing process), we have looked at ones the company made for the local university baseball field. They have been out on the field fences for almost 10 years in Southern New England weather, without any noticeable fading or chalking (they had a sample/error in house from the same run). We should have them before opening day in May.

Rich C.

We don't display the originals, just printed ones since many of our pics are on slide, film negative, or smaller photographs. I scan them for the files, then print them off as required. I have a laminating machine and protect them that way. The pics that are used to describe what each piece of equipment is, are laminated in their display stand. they can get wet, with no damage. If by some chance they are damaged, they are easily replaced. Inside our display boxcars is much the same. The pictures are printed from the computer, and framed with simple, cheap frames that is basically just a sheet of glass with a backing. We use mirror clips to secure them to the wall to ensure they don't move, or fall when the car shakes. The attached pic shows what one of the displays looks like. I've changed it in the off season, and there's now more pictures, but they are all mounted the same.

Going back to the Epson Brightlink concept, I found that most of the projectors available at the lowest prices on eBay are the ones that only support overhead mounting projection mode. They generally provide two options, front projection or back projection, this flips the image horizontally with the projector electronics.

The projectors that allow mounting below the screen (which flip the image top to bottom, in addition to left to right) generally sell for higher prices in the used market.

However, I found an easy way to allow you to use the "overhead-only" mode projectors to project the image upwards. Just post the images to a PowerPoint program, then go through the program and rotate all the images upside down. They then will appear right side up to an overhead mode Brightlink lying on its back on the floor or a table. You can do the same with text. Just click-hold the green lever and rotate the text 180 degrees.

By the way, these Brightlink projectors work great for pen and ink tracing, much better than a back lighted frosted glass table.

PC