Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Poster Cases

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 06-11-2004, 11:02 AM:

My boss has me shopping for poster cases to display our one-sheets for upcoming movies.

So far, the only company I have found is Bass Industries. Do you know of any other companies that make a good product that aren't too expensive?

Mercyhurst has a carpenter on staff who can make display cases. He has made several display cases around campus but never one specifically designed for movie posters. The concept is pretty simple. You make a back lighted case with fluorescent lights inside. Put a sheet of metal in back for a reflector and a sheet of frosted Plexiglass in fron of that to mount the poster to. The problem is the "snap-lock" frames. It'd be hard for our carpenter to design and build those.

Is there a company that just sells the snap frames that our carpenter can use to build the rest of the case?

Thanks in advance!

Posted by Paul Konen (Member # 41) on 06-11-2004, 02:13 PM:

Randy, the ones used at Cinemark are from Schult Industries.

As of this posting, the web site is under redesign, but they have contact info.

Schult Industries Web Page

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 06-11-2004, 04:31 PM:

We got one from www.moviegoods.com. The cost was $325 but it's very well made (all wood) and compact.

I was going to compare that price to the Bass Industries but they stupidly don't have prices on their #%$& website.

Posted by Ky Boyd (Member # 23) on 06-11-2004, 10:16 PM:

We use Bass SnapLoc frames. At $90 each they are a heck of a lot cheaper than back-lit poster cases. I believe the frames come in silver, black and brass. The people I've dealt with a Bass are very nice.

Randy, if you want to e-mail me, I have a Bass price list from their catalog that I picked up a ShoWest last year. Let me know what model you are interested in and I'll look it up. They would also probably mail you a price list if you called and asked. (800-346-8575)

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 06-12-2004, 10:52 AM:

If we could simply get the snap lock frames, our carpenter can build the cases. He has already quoted us a price. (That comes out of our department's budget.) Basically, he can make four cases for what you would pay for one case if you bought it premade from a manufacturer.

After talking about this with the boss, I think our strategy will be to buy one case, premade, which we will put in the outer vestibule. This has to be the nicest case because it will see more exposure to the weather. Once we have this one in place, our carpenter will use it as a pattern to reverse engineer three or four more cases which will go in the inner lobby, right near the theater entrance.

The style we will be looking for is just a basic black, rectangular case with chaser lights around the perimeter and a place for a mylar "dater" at the bottom.

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 06-12-2004, 11:00 AM:

Do you need backlit cases? I've seen some nice poster cases that are just boxes with cork board (to which the poster is tacked) with fluorescent tubes on the left and right sides and glass on the front. A good carpenter should have no problem making something like this that looks classy and probably won't cost much at all in materials.

Posted by Richard Fowler (Member # 893) on 06-12-2004, 11:29 AM:

You can purchase the Snap-lok frames, remove the rear masonite support and substitute white plexiglas and build a light box. Bob Baron and the BASS company is five minutes from our office. 17 years ago he wanted to sell his company, but then he signed up an new customer....BLOCKBUSTER...then the Multiplex boom...now home cinema. I kick myself that I did not take his nagging advice to buy Blockbuster stock [Frown]

Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 06-12-2004, 11:30 AM:

I REALLY like the old GCC poster cases. They're backlit, but recessed into the wall so that only the front part of the frame that swings open extends past the wall. This makes it look like the poster is "glowing" since it doesn't look like your typical lightbox.

quote: Randy Stankey
and a sheet of frosted Plexiglass in fron of that to mount the poster to.

No no no! Frosted plexiglass in poster cases is teh ghey. Eventually, the plastic will yellow and you will have that nice "xenon going bad" effect to your posters.

We have an auditorium with 2 poster cases side by side, one the original GCC with the clear plexiglass, and another brand installed later with the frosted glass. We had one movie in there, so we put the same poster in both cases. "Waling Tall" I think, something with a white background. The one with the clear plexiglass looked much sharper and brigher, and the colors were more true in the artwork. The frosted plexiglass one looked dull, underlit, and had a yellowish tinge to it (even though these cases are new.)

Flourescent lights will undoubtedly quicken the time it takes for that frosted plexiglass to discolor, too.

=TMP=

Posted by Paul Konen (Member # 41) on 07-20-2004, 09:33 AM:

Here are some new poster cases that Cinemark is going to put inside the building to advertise upcoming movies.

They are active poster cases from Thinking Pictures. They animate themselves when someone comes close to the case to see the "poster". It will also "twitch" the image to temp viewers.

Click Here