heeeeelp

[Mr Jason B]

grrr,Ive got my Sanyo Z2 and it is cracking,the picture is absolutely massive and fits the room perfectly.I havent got a screen yet and am trying to build a diy effort but I cant find anywhere that sells the blackout material in big enough sizes.I need it to be about 3.5mx2.1m:eek: does anyone know anywhere that will supply in this size and preferably deliver as well?
Cheers

[WeirdFish]

three and a half meters?

What you building? A drivethrough?


:laugh:


Seriously, I think you might have problems sourcing that. DRH screens sell their matte white material upto that size but it cheap :eek:

[Mr Jason B]

lol,yes it is quite large:rotfl: but thats where the pj has to go and its on full zoom.I think Im gonna have problems getting material and dont particularly want to spend a few hundred quid on material from drh:god:

I think some sort of alternative is called for,anyone tried some sort of laminated mdf yet?Is it possible to join 2 pieces up and paint them disguising the join?

[WeirdFish]

It would probably work out cheaper to get a plasterer to skim the wall then paint it. Paint a big matt black mask around the image area and use that.

Out of interest how far away is the PJ and how far is your viewing position.

[Mr Jason B]

Viewing position is about 4.2m from screen/wall and the pj is about another .5m behind me.The picture quality is spot on,no sign of vb or screen door.

I had considered the whole plastering approach but its a rented flat so Im gonna have to have words with the landlord first:rolleyes:

[WeirdFish]

And such a small flat by the sound of it ;)

I'm no expert but I think that the screen size you require is limiting your options on a budget screen.

Another way that might work is to build a frame and screw it to the wall, then mount plasterboard to it and get a plasterer to skim that. That way you can easily remove it if you move or the landlord gets the hump.

If you used drywall plasterboard (plasterboard with slighty thinner edges) you can tape the join and use jointing plaster yourself. Might work.

[Mr Jason B]

Originally posted by WeirdFish
Another way that might work is to build a frame and screw it to the wall, then mount plasterboard to it and get a plasterer to skim that. That way you can easily remove it if you move or the landlord gets the hump.



Has anyone actually tried this?This would probably be the cheapest option by far but I want to make sure the pq isnt going to suffer.

Im phoning a couple of screen wholesalers tomorow but I think they might want big bucks:god:

[Quatermass]

I got a roll of screen material 244 * 145 (I think) from DRH for c.£80 to make my fixed screen.

Did think of using plasterboard - you can get it in 240 * 120 sheets from a builders merchant. You could mount this on a wooden frame, seal it, paint it and away you go.

Edit: Oops, only just registered the size of screen you are constructing :zonked: - have you tried Wimpys yet :grin: In that case you would need to tape a couple of plasterboard sheets together (one cut to size of course) and then seal and paint the whole lot

[dek1965]

maybe you should try some 2mm foamex, its very light, gives an excellent picture and a 8ft x 4ft sheet costs about £8 so for the size you want can't see it costing more than £20.

its used a lot in the sign making industry, and can be painted, so putting a black border around it will be a piece of ****.

i used a 8x4 sheet myself and was most impressed, but as my missus won't have a fixed screen i had to have a pulldown one.

shame cause to be honest i thought the foamex gave a better picture

[dek1965]

a bit more info

Formex :





FOAMEX is a new decoration material developed recently in the world. It is suitable for screen printing. The main advantages include:
- Light weight but tenacious, non-toxic and no odor.
-Smooth surface, bright color, suitable for screen printing process.
-Soundproof, heat and electricity insulation.

-Waterproof, no color fading, easy to wash.
Good exterior durability and chemical resistance.

-Can be processed by cutting, grinding, sticking, wrinkling, nailing, sawing, etc.

-Heating forming, heating bending, engraving can be easily performed.

FOAMEX is very suitable for screen printing, especially fine halftone printing (60-80 LPI) since its surface is very smooth. Because this material is very hard, it admit the artists to realize their ideas as complete as possible, such as base coating, scheme setting, cloth laminating, plaster pasting, etc. Besides white color, many others also available, such as gray, black red, green, blue, yellow, etc. It can be widely applied in signs, displays, advertising board, etc. FOAMEX is very light weight (50% lighter than conventional plastics), so it can be mounted on the wall easily.

[Mr Jason B]

hmm,Im intigued!

I had pretty much resigned myself to having serious discussions with landlord about plastering and all that malarkey,but this may be an even cheaper alternative:clap:

Do you really rate it that highly?Where can I get it from and is it flexible at all,cos 1 of the problems with using something like a big piece of mdf was going to be getting it up the stairs:zonked: ;if this stuff bends a bit it might just be what I need:grin:

[Quatermass]

That Foamex sounds good stuff - wish I'd known about it before ordering screen material!!

[Rad]

I have the same distances as yourself so I was looking at this.

There was a guy on ebay quoted me £25 for a matt white vinyl sheet 120"x68" that I was going to frame and maybe paint.

He said it would be ideal for a screen.

I email him and ask if it's ok for you to contact him.

Cheers,
Rich.

PS. The guys email addy points to this site www.scanachrome.com so it looks cool.

[LV426]

From what I can gather, the material used for roller blinds (including blackout material) comes in 6-foot (c. 2 metres) wide rolls. If you want wider, you have to get a longer length and position it sideways (as it comes off the roll) which gives a maximum height of 6 feet.

Any bigger and it will need joining.

This is what I was told by a local bespoke blind manufacturer.

[Rad]

Any idea where you can buy it off the roll ??

Rich

[LV426]

Not in Scotland. The TWO places I spoke to on this were

Network Blinds (in Worksop) and
Kilsun Blinds (in Sheffield).

The latter would definitely have sold me a length if I had wanted. The former probably would have.

[Rad]

Cheers,

[Mr Jason B]

If anyone is succesful,and finds somewhere that will provide the neccesary size could they let me know please.
Cheers

(Im not lazy,just in work so a bit limited what I can do atm;) )

[Rad]

Jason,

I'm getting the stuff from the guy on Ebay this Friday.
I'll let you know what it's like.

Rich.

[Mr Jason B]

:smashin: cheers m8

[Rad]

Jason,

Just for you info, I got a sheet of the vinyl for £35 the same size as you required.

Cheers,
Rich.

[dek1965]

you could always ask a local signmaker where they get there's

foamex - is very flexible, and lightwieght

get the white foamex, which has a semi gloss finish

and i thought the picture projected on it was brilliant

[Mr Jason B]

Did you modify it at all?Paint it,paint a border on it,etc?

[dek1965]

no i didn't modify it, just projected straight onto it

but we use it at work and it paint's really well, if you require a border

[Mr Jason B]

Cool,this stuff sounds ideal tbh:clap:

Rad,did that bloke have access to more or was it just that sheet uve ordered and what was the score with delivery?Me thinks I might need to get hold of this geezer.

[Rad]

He's got unlimited access.

Mine just arrived, I'll give you a laugh.

I ordered it at 3.5m x 2.1m and he said he'd mount it as well for an extra £10.

Now this thing arrives today with a solid steel bar in the top and the bottom very well put together and the screen looks like it'll be very good (quite reflective).

Only 1 problem, how the heck do I get this home ?????

:suicide:

Doh !!

(Basically get it at the size you want it)

Rich.

PS. If anyone wants his email then pm me.

[Mr Jason B]

Where did u have it delivered to and do you reccomend getting him to mount it or not?:confused:

[johnsattuk]

Hi

I have a friend with a sign printing buisness who uses foamex an d can print up to 3m x 2m. Could print black border, monogram or name in corner or whatever, CRT types could have a set up grid on reverse. Haven't asked him yet, cos dont know if any interest

John

[Mr Jason B]

Yeah,I could be interested,save me painting a border on myself:p
I think Im definately gonna go the foamex route,seems like I cant go wrong(except maybe having problems getting it up the stairs:( )

[dek1965]

i rolled a 7ft x 4ft piece up and got it into back of my car (xantia) without any probs , so you won,t have any probs getting it up your stairs

[Mr Jason B]

Cool,didnt realise it was THAT flexible:smashin:

[Cornelius]

Screen shots pleeeeease!

[Mr Jason B]

^What he said:smashin:

[dek1965]

haven't got any screenshots as i was using it as a temp screen (had to get a pulldown one, i mean ordered to get one), if it was up to me i whould still have the foamex one

[yeskyes]

hi jason,

have you managed to find the 3.5 mtr screen yet? if so please let me know.I am also looking for a screen of that size.I have a panasonic pta300 and because of its short throw distance I could project it to a larger area without much deterioration in the picture quality.( mind you I only use it at night). good luck

[Mr Jason B]

Hi m8,yeah,Ive got a screen sorted for now.I got it from the same bloke Rad mentions earlier in this thread.

Its ok,but theres a couple of issues including creases and a light reflection directly opposite the pj(I dont know if this is was caused by the gain/reflectiveness)but for 45 quid you cant really go wrong,although by no means is this going to be my final screen,I will just stick with this until I move house,then I will be going for the diy fixed screen(the 1 made by stretching the fabric over a kind of picture frame)as this seems to give the best results by far.

I never really investigated the foamex option any further but some of the forum members said it was excellent and extremely cheap.One thing I do know is if you decide to go for the diy option,you will need to go directly to the source,so to speak.The fabric shops do not supply large enough sizes of blackout material,so you will need to contact the blind manufacturers themselves.
Good luck

:smashin: