Thursday, January 10, 2013

I need advice on display strips!

Okay, so I am working on getting our Parent's Association to purchase the art department some display strips for the hallways.  When I put up the big art show at the end of the year, we put up the artwork in a circle around the auditorium.  Unfortunately, we have that really junky brick surface...not the smooth painted bricks that tape doesn't stick to, but the course grey brick that nothing sticks to.  We usually end up stringing some wire to hang the artwork on between two screws but it looks so bad!  I've talked to our custodians and they have said that it would be no problem to screw these display strips on, but I don't know which ones to get!

The Pre-K teacher likes the cork board strips, but I've also heard that they don't hold heavy artwork very well...I need some help on this!  Please let me know if you have or have used any of these and what you think!!!!

Here are my options that I'm thinking:

1. "Hold Up"Display Rail:  I'm thinking this one is on the bottom of my list...not sure how tightly it will hold heavier artworks, like collages and paintings on thin cardboard/tag board???  But I like how this one is clear and shows the entire artwork...

2. TrapEase Display Rail:  I'm thinking this one may be a better option than the previous one...mentions holding posters in it's description...
Detail View


3. Map Rail:  Not sure about this...heard the strength isn't all that, and I'm worried the cork will eventually fall out!  (The only thing I'm thinking is that maybe I could do two rows of these so that heavier artworks will be tacked on all four corners....?)
Map Rail


4. Aluminum Clip Strip:  Not sure about this one either...the description says it can hold heavy posters....
Clip Strip

9 comments:

  1. We #3 all over our school and they last forever. In fact i just requested to have more put up so i have several rows to work with on a wall. Yes the cork strip will pull out a little bit sometimes when I pull artwork down(not often) but i just push it back in. I don't know about the ones that clip but I would be worried that they wouldn't hold well also and that the pieces would fall out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the advise! I was originally leaning towards #3, but a friend of mine at another school says she has them on the walls and they don't work very well at all...maybe she just has older ones or a different brand...

      Delete
  2. I have number 3 and dislike them very much. They loose cork easily and I find that when I staple artwork to them they just don't stay in there long. I'd sure like to get number 1 and 2 and try them out.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have the first one, with the rubber in it. Works great. you can screw it to the wall, and it is there permenently. I think it would hold pretty heavy work in my opinion. cause it pinches the work. it is easy to use too. it could hold a 12x18 canvasboard for sure.

    That's my thoughts:)

    Doug

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oooh a 12x18 canvas board??? That's pretty heavy, and is definitely the maximum weight of anything I'd probably ever hang there...

      Delete
  4. Stay away from the cork. Anything of any weight at all will fall down.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have a bunch of corkstrips that are falling out of the metal. It's nice to be able to vary the tops of the art though.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I have older cork strips and newer (5 years old) . Older ones are great, thick and strong. In the he newer ones, the cork isn't as thick and artwork does come off, occasionally. Varying the arrangement is easier with cork though, and I appreciate the hanging options it offers. We actually have one wall where the strip is a grabbing rail with a cork front. Maybe a compromise?

    ReplyDelete
  7. I have a mix of #1 and #2 throughout my school. They were here when I got the job 3 years ago. I dislike #1 because (if I had to guess) from not being used, the plastic seems to have adhered to itself or is very inflexible_ either way the posters I hung in these when I started have stayed in the same place because I can't get them out without ruining them!

    #2 _ I have something similar to around the school also- these have little white "beads" of sorts that hold the work in. These release much better and hold weight of cardstock weight easily.

    FYI- I have my custodians hanging clotheslines above lockers. I am able to have student helpers hang the work more easily this way. (and it costs A TON less!) They put a tension knob on the line so when work is heavy, I can tighten the line. This is my personal favorite...GOOD LUCK!

    ReplyDelete