stanperry Loc: Spring Hill, Florida

Hey, experts! I need some help with my housekeeping! I recently bought a studio kit which includes a backdrop. There are 3 colors...black, white, and green. They arrived folded individually in sealed plastic bags. They are about 8' X 10'. Unfortunately they are deeply creased and unusable. I'm not domestic. I tried ironing, and the iron burned a hole in it instantly. Then I tried putting a towel under and on top (my wife's' suggestion) but the wrinkles do not surrender. I have dampened, and steamed (through a light towel). The fold marks remain. Less prominent, but enough to cast shadows as well as being visible if enlarged at all.
The material doesn't seem to be paper, but are relatively stiff....the way my USMC uniforms felt after over starching. There are no care instructions (it's all Chinese, of course)
Do any of you have any ideas as to how to get rid of these fold creases? I'm sure I'll be buying cloth, but I'd really like to try this stuff.....for one thing, without these creases, this material would be perfectly flat, relatively inflexible and durable (if I stay away from it with my iron....I now have to clean a bunch of melted goo from my wife's iron..lol)
So......your turn! Talk to me!

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

Use steam from hot water. Unfold and hang over shower curtain

northsidejoe Loc: pittsburgh

My long shot idea would be the wrinkle free spray hopes this helps saying hello from Pittsburgh.

stanperry Loc: Spring Hill, Florida

What is "the wrinkle free spray"?

northsidejoe Loc: pittsburgh

It's a spray for materials to remove wrinkles instead of ironing that may work in your case.

kskarma Loc: Topeka, KS

OK....first of all, there are NO guarantees that this will solve all of your problem, but I have had some similar experience with folds in backdrops. I bought a few from an eBay source...and the seller gave a 'heads up' that they would come folded and would need some time for the wrinkles to come out of the fabric. SO...time and patience are your friends... This is what I have done...and have been pleased with the result.

Stores that sell carpets will have a lot of empty rolls of various sizes and most of these places will give you a few rolls free....or at low cost. In my case, I needed 3 and they were good enough to give them to me at no cost. It's going to be easier if you get a roll that is a foot or so longer than the narrow dimension of your fabric....in your case, a 9 or 10 foot roll would be ideal.

I taped one edge of the backdrop along the side of the roll and then rolled my backdrop onto the cardboard roll. While doing this, I used a drapery steamer on the folds...steaming and manually pressing the material down as I slowly rolled it up...all the while being careful to not get the backdrop too wet. After the backdrop had been completely rolled onto the carpet roll, I used some masking tape...painters tape might work too....to hold the free edge in place... At that point, I just left things alone for a few days. A few days later when I had some time, I unrolled the backdrop and reversed it...(from the front side to the back side, so the folds are now 'reversed')....on the carpet roll...and repeated the steam treatment. Depending upon the nature of the backdrop material that you have.....and how 'set' the folds are, it might require repeating this operation a few times.

While this can be done by one person for smaller backdrops, it is very helpful to have a second person to smooth the fabric as much as possible. You don't want to introduce new folds and wrinkles during this time.... With each treatment, you should find that the folds become less visible and storing them on the carpet tubes should keep them nice and flat for later uses....

Hope this helps...

Haydon

This isn't likely the solution you want to hear but personally I'd buy a grey paper and move on. I retired my cheap muslin to block ambient light. I haven't look back since.

stanperry Loc: Spring Hill, Florida

Thanks. I use velour all the time. Some with texture, some not. I love gray velour. I use gels, either on my constant lights or my speed light to change color. The gray becomes completely red/blue/green, etc and works great. I bought this stuff and just wanted to be able to use it, but I’m at the end of my patience. I’ll cut it u and use pieces for light blocks or reflectors, like I said...I love my velours!

Haydon

Agreed, grey offers versatility with color from using the inverse square law to make it go really black or by finding a complimentary color using a gel. I prefer paper now but you have to be careful when you light it. This is where velour works exceptionally well because it absorbs light more efficently. My only issue with velour is the price and default width. It can get very expensive and I found it only affordable and available in 5 foot widths. My paper is 10 feet in width which gives me a little more freedom in subject and camera placement.

roxiemarty Loc: Florida

I use a hand held steamer for the drop folds. I have also melted a freedom cloth drop from Denny. Dryer on low is a no-no! (They don't say how to get them out either.)

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

Stan, welcome to the Hog!
Don’t know what you’re shooting or how but if you pull your subject 5 or more feet from the backdrop and and use an f stop of say f4 or bigger the wrinkle may not show.
As for the white, doing as above and putting one or two lights on the it you can blow it out and nothing will show, including shadows.
If you can get away with 52” paper, it’s only about $20 a roll in any color!! Good luck
SS

ggenova64

Hang the Drop cloths on your shower curtain rod and let the steam while taking a shower remove the wrinkles. Let air dry!

Ron Dial Loc: Cuenca, Ecuador

take them to a dry cleaner and ask them to just get the fold marks out. Then wad them up to store them. Backdrops should never be folded. Wadded up in a box or some kind of plastic case so they will have random lines.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

I just hung mine on the backdrop supports and then took a spray bottle and wet the creases and let it dry while it hung there. By the next day it was fine. Not perfect but useable. Remember to put your subject 5-6 away from the backdrop so that the backdrop isn't in sharp focus in your pictures.

CSand Loc: Fayetteville, Georgia

Believe I have read somewhere that vinegar and water rinse would remove wrinkles.