# Sticky  'DIY Custom-Printed Movie Poster Acoustic Panels - cheap!' Version 2.0 Discussion



## nickbuol

Welcome!
After many years, the original discussion has become very bloated with outdated information and the original poster hasn't been active in years. It was decided that a clean slate was needed with a table of contents, and updated information. I started taking notes of my process back in February 2021, and have had this pretty much done with the notes, instructions, and videos completed by mid April 2021, but just never seemed to find the time to actually post things until today.

I will work to keep this updated and at some point include videos using GIMP and maybe work to improve what I have already using Photoshop, but please be patient as time is hard to find most days/weeks to go through the process of recording the process, plus I would need to learn GIMP myself. 

For reference, the original discussion is *here*.

And now moving forward...

*Table of Contents:*

Introduction
Why DIY acoustic absorption panels?
Don’t use foam
The Basic Process
Picking a Theme
Panel Size Suggestions
Fabric Choices (size and image quality specs)
VIDEO - Making Your Frames and Hanging Your Panels
VIDEO - Sourcing Your Images
VIDEO - The Image Enlargement Process
VIDEO - Adding a Border
VIDEO - Prepping For Printing & Placing Your Order
Assembling Everything
MyFabricDesigns Fabric Choices - April 2022
As things expand and grow, let me know if you want a specific post added to the Table of Contents and I will put it here with a link directly to that post.


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## nickbuol

*Introduction*

Welcome to the (new) ‘DIY Custom-Printed Movie Poster Acoustic Panels - cheap!’ discussion thread.

This updated version was created for several reasons. The old discussion thread was started back on February 20, 2011 by @luma and I want to thank him for his initial work on this. That being said, so much has changed since then and a lot of the information on printing the images has changed. With more than 5,000 posts since then, it was bound to happen. Also, there was no table of contents for that entire discussion thread, so finding any of the how-to instructions was hard. They soon would get lost in the mix of more than 10 years of information.

So without further ado, let’s get into it.

So what are we talking about here? We are talking about how to improve the acoustics in your listening space while using modern printing options so that you don’t have to be stuck with solid colors if you don’t want to.

Here are some examples of some of the things possible (click to see larger images). 
NOTE: Most cell phone camera's lighten up the images making the blacks look a little washed out, but they look better in person.













































These are just a few examples to get your attention, but really you can print just about anything and make these panels fit (or create) the theme in your space.

Have a living room that you want to tame down the reflections, but don’t want to put up movie poster images? Think about maybe some artwork or a photo of a recent trip or scenery. The possibilities are endless.

So if you are interested in making acoustical absorption panels that are custom printed, but don’t cost hundreds of dollars each, and are willing to follow some easy steps, continue on to the next few posts and I will walk you through the process.

PLEASE NOTE. This is meant to be an evolving process. I may have some typos, or outdated information here or there, but the intent is to keep it as current and accessible as possible. Please feel free to reach out to me via PM if you see some glaring issue, want to have something added to the table of contents, or want other content presented and I will see what I can do. I plan to keep as active as possible with this to prevent the shortcomings of the previous thread where valuable information would get lost quickly.


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## nickbuol

*Why DIY acoustic absorption panels?*

This is true for even non-DIY panels, but the general idea is that in addition to things like room modes, one of the more destructive things for sound quality in your room is the echo… Not just echo like from clapping your hands, but powerful sound energy bouncing around at all sound frequencies.

There are different levels of acoustical treatment complexity, and please understand that just adding some absorption panels in your space doesn’t mean that there isn’t more that can be done, or that absorption is the best or only acoustical technology at our disposal. It just happens to yield some great results for people that are not wanting to spend the time or money in more complex acoustical analysis and treatment.

In the spirit of keeping things simple and accessible to more people, I will leave it at that and not dig deep into room acoustical measurement, diffusion, bass traps, dead wall/live wall setups, etc. There are a number of really deep-dive discussions elsewhere here for those that want to dig into all of that. Someone that I have a lot of respect for is Anthony Grimani, and he has given a number of presentations on acoustics over the years, a few are available on YouTube. He has some great diagrams too about alternating absorption and diffusion and different types of diffusion. Great stuff if you want to go even further into this.

For this introduction, we will look at a few basic guidelines (not going to call them “rules”) and give enough information to help you Google search the rest to get started.

When planning out absorption panels, the first thing that people tend to look at is “how many panels do I need for the movie posters/images I want?” The first step should really be a little more thought into how to better provide an absorption solution for your room, and then what you want to have printed for those panels.

1st guideline is to look at about 25% maximum absorption in your room. That isn’t a perfect number, but a good starting factor. That being said, you can start small and work up to more if needed.

2nd guideline is a touch more involved, but in around placement. Keeping it simple and assuming just absorption technology is being used, some key areas for placement are as follows:

First reflection points – Google the “mirror method” for finding this and use that as a start for your front two panels. From there you can space them out for what looks pleasing and get about 95% effective placement.
Rear wall – Massive sound energy bounces off your rear wall. Treat it!
Front wall – This is a debate for some people, but a lot of people still like to treat their full front wall to avoid sound bounce-back from the rear of their speakers. 

3rd guideline is around absorption materials. Use real acoustical insulation, not “cheap foam.” I have an entire post about this, but the short version is that Owens Corning 703 is the “gold standard” that everything else is measured against. That does not mean that another product can't perform better than OC 703, but it usually is at a cost of extra thickness in the material. Finding it locally can be tricky, so some people choose to buy other products (some essentially as good, but sometimes not quite as good, but more available or less expensive), or if they order online, find other “clone” products to save some money. The thing to note is that you should use a product that actually lists its acoustical properties. This does not mean that it just has the word “acoustical” in the name. You will be hard pressed to find acoustical properties shown on those bought from Amazon “foam acoustical panels.” 

4th guideline is around panel construction. My favorite thickness for making absorption panels is 2” of acoustical insulation. This is the best “bang for your buck” thickness. I like to boost that performance by putting an air gap between the acoustical insulation and the wall. This costs just a little more for a thicker from, but improves the performance of the panel without having to pay for thicker acoustical insulation. I also break this down a bit in my other post about acoustical insulation and foam. An easy to work with size is a 3.5” thick panel. This gives a 1.5” air gap behind the insulation.

5th guideline… These are all guidelines. Many times we have to make compromises somewhere. That is OK. You will not be belittled because you chose to do something different, as long as it isn’t using foam. J

Next up: Don’t use foam. This is the post that I referenced above. I just want to get it covered now and get back to the panels.


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## nickbuol

*Don't Use Foam*

I'm stealing my own *post* from the original thread that talks about the modeling of actual acoustical insulation and foam...

Ugh... Foam. 99% (making that statistic up) of the foam pieces you see out there are garbage. They are flimsy open celled foam that isn't even a solid thickness. They are in eggcrate cuts or "saw-tooth" cuts, where part of it is at one thickness, and the other part is something a LOT thinner. Foam isn't dense enough to absorb more than some upper frequencies at best, and then when you take what you have a remove 1/2 of the thickness it is even worse. This is just a huge ploy for some foam reseller to make money when they claim that it actually is a good acoustical absorber, and sadly there are a LOT of suckers out there (people that don't take time to research it, or people that just want to argue that their bad investment into foam is somehow still OK).

Hands down, foam is junk in comparison. But why do people say it works well? What about those YouTube people? Oh you mean the ones that don't use measurement tools in their videos? The people that simply slap foam up and then clap their hands and notice that it doesn't echo? Yeah, they "treated" a tiny frequency range for some echo from their hands clapping, and that is it.

These are the same people that will fill an entire wall with this foam and think that it absorbs deeper with the more you put on the wall. That is completely wrong too. You need more thickness to absorb deeper. Just adding the same thickness of the same material just absorbs more of that same frequency range. That is why people have gotten away from the home theater rooms with floor to ceiling 1" absorption materials like used in the 1990's. That stuff didn't absorb deep enough, and made the mid/upper frequencies too dead. We've learned a lot since then, mainly thanks to the internet, but at the same time have people still repeating garbage information about foam because they clapped their hands in their room. 

Now there are some manufacturers using foam to create acoustical sheets/corner fillers that actually perform, but they aren't cheap. Not going to go into them here since this is a DIY discussion, but they do exist, but we are talking about this kind of foam that you see all over the internet:

Ouch:









Even people trying to use reasonable products still aren't doing it right. Good luck with anything up upper frequency absorption with these panel sheets that have just tiny points where they are about 2" thick, but 99.9% of it is less than that and it still looks like poor open cell foam, but hey, you can clap your hands and the echo is gone. 









Or this guy... I would steer clear of him at all costs. So much bad information in a lot of his videos. He's been called out in some of the high-technical discussions online for being so clueless, but you know how it is, if you have a YouTube channel, you must know what you are doing. There are a lot of much better YouTubers out there than this guy.









This next guy I don't mean to pick on, but it is a perfect example of what I am talking about. Cheap "Amazon" foam stapled to his front wall. Trying to go for that "dead front wall" style that a lot of people do (heck, my room has it, but it is floor to ceiling 3.5" thick material with massive corner bass traps). Don't get me started on the build of this "behind the screen" space either and the bouncing around of sound energy that happens by basically making it a room with 6 sides, one of which happens to have a "window" to the viewing area. Just look at the thin, floppy foam, and how it would take 2 of these put together (lining up the ridges and valleys to make them one "solid piece") and it would still only absorb a very small frequency range.









I admit that I've made tons of mistakes over the years. My current theater is my 4th dedicated space, and 7th overall space. In my 1st dedicated room back in 1998, I took thick felt (bought a lot of yards of it) and stuck it to the walls and ceiling with contact cement (the next owners probably LOVED that). I thought that it sounded AMAZING. "No more echo" and I solved room acoustics using felt that was less than 1/4" thick! I was so wrong. In that same room I did have some breakthroughs though. I put a sub under my riser. This combined with bass shakers (back when nobody was really using them in home theaters) gave a great tactile feel. I was matrixing all sorts of speakers too. My room had 10 speakers in it plus two subs (one being mentioned under the riser). This was back when DVD was just out, and we were several decades off from good 5.1 sound, let alone anything we have today. It sounded so great to me and to everyone that came over..... But it was still so wrong in so many areas. As I learned more and more, I experienced better ways to do things, and each time the experience improved significantly. That is why I am passionate about this stuff. I don't wait people making the same mistakes I did (mine was felt, theirs being foam), but even more-so, I don't want others to be mis-guided by other people's ignorance (lacking facts or understanding, not an insult to one's mental capacity). Just because someone says one thing is OK and for others with better information to stop telling people that they are doing it wrong, doesn't make them right. I would rather state my points, based off of actual testing, modelling, and yeah some experience too, and share that than let the people without the knowledge, testing, modelling, etc to keep spreading bad information.

And no, any absorption is NOT better than no absorption. That is one of the most foolish lies out there. Heck, I could go on with another massive post about why our broadband panels that we make here aren't ideal either, but for a DIY build and installation that doesn't require measuring your room by you or a professional, and isn't going into the deep design phase of room acoustics specific to your space, broadband absorption panels are still a valid approach. They cover such a wide range of frequencies. They don't neuter one small range and leave 99% of the rest untouched.

Final note. While I talking all about OC703 in my post, there are other options from other companies as well. They too will have absorption coefficient numbers for you to reference as well because they are REAL absorption products. Pick what is readily available to you with good numbers and you will have great success.

OK. I am getting off my soap-box about foam and closing out this very long post. Hopefully this is helpful.


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## nickbuol

*The Basic Process*

Ok, so you want to improve your room acoustics using some broadband acoustical absorption panels… Great!

Here is the basic process that I will expand more on in upcoming posts.

Picking a theme.
Panel size suggestions. What are some good sizes to go with if you have flexibility to do so. Again, this is all custom, so don’t feel locked in, but I will talk about some sizes that work well for various reasons.
Fabric choices are next. What fabrics are the most acoustically transparent? Which have the best print quality? Are there size limit constraints with different fabrics?
Plan out (and build?) your frames.
Sourcing your images. Where to look for usable images. Not every image will work, and sometimes you will be surprised as to what movies have low quality, and generally unusable, images.
The image enlargement process. How I do it, what you can use to do it too.
Adding a border. We will keep this simple to cover 99% of what people do.
Prepping your image for printing. Putting those small key pieces in there so that your order is a success the first time.
Placing your order.
Assembling everything.
Hanging your panels.
Enjoying a more precise listening environment.


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## nickbuol

*Picking a Theme*

Maybe that theme is just “movies,” maybe it is something more specific like a “DC vs. Marvel” room with your favorite superheroes, maybe it is a single movie reference, or maybe it is “classic movies” (whatever that means to you). Just pick a theme or idea early and it will really help with the image sourcing step of the process.

Yes, most people just pick out their favorite movie titles and start from there, and that is completely a valid and awesome approach. Just remember that these are your panels, and you can make them however you want. Maybe you want to have a music themed room, go for it. Find album covers, guitars, whatever and use them. Maybe you like movies, but don’t want “poster” style images. You can go with text free options (“posters” with no words or logos), or go with character images. 

I’ve helped with some really cool images for people with single movie type themes. Star Wars was one where one side of the room were their favorite Jedi characters and the other side was their favorite Sith. The back wall had a large Star Wars collage in a horizontal orientation. Each of the characters were just them, with a simple background. The originals were black for Sith and white for Jedi, but that was changed to add a touch more pop and color to the Sith side with more of a deep red background, and the Jedi side was set in a silvery/gray. These images were taller than most people’s “poster” images at 49.5” tall with a width of 25.5” At these dimensions a single piece of 24” x 48” insulation could fit inside the frame without any cutting of insulation material. The effect of these large character panels was impressive. I did something similar for Lord of the Rings as well in a really large room. One side were the Fellowship, and the other side were basically any sort of evil character. Sauron, Saruman, Gollum, Shelob, Nazgul, Balrog, etc all were on the evil side. The rear of the space had multiple panels that included the One Ring, a map of Middle Earth, and a large Lord of the Rings logo panel.

You don’t have to get that dedicated to a single theme though. Decide on something and run with it. Just make sure to jump to the “Sourcing Images” topic to make sure that you can find good quality starting images for your images of choice so that you don’t get too far into the planning stages before possibly having to go a different direction.


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## nickbuol

*Panel Size Suggestions*

So what size panels should you use? That is a great question that can be answered a few different ways. 

Let me give a basic idea of what is needed. You want the panel to be large enough that it can “catch” frequencies coming into the panel at an angle since most sound, at least on the side walls, won’t be coming straight into the panel, so if it isn’t wide enough, then the frame of the panel will block a good amount of the main sound energy.

So what is a good panel size? Well, that depends. Again, we have flexibility here. The options come in around the types of images you want to use in your space as well as any constraints with your space itself. I mean if you have a spot for a panel that it only 26” tall, then you will want to look at something that fits that space. 

Come on, Nick, quit dancing around the question! Yeah, I know. I just want it clear that you DO have flexibility here. A lot of the YouTube videos give people the wrong idea that they can’t vary their sizes and that just isn’t true. 

So let’s say that you want to do movie posters. While a standard US movie poster is 27” x 40” (or 41”) this does have some trickery required in regards to the acoustical insulation. With most insulation being 24” wide, you end up needing to chop things up and squish things together and hope that it stays put inside the frame. As such, let’s look at the image size ratio. If we take the average height of 40.5” and divide by the width of 27”, you get a 1:1.5 ratio of width to height (for every 1” of width, you have 1.5” of height). That is also why a lot of the nicer source images out there are 24” x 36” (a 1:1.5 ratio). 

So if I want movie poster style, I should go with 24” x 36”, right? No. I wouldn’t recommend it (again where some of the YouTube videos get this wrong in my opinion). Let’s look at it from a “preservation of the insulation” perspective and how we can reduce wasted acoustical insulation.

So if the insulation is 24” wide, and we need a frame around it, then the width would be 24” + leftframe +rightframe. Makes sense. I always recommend using some sort of 1x__ lumber, with 1x4 being my favorite for a variety of reasons. 1x4 lumber is actually 0.75” x 3.5” so if you make your frame 3.5” thick, then you need to add 0.75” to the left and right side, or : 24” + 0.75” +0.75” = 25.5” This is why I recommend 25.5” for people making movie poster frames, or really about any frame for maximization of insulation utilization. Now take that 25.5” wide frame, and multiply it by 1.5 to keep the ratio correct, and you get a 38.25” tall image. So that is one recommendation for those types of images…. 25.5” x 38.25”


Now, if you want some of those taller “character” images and don’t want to cut your 24” x 48” sheets of insulation at all, then you just add the frame sides to that and go with a 25.5” x 49.5” panel.

Again, I also highly recommend using the 1x4 lumber for framing. It is relatively inexpensive, easy to work with without expensive tools, and gives a nice thickness to the panel to allow for a performance boosting “air gap” between the insulation and the wall. More on that in the Acoustical Insulation post titled “Don’t use foam!”

What about rear wall panels?

So a lot of the sound energy in your room is hitting those first reflection points that people talk about. You know, where the sound bounces off of the side walls (and ceiling/floor) and hits your ears milliseconds after the main audio does coming straight at your ears, but a lot of people ignore the rear wall… the wall that takes the brunt force of the sound energy coming straight out of the speakers and bounces it right to the back of your head with even more delay than the first reflection points in many cases. Do not be afraid to put some decent amount of acoustical absorption (or diffusion, which we won’t talk about here) on your back wall behind your seats. The rear wall makes a great place for either a wide panel (think 25.5” TALL and 49.5” WIDE) or multiple panels covering the wall. Here is the other kicker. IF POSSIBLE, use even thicker panels like something made from 1x6 lumber and put 4” of insulation inside and have a 1.5” air gap. You also will want to grab lower frequencies since there is so much sound energy coming off of your rear wall, thus the thicker panels.

Hopefully that makes sense.

You can really make panels about any size that you want, as long as the fabric can be printed large enough. See the section on Fabric Choices for details there.

Otherwise feel free to make the panels to what sizes you need, just keeping in mind that you don’t want them too small as you need to make sure that the sound can bounce in without being blocked by the frame itself.

Also, be sure to check out the Why DIY Acoustic Absorption Panels post for some tips too. My plan isn’t to get deep into panel placement in the rooms themselves since there is a lot of information on this already just by Googling, but you will get some good info here, and maybe in the future once we’ve gotten some time into this new discussion, I can come back and add more and more information.


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## nickbuol

*Fabric Choices

UPDATE: As of December 2022, we heard that MyFabricDesigns is going out of business. I am checking into another alternative printing company and have ordered their fabric sample pack. Stay tuned in early 2023 for an updates.*

UPDATE: As of March 2022, we've had some choices go away and I wanted to make sure that people saw the table that I put together of options. It is only a few posts down from this one (like 7 I believe), but people seem to still miss it so here is a link to it:

*Fabric Choices Table*

---------- Original Post Still With Some Useful Information ----------

This is one of the biggest questions I’ve gotten over the years is “What is the best fabric to use?” Well, I wish that I had the same answer now that I did a year ago, or even 4 years ago. It just keeps changing.

We used to use Spoonflower for their fabric choices with Performance Knit and Silky Faille being great choices, but choices change. We no longer use Spoonflower due to them no longer wanting to dip into the gray area of printing movie/TV/music related images, but with that we also no longer have access to their really great fabric.

Now we use MyFabricDesigns and they have basically 3 choices. Everything is sold in 1 yard (36”) increments with different widths depending on the fabric.

As of this writing on November 4, 2021 we have:

Performance Knit – 60 inches wide and costs $25.00 per yard Sadly, no longer available.
Silky Faille – 42 inches wide and costs $25.00 per yard
Basic Combed Cotton – 54 inches wide and costs $17.50 per yard

So if they are all on the list, then Basic Combed Cotton is the best cost/performance right? Not so. While Basic Combed Cotton does work, it isn’t very acoustically transparent (not a huge issue) but more-so, the print isn’t nearly as vibrant and the black levels are somewhat washed out compared to the other choices. It still isn't a bad choice though and will look great. More information can be found here: *Basic Combed Cotton Details*

So if Silky Faille is only 42 inches wide but costs the same as the 60 inch wide Performance Knit, the Silky Faille must be best, right? Again, not necessarily. The print quality it much nicer than Basic Combed Cotton, but 42” is pretty narrow for our use, and Silky Faille isn’t as acoustically transparent as we would like. Like the Basic Combed Cotton, it isn’t a big problem. One of the other issues is that these fabrics come shipped folded, and getting creases out of a non-stretchy fabric takes a bit of effort. Some wrinkle release spray helps here, but it still is tricky to get them all out. So why use Silky Faille? It comes down to affixing the fabric to the frame. Silky Faille has almost no stretch, which means that it doesn’t come slightly shrunk and it is easier to align straight lines and lettering. Some people find this a great benefit. More information can be found here: *Silky Faille Details*

That leaves Performance Knit. This has great image quality, is probably the most acoustically transparent of the material choices, de-wrinkles easily with little effort, and it a large 60” wide which gives more size options for our panels. So this is the best, right? Well, sadly, it too has a shortcoming… That stretch. The same thing that makes it de-wrinkle can make it a bit challenging to mount straight. That being said, I’ve used this fabric myself after some tests and it is my preferred fabric because it yields the best look and “performance” and just takes a little extra care for attaching the fabric. Even with the other fabrics, if people aren’t careful, they can prove troublesome as well. More information can be found here: *Performance Knit Details*

So those are the fabrics, and their pros and cons. From there you can make you own choice. Personally I am a fan of Performance Knit as mentioned above, but again, choices are there. *UPDATE: Check this post for alternative fabric choices. **Post #15 Fabric Choices April 2022*


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## nickbuol

*VIDEO - Making Your Frames and Hanging Your Panels*

(disclaimer: I am not a professional YouTuber or internet personality. Please forgive my "ah"s and "um"s or any other verbal anomalies in any of my videos.)


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## nickbuol

*VIDEO - Sourcing Your Images*

(disclaimer: I am not a professional YouTuber or internet personality. Please forgive my "ah"s and "um"s or any other verbal anomalies in any of my videos.)


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## nickbuol

*VIDEO - The Image Enlargement Process*

(disclaimer: I am not a professional YouTuber or internet personality. Please forgive my "ah"s and "um"s or any other verbal anomalies in any of my videos.)


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## nickbuol

*VIDEO - Adding a Border*

(disclaimer: I am not a professional YouTuber or internet personality. Please forgive my "ah"s and "um"s or any other verbal anomalies in any of my videos.)


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## nickbuol

*VIDEO - Prepping For Printing & Placing Your Order*

(disclaimer: I am not a professional YouTuber or internet personality. Please forgive my "ah"s and "um"s or any other verbal anomalies in any of my videos.)


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## nickbuol

*Assembling Everything*

I really wanted to make a video on this, but I don't have scrap 1x4 lumber to build a sample frame, or spare fabric and acoustical insulation sitting around. I also have been holding up the initial version of this new discussion thread on getting this information out there, so for now this will be a simple document and will be updated at some point in the future.

So first up, you should have your frames built, your insulation on hand, your printed fabric ready to go. Here is what else you will need:

A staple gun (manual or "powered")
Staples (can be fairly thin since you are just attaching thin fabric to a wood frame.)
Painter's tape (optional)

So assembly is easy on paper, but can be a little tricky in practice.

First things first, lay your fabric face down on a large, clean, flat surface.
Next, put your frame with the "best side" down on the fabric. By best side, I mean whatever side of your frame looks the nicest as any flaws will show through the fabric.
Center it as best as you can to roughly align the front image with the front of the frame.
Fold the border fabric around towards the back of the frame. 
Now align it as best as you can and start stapling. Apply staples closer to the inside of the frame than the outside edge. More on why later. Follow the below stapling pattern. This is the same method used when people stretch canvas on a frame (something to Google or search YouTube if you want to see someone doing this).

Once you get towards the corners, plan for how you are going to fold your corners so that you are consistent and so that you are able to fold things flat before finishing the stapling.
Once you have things stapled, you may notice that some adjustments are needed. Since you stapled towards the inside of the frame, you should have a little flexibility to slightly stretch the fabric towards the front, or pull more towards the back and apply more staples.

After this, you can trim off any excess fabric. 
Then insert your acoustical insulation and push it to the front of the frame against the printed image on the fabric.
Lastly it is highly recommended that you cover the back of the panel with some sort of super cheap fabric or even landscaping barrier (since it is really cheap). Just staple it to the back of the frame as well and trim the extra fabric. This is just to ensure that no insulation fibers get airborne and end up being breathed in. Yes, there is really low risk of this since the panels just stay hung on your walls, but it is cheap insurance to protect your lungs.

That is pretty much it. From here you just need to hang your frames using whatever method you choose (some ideas are mentioned in the Building Your Frames video).

As for placement, this is a longer discussion, but look for first reflection points for your front left and right speakers when sitting in your main listening position. Hang those panels so that the middle of the frame is at ear height and centered at that first reflection point. There is a mirror reflection trick that works well for this.

From there, panels on the rear wall are good too.

After that, it gets a little easier as it is just a matter of evenly distributing the panels around the rest of the room between the first reflection point panels that you placed first, and any rear wall panel(s) that you placed next. 

You can certainly get more scientific with this by measuring your audio response and how adjustments to the panel placements impact audio performance, but that is a lengthy process that might not yield improved results.

As always, this is all just a general set of guidelines and hiring a professional to measure and design an entire acoustical plan for your room will still yield better results, but we can still make a lot of improvements without the cost of all of that. I just want to make sure that everyone understands this. You will still experience great improvement for a relatively low investment, and it is definitely worth it. 

Good luck, and share your completed panels!


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## nickbuol

*MyFabricDesigns Fabric Choices - April 2022

UPDATE: As of December 2022, we heard that MyFabricDesigns is going out of business. I am checking into another alternative printing company and have ordered their fabric sample pack. Stay tuned in early 2023 for an updated chart here.*

From April 11, 2022. Current fabric choices from MyFabricDesigns and my initial thoughts on them.
From Post #205:
I am trying to provide some information timely for everyone, so I did a rough "Round - 1" examination of each of these fabrics. I want to go back and look at the best options, see if I can differentiate more between the top contenders, but at least you have my initial thoughts.... I will set up a sharable file when I have more sorted out, but for now this copy/paste of my Excel sheet that I am working on.


FabricPrintable WidthThread CountOverall Image QualityImage ColorImage ClarityFabric SheenStretchyAT "Blow Test"ViableNotesBasic Combed Cotton54"100x76GoodGoodGoodMatteMinorOK-LowYesCan see the weave and is visually see through.Cotton Poplin54"144x84Good-GreatGood-GreatGreatMatteNoOKYesNice color and clarity. Looks good, slightly see-through against contrasting background.Cotton Silk42"UnknownOKGoodOKSatinNoOKMaybeCan see the weave and it impacts the clarity. Slightly see through, but not bad.Cotton Voile42"108x100Good -GreatGoodGoodMatteMinimalOKMaybeVery thin fabric making it see-through and contrast isn't the best. Due toFaux Linen Canvas54"40x50TerribleOKTerribleMatteNoMinimalNoBad weave level makes this completely unusable.Faux Linen Slub42"90x90OKGoodOKMatteNoOKLast resortWeave is visible and fabric is slightly see-through. I would choose something else.Faux Linen Slub Sheer58"72x55TerriblePoorPoorMatteNoYesNoLoose weave and very see through and this destroys the image quality.Flame Retardant Faux Linen Canvas56"40x30TerribleOKTerribleMatteNoYesNoLike Faux Linen Canvas, but a very loose knit making it just as ugly, but also very see-through. Don't use this.Heavy Cotton Twill58"136x60PoorGoodPoorSatinNoNoNoNice color, but very textured fabric reduces image clarity and fails the breathability test.Interlock Blend46"UnknownOKVibrantOKSatinSignificant in one directionGreatMaybeFabric seems to have a little color bleed which takes a little bit from the clarity. If stretched, the image starts to show white (not good).Linen Cotton Blend50"103x42PoorGoodPoorMatteNoNoNoStrong variable visible weave gives more of an "industrial" look, but hurts image quality.Nylon Lycra Blend56UnknownPoorPoorOKMatteSignificant in both directionsYesNoFabric almost looks "grey" as an base color, thus making everything else very dull. Not recommended.Organic Cotton Interlock Knit58"UnknownOKGood-GreatOKMatteSignificant in one directionGoodYesCan see the weave in one direction. Good at not being see-through.Organic Cotton Jacquard58"UnknownPoorGoodPoorSatinSignificant in one directionGreatNoFabric itself is patterned and it destroys the otherwise great image.Organic Cotton Sateen56"160x90GoodGoodGoodMatteMinimalOKYesCan see the weave and is visually see through.Polyester Crepe Jersey58"UnknownTerribleOKOKSatinSignificant in one directionYesNoThe base fabric is very inconsistent in thickness making it about 50% OK for transparency and 50% see through. This also takes away from the overall look of the quality and causes the fabric to look "blotchy."Polyester French Terry58"UnknownOK-GoodGreatGoodSatinSignificant in one directionYesYesImage is very slightly blurry from color bleed, but not bad. Thicker than most other fabrics meaning it is significantly better than the others at hiding anything behind it. You can see the weave a little bit though. Beware of stretching too much as it can make the weave a little more noticeable.Polyester Pongee Silk58"UnknownGoodGreatGoodSemi-GlossSignificant in one directionYesNO LONGER AVAILABLE MaybeGood color and clarity, better than Polyester French Terry. You can see the weave, but it isn't bad. Stretchy, but a little more forgiving than other fabrics in retaining constant color. Black levels could be better. Use only with images with limited black coloration.Polyester Slub Jersey58"UnknownTerribleOKPoorSatinSignificant in one directionYesNoThe base fabric is very inconsistent in thickness making it about 75% OK for transparency and 25% see through. This also takes away from the overall look of the quality and causes the fabric to look "blotchy." Color also seems to bleed a bit also reducing the quality.Premium Cotton54"60x60PoorGoodPoorMatteMinimalOK-LowLast resortImage has "blurry" looking, can see the weave, less see-through than Basic Combed CottonQuadri Performance Sport Knit62"UnknownTerribleGoodOKSemi-GlossSignificant in one directionYesNoDistinct weave pattern that destroys the image quality. Don't use this.Satin56"50x50Good-GreatVibrantGreatSatinNoMinimalYesOverall this looks really good. Not very AT per the "blow test." Slightly see-through, but not terrible like some of the others.Silk Crepe De Chine42"UnknownGoodVibrantGoodSatinMinimalOK-LowMaybeColors are blown out a bit, but really solid. Super thin and see through, but surprisingly not super AT. Possible color bleed.Silk Crinkle Linen52"UnknownPoorGoodPoorMatteNoGoodNoStrong visible weave, but also thin and see-through. Both hurts the image quality.Silky Faille42"200x78GoodGreatVery GoodSemi-GlossNoNoMaybeNeed measured and it 100% fails the blow-through test. Slight color bleed takes away from being spot-on for quality, but still really good.


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## nickbuol

*NOTE: I am willing to help people out, as time allows, for free with up to 6 images that they might need.*

That free work includes:

Enlarging through the image enlargement software that I use.
Basic cropping of images to get them to fit the desired size in Photoshop.
Adding of a solid border.
Creating small sample images.
Rotating the full size images 90 degrees since that is how MyFabricDesigns likes them (saves on cost as you can fit 1 image on 1 yard of fabric usually if they are sideways).
Renaming the files to a standard movie title and size reference file name.
Storing of the images on my Google Drive for 1 month.
Sharing the samples and the Google Drive link with you.
Offering future assistance if anyone gets stuck uploading and ordering their images.
Anything above 6, or images that need sourced online, or image fixing/restoration, or other edits beyond cropping/stretching will receive a request of a donation to my kids' college fund. I want to help as many people as possible and as quickly as possible, but I can't spend my evenings just doing freebie work like I was a couple of years ago.


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## nathan_h

Great idea to make a fresh thread where the first few posts can serve as an FAQ and be updated as needed.

Per your request @nickbuol I’m copying my post from the old thread to this one. However I am sure once the videos and faqs are update they will answer my questions……

Was going to try to cut up something like this:










which is a wordless version of this:










for example. So I’m hunting around online to find the best source to start with.

Being mostly solid colors and illustrated my back up plan is to do touch up work on the best image I can find if I can’t find one large enough or high enough quality.

Anyway, not expecting anyone to do the work for me, and it sucks that someone stole your work. Just looking for advice to help me learn.

——-

If I don’t manage to fret something usable like the above example, I may make it easier on myself and just find the largest versions of these, make a three version of two of them, and call it good.





















——

Or this one, which appears to be large, so I could cut the top off to make it 3:1 ratio for a three panel version.











though my ideal is to find something related to 2001, perhaps one of the painted promotional images. like the following image, I could cut the bottom off, until getting close to the spaceship, and then trim a little from the top, if more trimming was needed, in order to get the right aspect ratio.











Kind of like:


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## nickbuol

nathan_h said:


> Great idea to make a fresh thread where the first few posts can serve as an FAQ and be updated as needed.


This was something that I've thought about for a long time, and others pushed me to do back near the beginning of 2021. It just has taken a while to get things posted.
@DougUSMC, @luv2fly3, @mtbdudex I FINALLY created a new thread, with a table of contents, etc. Just need to get it stickied and transition people from the old thread to this one...

Hey @Mike Lang, we talked about this 7 months ago in the original discussion thread, about me creating a new one and getting it stickied. Well, here it is. Please make this sticky, and I would suggest un-stickying the *old thread* since it will is so outdated and not maintained by the original poster (I've been keeping it updated for about 7 years now). I have the old one referenced in my first post here, and will redirect people to this new discussion so that we can start clean.... Thanks.


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## nickbuol

Side note. I am open to suggestions for the name of this discussion. I was thinking about going with something completely different to prevent confusion, but also know that a lot of people search for the words in the old discussion title, that it seemed somewhat "ok" to just add to it.

Again, I am open to ideas if "The NEW 'DIY Custom-Printed Movie Poster Acoustic Panels - cheap!' Discussion" seems like a bad name.


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## clint357

Maybe replace "New" with "November 2021". At some point, you will have a "Newest" or "Super New" in order to differentiate from this version.


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## RemixMark

nickbuol said:


> *VIDEO - Making Your Frames and Hanging Your Panels*
> 
> (disclaimer: I am not a professional YouTuber or internet personality. Please forgive my "ah"s and "um"s or any other verbal anomalies in any of my videos.)


Hey Nick, thanks for posting this! Can you post a link for the hardware to anchor the French cleat to the drywall? 


I’ll be using this method per your suggestion and I have a table saw and plenty of scrap wood I would love to get rid of. 


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## RemixMark

nickbuol said:


> *Why DIY acoustic absorption panels?*
> 
> This is true for even non-DIY panels, but the general idea is that in addition to things like room modes, one of the more destructive things for sound quality in your room is the echo… Not just echo like from clapping your hands, but powerful sound energy bouncing around at all sound frequencies.
> 
> There are different levels of acoustical treatment complexity, and please understand that just adding some absorption panels in your space doesn’t mean that there isn’t more that can be done, or that absorption is the best or only acoustical technology at our disposal. It just happens to yield some great results for people that are not wanting to spend the time or money in more complex acoustical analysis and treatment.
> 
> In the spirit of keeping things simple and accessible to more people, I will leave it at that and not dig deep into room acoustical measurement, diffusion, bass traps, dead wall/live wall setups, etc. There are a number of really deep-dive discussions elsewhere here for those that want to dig into all of that. Someone that I have a lot of respect for is Anthony Grimani, and he has given a number of presentations on acoustics over the years, a few are available on YouTube. He has some great diagrams too about alternating absorption and diffusion and different types of diffusion. Great stuff if you want to go even further into this.
> 
> For this introduction, we will look at a few basic guidelines (not going to call them “rules”) and give enough information to help you Google search the rest to get started.
> 
> When planning out absorption panels, the first thing that people tend to look at is “how many panels do I need for the movie posters/images I want?” The first step should really be a little more thought into how to better provide an absorption solution for your room, and then what you want to have printed for those panels.
> 
> 1st guideline is to look at about 25% maximum absorption in your room. That isn’t a perfect number, but a good starting factor. That being said, you can start small and work up to more if needed.
> 
> 2nd guideline is a touch more involved, but in around placement. Keeping it simple and assuming just absorption technology is being used, some key areas for placement are as follows:
> 
> First reflection points – Google the “mirror method” for finding this and use that as a start for your front two panels. From there you can space them out for what looks pleasing and get about 95% effective placement.
> Rear wall – Massive sound energy bounces off your rear wall. Treat it!
> Front wall – This is a debate for some people, but a lot of people still like to treat their full front wall to avoid sound bounce-back from the rear of their speakers.
> 
> 3rd guideline is around absorption materials. Use real acoustical insulation, not “cheap foam.” I have an entire post about this, but the short version is that Owens Corning 703 is the “gold standard” that everything else is measured against. That does not mean that another product can't perform better than OC 703, but it usually is at a cost of extra thickness in the material. Finding it locally can be tricky, so some people choose to buy other products (some essentially as good, but sometimes not quite as good, but more available or less expensive), or if they order online, find other “clone” products to save some money. The thing to note is that you should use a product that actually lists its acoustical properties. This does not mean that it just has the word “acoustical” in the name. You will be hard pressed to find acoustical properties shown on those bought from Amazon “foam acoustical panels.”
> 
> 4th guideline is around panel construction. My favorite thickness for making absorption panels is 2” of acoustical insulation. This is the best “bang for your buck” thickness. I like to boost that performance by putting an air gap between the acoustical insulation and the wall. This costs just a little more for a thicker from, but improves the performance of the panel without having to pay for thicker acoustical insulation. I also break this down a bit in my other post about acoustical insulation and foam. An easy to work with size is a 3.5” thick panel. This gives a 1.5” air gap behind the insulation.
> 
> 5th guideline… These are all guidelines. Many times we have to make compromises somewhere. That is OK. You will not be belittled because you chose to do something different, as long as it isn’t using foam. J
> 
> Next up: Don’t use foam. This is the post that I referenced above. I just want to get it covered now and get back to the panels.


I wanted to post this so it helps others who have a hard time finding the right acoustic insulation like I had. 

Two ways to get some OC703 or something similar:
1. (I highly recommend this) Call 1-800-get-pink (Owens Corning) and hit the button for insulation. Tell them you’re looking for distributors in your area that have unfaced OC 703. I got transferred once and then the next woman was SUPER helpful. She cross referenced all distributors within 50 miles of my ZIP Code that have purchased 703 (any depth, 1, 2, 3, or 4” and faced or unfaced) in the last three months. Then she expanded that to any distributors in 150 miles that bought insulation similar to 2” 703 in the last 6 months. She gave me 8 different businesses to call. On the 2nd call I found a guy 30min from me with the jm 814 in stock! 
TL;DR Call Owens Corning at 1-800-GET-PINK and ask them for distributors of OC 703 in your area.

2. Go to https://www.owenscorning.com/en-us/insulation/residential/distributors-near-me and call the businesses listed there.


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## nathan_h

nickbuol said:


> *VIDEO - Sourcing Your Images*
> 
> (disclaimer: I am not a professional YouTuber or internet personality. Please forgive my "ah"s and "um"s or any other verbal anomalies in any of my videos.)


DuckDuckGo image search has a filter for what they consider "desktop" images, which are even bigger than the biggest filter from Google. They tend to be more landscape than vertical, however, so not necessarily perfect for searching, either.

The specific sources you mention are ideal. I have had good luck with:

Moviemania - Textless high-resolution movie wallpapers
theposterdb.com
movie posters internaitonla IMP Awards
80 hi-res, textless posters (some of my favorites) - Imgur
Hi-Res Textless Movie Posters INDEX - Blu-ray Forum

and I learned something new. Didn't know about:









M Zeeshan


Explore M Zeeshan’s 4,020 photos on Flickr!




www.flickr.com


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## Punter16

Awesome info! Thanks!


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## Rolow

Nick sorry to hear about someone taking your edited images. Glad to see it didn’t discourage you from sharing this thread.


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## nickbuol

Rolow said:


> Nick sorry to hear about someone taking your edited images. Glad to see it didn’t discourage you from sharing this thread.


That was a couple of years ago, so I've been back around for a while.


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## nickbuol

RemixMark said:


> Hey Nick, thanks for posting this! Can you post a link for the hardware to anchor the French cleat to the drywall?
> 
> 
> I’ll be using this method per your suggestion and I have a table saw and plenty of scrap wood I would love to get rid of.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Personally I like toggle bolts or wall anchors where you screw in the plastic (or metal) threaded anchor, and then put a longer screw into that. They both are readily available and plenty strong for what we are doing. The plastic (or metal) self screwing ones are a little more "accurate" in that there isn't a lot of play in the mounting location like a toggle bolt that needs a hole significantly larger than the bolt on the toggle bolt. That being said, you need to make sure that the screw for the self screwing is long enough to go through your french cleat material AND still go through the fully length of the self screwing wall anchor by at little bit.

Toggle Bolt









Self-screwing style bolts:










There are stronger wall anchors, but I haven't used them.

Here is a video all about different types and how well they do.


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## nickbuol

nickbuol said:


> Again, I am open to ideas if "The NEW 'DIY Custom-Printed Movie Poster Acoustic Panels - cheap!' Discussion" seems like a bad name.





clint357 said:


> Maybe replace "New" with "November 2021". At some point, you will have a "Newest" or "Super New" in order to differentiate from this version.


Good point.

I have changed it to _*'DIY Custom-Printed Movie Poster Acoustic Panels - cheap!' Version 2.0 Discussion*_ at least for now. I get concerned about flagging something with a date like that as being misinterpreted as being old or outdated and not just a representation of the date that it was initially created. I'm still open to ideas though.


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## OJ Bartley

Thanks for all of your efforts to keep this information consolidated and accessible, Nick. This is a great resource for people, and I'm glad to see it evolving.


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## nickbuol

New coupon code today...



MyFabricDesigns said:


> Use code *Quote20* for 20% off your next purchase! Offer valid thru 11/12/21


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## BuckeyeAmps

Any good sources for video game images? I want to do a good Halo 1, 2, 3 poster setup (36x24)


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## Justin Morgan

Hey all, I'm new to DIY acoustic panels and would like to make 3" panels from Thermafiber or Rockwool. I've looked everywhere and can't find 24 x 48 acoustic thermal batts anywhere locally, and Home Depot / Lowes can't even order that size ("sold out").

However, almost all the nearby big box stores have 16 x 48 rock wool in stock. *Is there a way to combine two 16x48 rock wool panels into a single 32x48 panel that doesn't have an obvious seam? *Apologies if this is a total newbie question.

Thanks for any info.


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## RemixMark

Justin Morgan said:


> Hey all, I'm new to DIY acoustic panels and would like to make 3" panels from Thermafiber or Rockwool. I've looked everywhere and can't find 24 x 48 acoustic thermal batts anywhere locally, and Home Depot / Lowes can't even order that size ("sold out").
> 
> However, almost all the nearby big box stores have 16 x 48 rock wool in stock. *Is there a way to combine two 16x48 rock wool panels into a single 32x48 panel that doesn't have an obvious seam? *Apologies if this is a total newbie question.
> 
> Thanks for any info.


'DIY Custom-Printed Movie Poster Acoustic Panels - cheap!' Version 2.0 Discussion








'DIY Custom-Printed Movie Poster Acoustic Panels -...


VIDEO - Making Your Frames and Hanging Your Panels (disclaimer: I am not a professional YouTuber or internet personality. Please forgive my "ah"s and "um"s or any other verbal anomalies in any of my videos.) Hey Nick, thanks for posting this! Can you post a link for the hardware to anchor...




r.tapatalk.com






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## Kothoga

nickbuol said:


> Or this guy... I would steer clear of him at all costs. So much bad information in a lot of his videos. He's been called out in some of the high-technical discussions online for being so clueless, but you know how it is, if you have a YouTube channel, you must know what you are doing. There are a lot of much better YouTubers out there than this guy.
> View attachment 3193339


He likes to claim his SVS speakers and subs are the absolute best on the market...period. That alone should tell you all you need to know.


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## Kothoga

Finally finished two of my eight.


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## sam_adams

Justin Morgan said:


> Is there a way to combine two 16x48 rock wool panels into a single 32x48 panel that doesn't have an obvious seam?


The 'seam' in between the batts will have no effect on the overall absorption of the panel built from them.


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## sam_adams

@nickbuol, did you put up a first and last post in the old thread redirecting here and have the mods lock the old thread?


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## nickbuol

I've been trying to get this one turned into a sticky. Also, I didn't start the last thread, so I can't change the first post, but I did put 3 "STOP" posts at the end of the other thread to direct people here.


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## RemixMark

Kothoga said:


> Finally finished two of my eight.
> 
> View attachment 3194593
> View attachment 3194594
> View attachment 3194595
> View attachment 3194596
> View attachment 3194597


Those look epic! I'm jealous of your Interstellar print. I printed this one: https://wallpapers.moviemania.io/ph...=4000&q=90&dl=interstellar_5799_2500x4000.jpg Did you go w/ the performance knit material? I found the yellow's REALLY pop. I went with this Gardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 print Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) Phone Wallpaper | Moviemania. I was going to pick up some landscapers fabric for the back. What are you using to keep your OC 703 in place?


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## mrsiyufy

Does anyone have source for posters with the text on them in high resolution ? Please PM me if you don’t want to post it publicly. Thanks so much


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## RemixMark

mrsiyufy said:


> Does anyone have source for posters with the text on them in high resolution ? Please PM me if you don’t want to post it publicly. Thanks so much


Watch the video above about sourcing images. Lots of great info in that vid: 



.


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## feira

Very helpful thread, thank you!

I'm evaluating whether to go the full DIY route from scratch, versus buying some gently-used acoustic panels and then wrapping with my own custom printed fabric.

If I go the route of doing my own wrap over an existing base, any recommendations on what base color to choose? Will the base color show through a custom print fabric from My Fabric Design? In which case I would guess white or neutral gray base is best?


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## BuckeyeAmps

Re-posting if anyone has good sources for hi res video game images/posters


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## Kothoga

RemixMark said:


> Did you go w/ the performance knit material? What are you using to keep your OC 703 in place?


I did on four of them. These two are the basic cotton. 

Addressing the movement of the 703, I cut it to fit tight within the frames, then placed a few slabs of cardboard down to give a small gap in the front. Coming in from behind, I used some scrap wood and cut some simple 90° triangles and just nail gunned them into the corners. I'll take pictures this weekend if I find time to make some more.


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## nathan_h

feira said:


> Very helpful thread, thank you!
> 
> I'm evaluating whether to go the full DIY route from scratch, versus buying some gently-used acoustic panels and then wrapping with my own custom printed fabric.
> 
> If I go the route of doing my own wrap over an existing base, any recommendations on what base color to choose? Will the base color show through a custom print fabric from My Fabric Design? In which case I would guess white or neutral gray base is best?


Gently used, if made from fiberglass, is probably a good value if they are priced well.

I wouldn’t bother with two layers of fabric. I would take off the old and just put on the new in its place. No reason to block the sound more with a second layer of fabric. But check the construction first to make sure that will work.


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## nathan_h

Sanity check:

I want to make some approx 2'x2' panels.

I have 24" wide OC703.

I'm thinking I can get four sides from a single 8' piece of 1x4.... but then my interior will be more like 22.5" in each dimension.

Since the insulation can be squished a little, maybe this is okay? Maybe it's even better that way because it will hold it in place better?

Anyone else try it this way?


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## nickbuol

nathan_h said:


> Sanity check:
> 
> I want to make some approx 2'x2' panels.
> 
> I have 24" wide OC703.
> 
> I'm thinking I can get four sides from a single 8' piece of 1x4.... but then my interior will be more like 22.5" in each dimension.
> 
> Since the insulation can be squished a little, maybe this is okay? Maybe it's even better that way because it will hold it in place better?
> 
> Anyone else try it this way?


You will have to trim a bit of the width off most likely. 1.5" was too much to not cause the OC703 to push outward (or inward) on some panels I made years ago, and I had to trim off almost an inch of the width to fit without buckling.

It is too bad that they don't have an 8.5' piece of 1x4. Then you could do 25.5 x 25.5 and cut the sheets into 24" x 24" and have no waste.


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## nathan_h

nickbuol said:


> You will have to trim a bit of the width off most likely. 1.5" was too much to not cause the OC703 to push outward (or inward) on some panels I made years ago, and I had to trim off almost an inch of the width to fit without buckling.
> 
> It is too bad that they don't have an 8.5' piece of 1x4. Then you could do 25.5 x 25.5 and cut the sheets into 24" x 24" and have no waste.


Thanks for the info. Had I been smart I would have bought ten feet lengths.

Will probably trim the insulation. Haven’t done that before. Will a box cutter do the job?


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## RemixMark

nathan_h said:


> Thanks for the info. Had I been smart I would have bought ten feet lengths.
> 
> Will probably trim the insulation. Haven’t done that before. Will a box cutter do the job?


Yup, as long as it has a sharp long blade you’re good to go.
I placed the wood frame on top of the OC 703, scored the two sides I needed to trim, moved the wood frame a bit and the cut all the way through. Below is what I used. 

Utility knife: OLFA 5006 H-1 25mm Rubber Inset Grip EHD Utility Knife https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001DKOQGU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_DEL8wpPfzF9jJ

Refills: OLFA 9061 HB-20B Extra Heavy Duty... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000776IUM?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share


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## nathan_h

Looking like I don't have enough OC703 on hand, and the nearest dealer is couple hours away. 

Anyone use this stuff?



https://www.lowes.com/pd/ROCKWOOL-SAFE-n-SOUND-R-Stone-Wool-Batt-Insulation-with-Sound-Barrier-23-in-W-x-47-in-L/4382951



I see mentioned of Safe N Sound various places but there are several companies selling things with similar names and some are clearly not rigid enough. I cannot tell whether thats the case with this one.


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## Mr.6

nathan_h said:


> Looking like I don't have enough OC703 on hand, and the nearest dealer is couple hours away.
> 
> Anyone use this stuff?
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.lowes.com/pd/ROCKWOOL-SAFE-n-SOUND-R-Stone-Wool-Batt-Insulation-with-Sound-Barrier-23-in-W-x-47-in-L/4382951
> 
> 
> 
> I see mentioned of Safe N Sound various places but there are several companies selling things with similar names and some are clearly not rigid enough. I cannot tell whether thats the case with this one.


I heard this stuff is better than the OC703. I will be using it.


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## RemixMark

Just got my panels hung. Thanks @nickbuol ;for all your help!
I saved some money and ripped some spare 3/4” MDF and plywood to make my 3 1/2” boards. 




























Basement hallway leading to the theater. The acoustic deadening is instantly noticeable here and in the theater. 



















Panorama of the entire theater










This scream poster is our favorite. Love how minimalistic it is. Makes us want to watch all three of the films. 




































A few spare panels so we can swap some out and add some to the outside theater walls where I’ll build a permanent concession table. 










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## nickbuol

nathan_h said:


> Looking like I don't have enough OC703 on hand, and the nearest dealer is couple hours away.
> 
> Anyone use this stuff?
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.lowes.com/pd/ROCKWOOL-SAFE-n-SOUND-R-Stone-Wool-Batt-Insulation-with-Sound-Barrier-23-in-W-x-47-in-L/4382951
> 
> 
> 
> I see mentioned of Safe N Sound various places but there are several companies selling things with similar names and some are clearly not rigid enough. I cannot tell whether thats the case with this one.


Safe n Sound works well. In some regards it performs better than OC703. It is 1" thicker and not as rigid as OC703, so I guess a better comparison would be Safe n Sound plus 0.5" air gap vs 2" OC703 with a 1.5" air gap. I might have to model that out sometime.

The rigidity of the OC703 is really nice, but again, a number of people have used Safe n Sound with great success too.

I think that the biggest factors for using Safe n Sound are 1) availability and 2) price.

UPDATE: I ran a quick model. Results are below, but basically 2" OC703 plus 1.5" air gap is pretty much identical to 3" Safe n Sound with 0.5" air gap. This would be for 3.5" thick panels made with 1x4 lumber, which is common.

In the model, we really care most about 1000Hz and lower.











I also modeled 3" of OC703 just for kicks and it outperforms 3" Safe n Sound from 500 Hz and down. But whatever. The important thing is finding a product that you can work with, purchase ("affordably") and is actual acoustical insulation. Safe n Sound checks a number of those boxes.


----------



## nathan_h

Very cool comparison.

I wonder, does that tool have data for ROCKWOOL R-6.3 Comfortboard 80 1-1/2 in. x 24 in. x 48 in. Stone Wool Insulated Sheathing Board?

I checked the Bob Golds site but didn’t see anything.




nickbuol said:


> Safe n Sound works well. In some regards it performs better than OC703. It is 1" thicker and not as rigid as OC703, so I guess a better comparison would be Safe n Sound plus 0.5" air gap vs 2" OC703 with a 1.5" air gap. I might have to model that out sometime.
> 
> The rigidity of the OC703 is really nice, but again, a number of people have used Safe n Sound with great success too.
> 
> I think that the biggest factors for using Safe n Sound are 1) availability and 2) price.
> 
> UPDATE: I ran a quick model. Results are below, but basically 2" OC703 plus 1.5" air gap is pretty much identical to 3" Safe n Sound with 0.5" air gap. This would be for 3.5" thick panels made with 1x4 lumber, which is common.
> 
> In the model, we really care most about 1000Hz and lower.
> 
> View attachment 3195659
> 
> 
> 
> I also modeled 3" of OC703 just for kicks and it outperforms 3" Safe n Sound from 500 Hz and down. But whatever. The important thing is finding a product that you can work with, purchase ("affordably") and is actual acoustical insulation. Safe n Sound checks a number of those boxes.


----------



## nickbuol

nathan_h said:


> Very cool comparison.
> 
> I wonder, does that tool have data for ROCKWOOL R-6.3 Comfortboard 80 1-1/2 in. x 24 in. x 48 in. Stone Wool Insulated Sheathing Board?
> 
> I checked the Bob Golds site but didn’t see anything.


The modeling tool just uses information that you put into it, Flow Resistivity (Pa.s/m2) being the key piece as everything else is pretty much just converting thickness from inches to mm.

Find the Flow Resistivity for it, and it can be modeled.


----------



## OJ Bartley

RemixMark said:


> Just got my panels hung. Thanks @nickbuol ;for all your help!
> I saved some money and ripped some spare 3/4” MDF and plywood to make my 3 1/2” boards.


Great job. I especially like the no text Akira and Spiderverse.


----------



## RemixMark

OJ Bartley said:


> Great job. I especially like the no text Akira and Spiderverse.


Thanks, yea those might make it into the theater for sure. The Akira one has so much white I'd have to put it in the back so it's not in eye shot while you're sitting down.


----------



## 4fit?

RemixMark said:


> Just got my panels hung. Thanks @nickbuol ;for all your help!
> I saved some money and ripped some spare 3/4” MDF and plywood to make my 3 1/2” boards.


Good job on the panels. They all look great and you did a TON of them. I did the same SpiderVerse one, but hung it the other way around to match the excerpt from the screenplay that says "_Miles walks to the edge of the roof, the wind buffeting... and LEAPS! The camera is UPSIDE DOWN. Miles isn't falling through frame. He's RISING._" Such a great scene.

Here are a couple TERRIBLE quality pics. Been waiting to build the frames for around the screen before I take proper pics.


----------



## RemixMark

4fit? said:


> Good job on the panels. They all look great and you did a TON of them. I did the same SpiderVerse one, but hung it the other way around to match the excerpt from the screenplay that says "_Miles walks to the edge of the roof, the wind buffeting... and LEAPS! The camera is UPSIDE DOWN. Miles isn't falling through frame. He's RISING._" Such a great scene.
> 
> Here are a couple TERRIBLE quality pics. Been waiting to build the frames for around the screen before I take proper pics.


LOL, I totally hung it upside down. I may have to fix that now that I know it's not "correct". Great setup btw!


----------



## nathan_h

nickbuol said:


> The modeling tool just uses information that you put into it, Flow Resistivity (Pa.s/m2) being the key piece as everything else is pretty much just converting thickness from inches to mm.
> 
> Find the Flow Resistivity for it, and it can be modeled.


I see. So it looks like the closet spec is:

ASTM E96Water Vapor Transmission, Desiccant Method - 1768 ng/Pa.s.m2 (31 perm)

at









Comfortboard® 80 rigid mineral wool continuous insulation sheathing board | ROCKWOOL


Providing a continuous layer of insulation around commercial or residential building envelopes, ROCKWOOL Comfortboard® 80 is an exterior non-structural stone wool insulation sheathing.




www.rockwool.com





and










at



https://p-cdn.rockwool.com/siteassets/o2-rockwool/documentation/technical-data-sheets/residential/comfortboard-80-non-structural-sheathing-continuous-insulation-techdata.pdf?f=20210318151648



Which leads me to think it is not great.


----------



## RemixMark

RemixMark said:


> LOL, I totally hung it upside down. I may have to fix that now that I know it's not "correct". Great setup btw!


OCD wouldn’t let me not fix it [emoji854]











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## nathan_h

Save 25% with code FABRIC25 at checkout at My Fabric Designs.


----------



## nathan_h

dupe


----------



## swfire271

nathan_h said:


> Save 25% with code FABRIC25 at checkout at My Fabric Designs.


Thanks!


----------



## Kothoga

Finished up 2 more:


----------



## nathan_h

Those look great.

---

I'm shopping for fabric for the back of the panels (and temporarily for the front until the shipment from Thailand arrives).

Anyone use this stuff from Joanns? I'd prefer cotton but if this is adequate and the cheapest around, I won't shrug.



https://www.joann.com/knits-jet-set-2-fabric-solids/16652216.html


----------



## feira

Kothoga said:


> Finished up 2 more


Those look amazing! Performance knit fabric from My Fabric Design?

Also looks like you wrapped the image around the edges? I've been experimenting with the Gimp Heal Transparency tool to help with that, the software basically extends the image to give you more image to use for wrapping.


----------



## DougUSMC

Great job @nickbuol I know a TON of effort went into moving all this info over!


----------



## nathan_h

nathan_h said:


> Those look great.
> 
> ---
> 
> I'm shopping for fabric for the back of the panels (and temporarily for the front until the shipment from Thailand arrives).
> 
> Anyone use this stuff from Joanns? I'd prefer cotton but if this is adequate and the cheapest around, I won't shrug.
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.joann.com/knits-jet-set-2-fabric-solids/16652216.html



Or maybe this material? Wholesale Fabric for Acoustic Panels | Project Guide

Ideally, I'd go with cotton that is under $5 a yard and is 60" wide, since this will just be for the back and (temporary) use on the front while waiting for the printed fabric from SE Asia.

Right now, my plan is to use unbleached muslin. $4 a yard, 62" tall, unless something else pops up as better.


----------



## Rolow

nathan_h said:


> Those look great.
> 
> ---
> 
> I'm shopping for fabric for the back of the panels (and temporarily for the front until the shipment from Thailand arrives).
> 
> Anyone use this stuff from Joanns? I'd prefer cotton but if this is adequate and the cheapest around, I won't shrug.
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.joann.com/knits-jet-set-2-fabric-solids/16652216.html


I used unbleached cotton from Walmart it’s cheap and looks good.


----------



## calimark

After sitting on this for about 6 years I finally got my first batch made. These are huge about 36"X 66". Came out great via myfabric design using perf knit. It has a good bit of stretch to it but was not hard to work with. Blacks are nice and deep. This batch is covering up window openings, with about 3.5" air gap behind.


----------



## nathan_h

Rolow said:


> I used unbleached cotton from Walmart it’s cheap and looks good.


Cool. Something like this?



https://www.walmart.com/ip/Moda-Muslin-45-Inch-Wide-Natural-60-x-60/168908310


----------



## Rolow

Yes very similar. I got mine in store.


----------



## OnEMoReTrY121

I'm about to embark on this project for my home theater as it's an echo chamber. Has anyone found a good source for high resolution Nintendo or video game art?


----------



## RemixMark

OnEMoReTrY121 said:


> I'm about to embark on this project for my home theater as it's an echo chamber. Has anyone found a good source for high resolution Nintendo or video game art?


I don’t have a great url for you but did you watch the video here yet: 'DIY Custom-Printed Movie Poster Acoustic Panels - cheap!' Version 2.0 Discussion








'DIY Custom-Printed Movie Poster Acoustic Panels -...


Welcome! After many years, the original discussion has become very bloated with outdated information and the original poster hasn't been active in years. It was decided that a clean slate was needed with a table of contents, and updated information. I started taking notes of my process back in...




r.tapatalk.com






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----------



## OnEMoReTrY121

RemixMark said:


> I don’t have a great url for you but did you watch the video here yet: 'DIY Custom-Printed Movie Poster Acoustic Panels - cheap!' Version 2.0 Discussion
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 'DIY Custom-Printed Movie Poster Acoustic Panels -...
> 
> 
> Welcome! After many years, the original discussion has become very bloated with outdated information and the original poster hasn't been active in years. It was decided that a clean slate was needed with a table of contents, and updated information. I started taking notes of my process back in...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> r.tapatalk.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yeah watched the video, think I'm all set for movies but lacking for some video game art.


----------



## stoked

@nickbuol thanks so much for creating this updates thread, I was almost about to buy a whole bunch of foam. BTW, what theatre seats are in that 4th photo with Mr Smith panel on the far right?


----------



## nickbuol

stoked said:


> @nickbuol thanks so much for creating this updates thread, I was almost about to buy a whole bunch of foam. BTW, what theatre seats are in that 4th photo with Mr Smith panel on the far right?


That room is from a guy from AVS named Mistere311, however AVS isn't showing him as an active user anymore. I worked on those poster images for him back in 2017, so it has been a few years. His profile shows that he hasn't been on for over a year.


UPDATE: I found his build thread. The Villain Theater

Looks like Octane Dream HR seats per his build thread.


----------



## Kothoga

OnEMoReTrY121 said:


> Yeah watched the video, think I'm all set for movies but lacking for some video game art.


I wouldn't mind some high quality video game art as well as music albums.


----------



## nathan_h

OnEMoReTrY121 said:


> Yeah watched the video, think I'm all set for movies but lacking for some video game art.





Kothoga said:


> I wouldn't mind some high quality video game art as well as music albums.


Found several thousand here: video game wallpaper images at DuckDuckGo though you may want to sort to see vertical images if that is the form factor of your panels, eg, 48928 Video Game Mobile Wallpapers - Mobile Abyss


----------



## Mr.6

Kothoga said:


> I wouldn't mind some high quality video game art as well as music albums.


For Album art go here: https://www.albumartexchange.com/


----------



## nathan_h

nathan_h said:


> I see. So it looks like the closet spec is:
> 
> ASTM E96Water Vapor Transmission, Desiccant Method - 1768 ng/Pa.s.m2 (31 perm)
> 
> at
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Comfortboard® 80 rigid mineral wool continuous insulation sheathing board | ROCKWOOL
> 
> 
> Providing a continuous layer of insulation around commercial or residential building envelopes, ROCKWOOL Comfortboard® 80 is an exterior non-structural stone wool insulation sheathing.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.rockwool.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> and
> 
> View attachment 3195916
> 
> 
> at
> 
> 
> 
> https://p-cdn.rockwool.com/siteassets/o2-rockwool/documentation/technical-data-sheets/residential/comfortboard-80-non-structural-sheathing-continuous-insulation-techdata.pdf?f=20210318151648
> 
> 
> 
> Which leads me to think it is not great.



So due to availability I ended up getting some of this stuff. I have enough to use two 1.5" thick pieces in each panel (inside the typical 3.5" deep wood frame).









ROCKWOOL R-6.3 Comfortboard 80 1-1/2 in. x 24 in. x 48 in. Stone Wool Insulated Sheathing Board (48 sqft) RXCB11224 - The Home Depot


ROCKWOOL Comfortboard 80 thermal insulated sheathing is a rigid stone wool insulation board designed for use as an exterior continuous insulation in residential to increase the performance of basement



www.homedepot.com





I am assuming I should definitely double it up, to get significant absorption as low as possible in the frequency range?


----------



## Sirquack

Interesting thread Nick!


----------



## nickbuol




----------



## luv2fly3

nickbuol said:


> View attachment 3201702


Likewise Nick! Best to you and yours! 

Great to see the new thread. I missed it somehow. The information you posted at the start is really good. Thanks for being such a help to so many of us! 

Here is the most recent panels you helped me put together! 










And then my room with all of them around the space. 










The whole concept of the poster panels is definitely a great design and not only look great but do a solid job at treating the room acoustically.


----------



## nickbuol

*Biggest MyFabricDesigns discount that I recall ever seeing. 30% off for 3 days only!*



My Fabric Designs said:


> Use code *FabFriday30 *at checkout for this super deal.
> Offer valid 11/26-11/28, one-time use.


----------



## Navv

Has anyone used these panels on windows in order to stop light from coming in? I have a 35x35, and can’t think of any other way to kill light. I think this would be a good option, but open to any suggestions


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## TooManyTimeZones

nickbuol said:


> *Biggest MyFabricDesigns discount that I recall ever seeing. 30% off for 3 days only!*


@nickbuol Tempting, but my media room won't be available for 5 months. You mentioned previously that MFD was developing a new fabric similar to Performance Knit but with less stretch. Do you have any new info on that fabric's performance and possible release date?


----------



## nickbuol

TooManyTimeZones said:


> @nickbuol Tempting, but my media room won't be available for 5 months. You mentioned previously that MFD was developing a new fabric similar to Performance Knit but with less stretch. Do you have any new info on that fabric's performance and possible release date?


Wow, I completely forgot to keep people updated here. So much going on the last few months.

So far, it sounds like there is (you guessed it) a supply chain issue. I was not given any new timeframe outside of being on hold "indefinitely." When I pressed my source a little, it sounded like at least the end of 2022 being best case because they were trying to just get the first sample rolls of the material for testing and quality checks to validate the material composition being as promised and then go to a full supply order.


----------



## MrDennis

Been a busy couple of days reading and watching videos on building some panels. I have a total of eight to build in various sizes with the first one being 25.5" X 55.56" for the image size with 4" borders. This image is from Battlestar Galactica and is the Humanoid Cylon Number Six. Because of the location and space for this picture, I was not able to maintain the 1:1.5 ratio for width and height but I think it will work out ok or my brain is saying that. The theme of my home theater is mostly Space and Sci-Fi related (not getting rid of my F-14 Tomcat pinball and TOPGUN movie poster) and this is my first shot at getting this room finished. It's been three years in the making bur still a little on the bare side for the walls.

Couple questions
1) Should I wait on the printed fabric to arrive before building the frame? Seems pointless as I know the image size.
2) What size wood do I need to make a French cleat? I will be using a skill saw to cut this. I can borrow a table saw if I really need to.

Thanks
Dennis


----------



## RemixMark

I waited to build the frames just to make sure everything lined up. 

I made my French cleats out of the same wood I made the frames from. Just left over plywood and MDF. A quick cut with a miter saw does the trick at 45 degrees. Try to make the cuts at the same place on each cleat, it’ll make hanging the final product easier so everything will be mounted at the same height and you can swap the panels around if you want and not have the height different from panel to panel. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## oneofkarma

First and foremost, this forum is fantastic and you all are awesome. The X-Wing panels below are what led me to this forum. Where might I find that hi-res pic? I've looked and found similar but nothing as perfect as this one. I need these panels in my life.


----------



## GoCaboNow

Ah, found the new thread. Very nice!
I started a new project to add a couple fabric posters to my theater a few months ago, towards the end of the old thread.
Here is pics of the finished product and you can also see a few fabric posters from 10 years ago - lol.
Thanks again for refreshing me to what is current with this. Everyone LOVES the posters when they enter my theater. 😊The new posters, Kong and Pacific Rim, are at the door when you enter the room.


----------



## nickbuol

oneofkarma said:


> First and foremost, this forum is fantastic and you all are awesome. The X-Wing panels below are what led me to this forum. Where might I find that hi-res pic? I've looked and found similar but nothing as perfect as this one. I need these panels in my life.
> View attachment 3203993


That is an image that I have. I've provided it a few times, but in the muted colors like this, and then over exaggerated colors that someone else wanted.

The multi-panel images are all a bit less-sharp due to the amount of enlarging needed, but as you can see, they look great from just a couple of feet away.


----------



## nickbuol

GoCaboNow said:


> Ah, found the new thread. Very nice!
> I started a new project to add a couple fabric posters to my theater a few months ago, towards the end of the old thread.
> Here is pics of the finished product and you can also see a few fabric posters from 10 years ago - lol.
> Thanks again for refreshing me to what is current with this. Everyone LOVES the posters when they enter my theater. 😊The new posters, Kong and Pacific Rim, are at the door when you enter the room.
> View attachment 3204043



Looks great!


----------



## nickbuol

Well, it happened... We sold our house in Iowa and are going to be packing up and heading south...

As such, I can not take on any new image editing requests right now. I currently am down to 5 requests, and some people have been waiting well over a week.

I am going to try to to finish up what I have this weekend and then I have to really hustle to get things done, especially with Christmas coming up. We close here on January 7th and then make the long drive south.

I will still try to hit the forum here every couple of days, but will have some slower times in responding. Hang in there and I will do my best to keep plugging away at questions, I just won't be doing image editing until probably mid-January at best. Sorry for any inconvenience, but I've got to focus on life for a bit. 

Hopefully I don't become a "Florida Man *___*" headline! LOL


----------



## RemixMark

nickbuol said:


> Well, it happened... We sold our house in Iowa and are going to be packing up and heading south...
> 
> As such, I can not take on any new image editing requests right now. I currently am down to 5 requests, and some people have been waiting well over a week.
> 
> I am going to try to to finish up what I have this weekend and then I have to really hustle to get things done, especially with Christmas coming up. We close here on January 7th and then make the long drive south.
> 
> I will still try to hit the forum here every couple of days, but will have some slower times in responding. Hang in there and I will do my best to keep plugging away at questions, I just won't be doing image editing until probably mid-January at best. Sorry for any inconvenience, but I've got to focus on life for a bit.
> 
> Hopefully I don't become a "Florida Man *___*" headline! LOL
> 
> View attachment 3205006


Congrats man! You’re a huge help to this hobby and greatly appreciated by us all!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## nickbuol

So work is kicking my butt. I am so behind on packing the house, but I did manage to get all of the outstanding image work requests done. I will still pop in here to keep things moving forward with answering questions and such, but it is still going to be a long 4 weeks until we close (January 7th) and then the 1300 mile trek to put everything into a storage unit until we find a house. yay.

I am hoping that mid-January will be a little better for getting back to helping with images again.


----------



## nathan_h

Moving homes can be one of the most stressful events imaginable. Take care!


----------



## MrDennis

Looking for advice on soundproofing insulation options as I can't find anything local in the Rockwool 24"x48"x2" range. Appears stock of any kind is very limited.


----------



## RemixMark

MrDennis said:


> Looking for advice on soundproofing insulation options as I can't find anything local in the Rockwool 24"x48"x2" range. Appears stock of any kind is very limited.


'DIY Custom-Printed Movie Poster Acoustic Panels - cheap!' Version 2.0 Discussion








'DIY Custom-Printed Movie Poster Acoustic Panels -...


VIDEO - Making Your Frames and Hanging Your Panels (disclaimer: I am not a professional YouTuber or internet personality. Please forgive my "ah"s and "um"s or any other verbal anomalies in any of my videos.) Hey Nick, thanks for posting this! Can you post a link for the hardware to anchor...




r.tapatalk.com






Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## nathan_h

RemixMark said:


> 'DIY Custom-Printed Movie Poster Acoustic Panels - cheap!' Version 2.0 Discussion
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 'DIY Custom-Printed Movie Poster Acoustic Panels -...
> 
> 
> VIDEO - Making Your Frames and Hanging Your Panels (disclaimer: I am not a professional YouTuber or internet personality. Please forgive my "ah"s and "um"s or any other verbal anomalies in any of my videos.) Hey Nick, thanks for posting this! Can you post a link for the hardware to anchor...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> r.tapatalk.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


@RemixMark links to a good piece of advice/resource. 

I'll also say that Owens Corning can be a frustrating company to get info from as a consumer. They directed me to several local hardware stores, none of whom had the rigid stuff. 

Don't fret. If you find a real building supply company (ie, not Home Depot*, Menards, ACE, Lowes, etc) you will have better luck. HVAC supply companies also are a likely source. None of these places are used to non-contractors showing up to buy stuff so call ahead. 

---

*exception is that Home Depot has a few "contractor stores" -- or at least, I found ONE such Home Depot in Northern California. It is very different from a regular Home Depot. The one I found (near Colma in the SF Bay Area) had the rigid rockwool panels that are very similar to OC703. (They didn't have OC703.)


----------



## MrDennis

Thanks for the link direction. So far on a Sunday I have found;
OC703 2" X 24" X 48"

Amazon - OC703 unfaced for $74.95 plus $61.97 shipping so $136.92 for a box of 6 panels or $22.82 EA
Lowes - OC703 unfaced for $34.05 EA and a min buy of 6 so $204.30 for a box of 6 panels.

Based on looking at other internet specialty sites I know where the Amazon product id coming from.

Spendy for sure but given these times we live in what's a person to do. In for a penny in for a pound, just ordered a box from ATS be here in a couple days, $17.92 a panel

Dennis


----------



## RemixMark

MrDennis said:


> Thanks for the link direction. So far on a Sunday I have found;
> OC703 2" X 24" X 48"
> 
> Amazon - OC703 unfaced for $74.95 plus $61.97 shipping so $136.92 for a box of 6 panels or $22.82 EA
> Lowes - OC703 unfaced for $34.05 EA and a min buy of 6 so $204.30 for a box of 6 panels.
> 
> Based on looking at other internet specialty sites I know where the Amazon product id coming from.
> 
> Spendy for sure but given these times we live in what's a person to do. In for a penny in for a pound, just ordered a box from ATS be here in a couple days, $17.92 a panel
> 
> Dennis


Damn that’s a lot. I’d call on a weekday. I found my 2” panels for ~$12 each. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## nathan_h

RemixMark said:


> Damn that’s a lot. I’d call on a weekday. I found my 2” panels for ~$12 each.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Eight 1.5” thick sheets for about $8 each is the best I could find locally. So similar to the price you are quoting for a different thickness. 

But basically anywhere that has to ship them the shipping nearly doubled the price. So that would have been $16 a panel if I got it shipped to me, or more like $24 per 2” panel.

So that ATS price if it include shipping is not a bad deal, it seems.


----------



## feira

Santa came early and dropped off these 5 panels! He wanted me to say a HUGE thank to you to everyone in this discussion for all the tips. Especially nickbuol for getting everything organized and the awesome videos.

A couple things to point out, in case it's helpful for others:

- going horizontal / landscape mode was a bit challenging but fun in the end. We have low ceilings so this orientation worked a lot better. It was a bit harder to find suitable art, but in the end I'm super happy with the look.

- Santa was a bit short on time so instead of starting from scratch he took a shortcut and bought already made panels (2'x4'x2" from ATS Acoustics). I know this ends up costing a lot more money than full DIY, and you lose some of the acoustic benefit since the panel now has 2 layers of fabric. BUT it is a lot easier overall, and has the benefit of making it much easier to apply the printed fabric since there is already a layer of fabric to "grip" onto.

- buy an electric stapler. I don't remember how much I paid for mine, but it was worth its weight in gold. Especially when doing 5 panels.

Thanks again, I can't wait to get these under the tree and surprise the family on Christmas day. I'll post another pic in January when I get around to actually hanging them


----------



## nickbuol

feira said:


> Santa came early and dropped off these 5 panels! He wanted me to say a HUGE thank to you to everyone in this discussion for all the tips. Especially nickbuol for getting everything organized and the awesome videos.
> 
> A couple things to point out, in case it's helpful for others:
> 
> - going horizontal / landscape mode was a bit challenging but fun in the end. We have low ceilings so this orientation worked a lot better. It was a bit harder to find suitable art, but in the end I'm super happy with the look.
> 
> - Santa was a bit short on time so instead of starting from scratch he took a shortcut and bought already made panels (2'x4'x2" from ATS Acoustics). I know this ends up costing a lot more money than full DIY, and you lose some of the acoustic benefit since the panel now has 2 layers of fabric. BUT it is a lot easier overall, and has the benefit of making it much easier to apply the printed fabric since there is already a layer of fabric to "grip" onto.
> 
> - buy an electric stapler. I don't remember how much I paid for mine, but it was worth its weight in gold. Especially when doing 5 panels.
> 
> Thanks again, I can't wait to get these under the tree and surprise the family on Christmas day. I'll post another pic in January when I get around to actually hanging them


Those look great and there is nothing wrong at all with using wide images and panels... Proper placement might be a little awkward to cover the "seated ear height" reflections, but they look really great.

ATS has several components for getting jump started on DIY panels. Nothing wrong with recovering something. The change in acoustical properties will be minimal.

Yeah, an electric stapler is inexpensive and so helpful!

I look forward to seeing them up on your walls!


----------



## cowboy85

nevermind


----------



## cowboy85

feira said:


> Santa came early and dropped off these 5 panels! He wanted me to say a HUGE thank to you to everyone in this discussion for all the tips. Especially nickbuol for getting everything organized and the awesome videos.
> 
> A couple things to point out, in case it's helpful for others:
> 
> - going horizontal / landscape mode was a bit challenging but fun in the end. We have low ceilings so this orientation worked a lot better. It was a bit harder to find suitable art, but in the end I'm super happy with the look.
> 
> - Santa was a bit short on time so instead of starting from scratch he took a shortcut and bought already made panels (2'x4'x2" from ATS Acoustics). I know this ends up costing a lot more money than full DIY, and you lose some of the acoustic benefit since the panel now has 2 layers of fabric. BUT it is a lot easier overall, and has the benefit of making it much easier to apply the printed fabric since there is already a layer of fabric to "grip" onto.
> 
> - buy an electric stapler. I don't remember how much I paid for mine, but it was worth its weight in gold. Especially when doing 5 panels.
> 
> Thanks again, I can't wait to get these under the tree and surprise the family on Christmas day. I'll post another pic in January when I get around to actually hanging them


I can see myself going the pre-built route and doing a layer. Did you just get the "ATS Acoustic Panels with Original Fabric" panels?

Did you consider cutting out their fabric and putting just your custom print on it? Or would it not be worth the effort?


----------



## feira

cowboy85 said:


> I can see myself going the pre-built route and doing a layer. Did you just get the "ATS Acoustic Panels with Original Fabric" panels?
> 
> Did you consider cutting out their fabric and putting just your custom print on it? Or would it not be worth the effort?


Yes, exactly on the panel - ATS with original fabric. I went with square edges to give a cleaner look. And I chose the Ash fabric color as I figured that would be a neutral base for whatever goes on top just in case any of that color showed through. In the end, I don't think any color showed through so it probably didn't matter.

For me, it wasn't worth the effort to cut out their fabric...it would be a fair amount of effort and mess. And from a long-term perspective, I liked the idea that if I ever want to re-sell these or even re-wrap these, it would be nice to have that solid base layer.


----------



## Justin Morgan

Just a heads up for anyone in the greater Seattle area, *Dunn Lumber* sells 24" Roxul/Rockwool AFB (acoustic fire batts) and often has it in stock in 3" thickness. Mentioning because it can sometimes be pretty difficult to find 24" acoustic insulation ... seems like Home Depot and Lowes never have it in stock. It's kind of pricey though at about $12.50/batt.

The acoustic coefficients for the 3" AFB batts are pretty good. Working on some DIY panels using these batts right now, hope to have completion photos in the next week or so. 🤞


----------



## nickbuol

Just a quick reminder that I am still very limited in my ability to help right now. We are 1 week away from hitting the road from Iowa to Florida, but have a lot going on between now and then. We still need to have Christmas with part of our family, are getting 8-12 inches of snow tomorrow, have a ton of packing to do, etc.

Anyway, I have helped a few people out despite being up to my ears with other things, but I really am unable to help right now. Again, I am so sorry about this. 

We will finally be settled in around January 21st and I can help again then.

Thanks for everyone's understanding.


----------



## N3wDay_Rising

Thank you Nichbuol for the YouTube guides. 

1. Jjust spend the monthly fee and get Photoshop. You can cancel after a month. I tried using Gimp several times and finally got tired of trying to figure everything out from what Nick was showing.. It made a difference in switching.

2. I found a image site that has very high resolution pictures. Just search for what you want (movies, Cars, Jets, Sports teams etc...)







Peakpx - HD wallpapers free download


Free HD wallpapers to decorate your desktop background, including PC wallpapers, android wallpapers and iphone wallpapers, all are for free and unlimited downloads




www.peakpx.com


----------



## TooManyTimeZones

N3wDay_Rising said:


> Just spend the monthly fee and get Photoshop. You can cancel after a month. I tried using Gimp several times and finally got tired of trying to figure everything out...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Peakpx - HD wallpapers free download
> 
> 
> Free HD wallpapers to decorate your desktop background, including PC wallpapers, android wallpapers and iphone wallpapers, all are for free and unlimited downloads
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.peakpx.com


I agree about Photoshop vs GIMP. Some of the useful Photoshop commands just don't exist in Gimp. 

....and thanks for new image site URL!


----------



## xb1032

I made four panels last year. I owe a Thank you to Nick and Life of Bliss for the info you provided!

These are great. I used Safe-n-Sound, since I couldn't find OC703 locally and didn't want to pay a premium for it. The bad thing about Safe-n-Sound is that it isn't stiff, so it pooches out a little in places. Mine were printed on the Performance knit and with my room being a very dark decor, the black looks more of a dark gray. For most that's no big deal, but if you have a lot of black velvet in the room it's noticeable. Then again, anything black next to black velvet doesn't look all that black.

I setup small lights shining on mine to highlight the posters. Since my room was already finished, I hid wiring and plugged in LED lighting into Govee Smart plugs which can turned on/off from an app like my other LED lighting.


----------



## redpoint5

This is timely...

My theater room is in a walkout basement, with the main living room directly above. The stairs go down halfway, make a 90 degree bend, and go down the rest of the way. The stairs open into the rear wall of the theater room. Somehow even though the room is carpeted and has a couch and curtains, sound seems to funnel upstairs. I was running the Roomba downstairs last night and it sounded like it was right next to me upstairs in the living room.

Of course, the best thing would be a door, but I'd have to frame it in and that's more project than I want right now. My next thought are acoustic panels to attenuate the noise headed upstairs. You think they could significantly help with the amount of noise making it upstairs? That, and I just might get my wife to allow some cool Star Wars art or something. My final thought is some heavy curtain that I can temporarily hang in the stairway opening, though my wife wouldn't want it permanent unless it could be made to look good.

Back wall of the "theater". Thinking to remove the corkboard and put in acoustic panels.










Would a couple acoustic panels on these walls help? How about back wall?


----------



## nathan_h

A door will be 100 times more effective than acoustic panels in this case. 



redpoint5 said:


> This is timely...
> 
> My theater room is in a walkout basement, with the main living room directly above. The stairs go down halfway, make a 90 degree bend, and go down the rest of the way. The stairs open into the rear wall of the theater room. Somehow even though the room is carpeted and has a couch and curtains, sound seems to funnel upstairs. I was running the Roomba downstairs last night and it sounded like it was right next to me upstairs in the living room.
> 
> Of course, the best thing would be a door, but I'd have to frame it in and that's more project than I want right now. My next thought are acoustic panels to attenuate the noise headed upstairs. You think they could significantly help with the amount of noise making it upstairs? That, and I just might get my wife to allow some cool Star Wars art or something. My final thought is some heavy curtain that I can temporarily hang in the stairway opening, though my wife wouldn't want it permanent unless it could be made to look good.
> 
> Back wall of the "theater". Thinking to remove the corkboard and put in acoustic panels.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Would a couple acoustic panels on these walls help? How about back wall?
> View attachment 3219842
> View attachment 3219843


----------



## nickbuol

nathan_h said:


> A door will be 100 times more effective than acoustic panels in this case.


Yeah, sadly we are talking about 2 different things. Sound quality in the room and sound being contained in the room (soundproofing).

You can improve sound in the room with acoustical treatments, but sound being contained in the room with a giant "hallway sized hole" isn't going to be possible without plugging that hole.

I am a huge supporter of acoustical treatments of course, but I don't want to mislead anyone to believe that treatments will sold this problem.

Sorry.


----------



## redpoint5

Thanks for the replies. I realized after posting I should have created another thread instead of hijacking this one. I'll still probably make some sound attenuating posters with a Star Wars theme, but it looks like there's no getting around engineering a door.

I'm thinking the 3 section Millennium Falcon on the back wall, and a couple of 2x4 posters in the corner of the stairwell just for fun. I guess those wouldn't need to be attenuating if I've got a door.


----------



## nathan_h

They will help the sound in the room if they are acoustic panels that absorb sound reflections. They just won't reduce the amount of sound traveling up the stairs in a significant manner.

(Note that the door will not only help prevent sound escaping the room but will also make your subwoofers work better, since they wont be trying to pressurize the rest of the house any longer.)


----------



## Snoochers

Quick question: what does the fabric look like up close? Is it like Guildford of Maine fabric or like speaker fabric? Apparently speaker fabric works great for acoustic panels but things like Guildford of Maine can be problematic as they're not properly acoustically transparent (this is from Floyd Toole's book).


----------



## nickbuol

Snoochers said:


> Quick question: what does the fabric look like up close? Is it like Guildford of Maine fabric or like speaker fabric? Apparently speaker fabric works great for acoustic panels but things like Guildford of Maine can be problematic as they're not properly acoustically transparent (this is from Floyd Toole's book).


Guilford of Maine fabric is very "commercial" or "industrial" looking to me. It looks like the stuff that cubical wall panels are covered in.

This is a MUCH finer weave. Keep in mind that the fabric is designed for clothing, bedding, etc, that we have tested for image quality, acoustical transparency, and mounting abilities.


----------



## RemixMark

Snoochers said:


> Quick question: what does the fabric look like up close? Is it like Guildford of Maine fabric or like speaker fabric? Apparently speaker fabric works great for acoustic panels but things like Guildford of Maine can be problematic as they're not properly acoustically transparent (this is from Floyd Toole's book).


This stuff looks like a polyester shirt. You can’t see a weave at all. It’s super stretchy. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## nathan_h

Snoochers said:


> Quick question: what does the fabric look like up close? Is it like Guildford of Maine fabric or like speaker fabric? Apparently speaker fabric works great for acoustic panels but things like Guildford of Maine can be problematic as they're not properly acoustically transparent (this is from Floyd Toole's book).


Some GoM is good, and some is not. I would love to see measurements of the fabric we are using in this thread. My own impression is that I wouldn’t use it in front of speakers but for panels I’m not too worried.


----------



## Snoochers

nathan_h said:


> Some GoM is good, and some is not. I would love to see measurements of the fabric we are using in this thread. My own impression is that I wouldn’t use it in front of speakers but for panels I’m not too worried.
> 
> View attachment 3223970


I think the fact you wouldn't use it in front of your speakers tells us something. The tests Floyd Toole talks about shows that having a fabric that is not completely acoustically transparent can significantly alter the way absorbing materials work.


----------



## nathan_h

Toole is intellectually allergic to absorption panels. That’s a little sarcastic but only a little.

He has good logic and science to back his opinion up, especially for two channel setups using speakers with flat response and wide, even dispersion — in rooms full of furniture and other materials that inherently engage in informal but extensive absorption and diffusion. 

But rather than strict edicts, the real proof is in measuring the room, and dialing in things like RT60 across the frequency range in a consistent manner. Most home theaters lack the kind of normal room stuff that Toole likes, that help rooms sound good, so it often makes sense to add materials to a theater. And of course most speakers are not the kind Toole likes, and tend to benefit from some taming.

In any event, I would encourage you to buy or borrow a piece of the fabric before placing a large order if you have concerns. It may not be acoustically transparent enough for your taste. But far more damaging is the practice of 3.5” panels when six inch thick panels are much more consistent across the frequency range above the room transition frequency than panels made from 1x4 boards. In other words, the non transparency is far less a problem than 3.5” panels from a scientific standpoint, yet most of us find even that compromise to be acceptable


----------



## Kothoga

Two more done, these will be mounted above my La Scala IIs.


----------



## cricket9998

Rockwool safe n sound is the most economical option. 703 is hard to get and overpriced. Home Depot has Rockwool and they have nearly identical NRC. Only problem is it’s soft so you need to staple backing fabric to pressure fit it. I made a bunch of panels from 1x6 which left 3 inches of air gap behind it and they significantly improved my front stage clarity.


----------



## tarponater

I'm new to this section of AVS, I spend most of my time in DIY Speakers and Subs. But the time came to put the finishing touches on the theater, so what better place to go than this thread. I would have never thought of doing something like this. Thanks to everyone that posted information. The link has an interesting twist to the traditional panels.















(Excuse the mess, the room is going through a few changes)
Custom-Printed Movie Poster Acoustic Panel...WITH A TWIST


----------



## nickbuol

tarponater said:


> I'm new to this section of AVS, I spend most of my time in DIY Speakers and Subs. But the time came to put the finishing touches on the theater, so what better place to go than this thread. I would have never thought of doing something like this. Thanks to everyone that posted information. The link has an interesting twist to the traditional panels.
> View attachment 3233185
> View attachment 3233186
> 
> (Excuse the mess, the room is going through a few changes)
> Custom-Printed Movie Poster Acoustic Panel...WITH A TWIST


As I stated on Facebook, these look great! Nice work!


----------



## jsharmer_8878

Hi All.. I was just wondering if anyone knew anyone who offered an image resizing as a service? Im trying to use old music concert posters for my images and just cant seem to get things right without blowing up the size of the images to over 300mb. I really love this idea and kind of have it set on getting this done but just cant find the time to get things sorted out that will make for a good image. Here's an example:


----------



## jerema12gbh

jsharmer_8878 said:


> Hi All.. I was just wondering if anyone knew anyone who offered an image resizing as a service? Im trying to use old music concert posters for my images and just cant seem to get things right without blowing up the size of the images to over 300mb. I really love this idea and kind of have it set on getting this done but just cant find the time to get things sorted out that will make for a good image. Here's an example:
> View attachment 3233316


google it, cause any online file resizer will help you


----------



## russelms

Is there a rule of thumb for separation between an in-wall or in-ceiling speaker and the edge of a 1x4 frame? I am considering lining my front sound stage which is in-walls, and then using the DIY panels on the rear and sides. Unsure based on the depth (3-4") how far they should be spaced around the speakers. Thanks!


----------



## nickbuol

jsharmer_8878 said:


> Hi All.. I was just wondering if anyone knew anyone who offered an image resizing as a service? Im trying to use old music concert posters for my images and just cant seem to get things right without blowing up the size of the images to over 300mb. I really love this idea and kind of have it set on getting this done but just cant find the time to get things sorted out that will make for a good image. Here's an example:


Shoot me a private message here at AVS and I will help you out.



jerema12gbh said:


> google it, cause any online file resizer will help you


Some online resizers don't do that well actually. That is why I use a $170 piece of software for the enlargements that I do for people. Not saying that there aren't good options out there though.


----------



## Kothoga

25% off is here again: *SewPowerful*


----------



## MrDennis

Did something change on the Moviemania website, seems I can't save an image as .jpg only webpage complete. I have tried using MS Edge and Chrome on two different computers.


----------



## galonzo

@MrDennis , I find that I need to add the extension when it asks where to save for Chrome, so when you click the size you're downloading, I add ".jpg" to the end of the filename and it saves fine.


----------



## MrDennis

galonzo said:


> @MrDennis , I find that I need to add the extension when it asks where to save for Chrome, so when you click the size you're downloading, I add ".jpg" to the end of the filename and it saves fine.


When I right click on the picture it doesn't give me an option to "same image as" just "save as", this is both in MS Edge and Chrome. Other websites I have no issue. 

Weird because I was saving picture files from Moviemania a couple months ago.


----------



## galonzo

Ah yes @MrDennis , you'll need to simply click the desired size below the image in order to download the image file, then as I said, you may need to append the filename with the ".jpg" before you click Save.


----------



## MrDennis

galonzo said:


> Ah yes @MrDennis , you'll need to simply click the desired size below the image in order to download the image file, then as I said, you may need to append the filename with the ".jpg" before you click Save.


Thank you, figured that out and now can download a file.


----------



## TakeshiKovacs

Hello everyone,

I have this thread, or rather V1, in my bookmarks for some time now and I want to treat my room to better acoustics. Thing is though, I'm located in germany and not in the states so I'm having a hard time sourcing the recommend materials or even find comparable ones. On top of that, I'm either stupid, or there is no way to search within this thread only (or the old one), so I have to rely on search engines to provide answers, but so far I was not succesfull. I want to start out with one wall of the hometheater to get a good feeling for it and work through the process. For the back wall, I would probably go double the thickness if I'm happy with the first wall. I'm aware of the "effect" just one side has, it's more the whole build process that I want to be familiar with, before I buy materials for the rest of the room.

I think the two most important points for me are:

1) *absorber material:* amazon seems to be the only vendor even having the OC 703, but they're not available (anymore) so I need an alternative. Rockwool seems to be readily available here and one product line that I saw recommend on a german home theather side was:

Rockwool Termarock 30 40 mm (1,575 inch) with a minimum raw density of kg/m³ | 30 (I forgot the specific word for it and translating Mindestorhdichte did not yield any results, I hope you get the meaning.) I would leave a gap of 20mm behind the absorber (0,787 inch).

So, first question here: Is that a reasonable absorber material to use in this combination for a "generic" treatment of the room? home theather is located in the basement, walls are only decorated with wallpaper, so the overall echo is quite bad. If there are better options that I should consider, for example 50mm instead of 40mm (which is closer to the 2" @nickboul suggested, that would be fine as well). The Termarock are also available in 40 and 50 kg/m³ of minimum raw density and equal thickness. This would

2) *fabric to use: *I think this one is quite tricky, because the translations make it really hard to search for something in german. Especially since I have no idea which product properties to look for exactly, or which ones are really relevant. I found one shop that is printing on elastic speaker fabric, but the print quality doesn't look that good from the pictures. I'll give them a call tomorrow and then I'll order a sample I guess. Anything for the fabric that I should look out for though?

Thanks everyone for the information you guys provided in this thread, very interesting stuff. And of course thanks @nickbuol for the fantastic write up.


----------



## nathan_h

TakeshiKovacs said:


> Hello everyone,
> 
> I have this thread, or rather V1, in my bookmarks for some time now and I want to treat my room to better acoustics. Thing is though, I'm located in germany and not in the states so I'm having a hard time sourcing the recommend materials or even find comparable ones. On top of that, I'm either stupid, or there is no way to search within this thread only (or the old one), so I have to rely on search engines to provide answers, but so far I was not succesfull. I want to start out with one wall of the hometheater to get a good feeling for it and work through the process. For the back wall, I would probably go double the thickness if I'm happy with the first wall. I'm aware of the "effect" just one side has, it's more the whole build process that I want to be familiar with, before I buy materials for the rest of the room.
> 
> I think the two most important points for me are:
> 
> 1) *absorber material:* amazon seems to be the only vendor even having the OC 703, but they're not available (anymore) so I need an alternative. Rockwool seems to be readily available here and one product line that I saw recommend on a german home theather side was:
> 
> Rockwool Termarock 30 40 mm (1,575 inch) with a minimum raw density of kg/m³ | 30 (I forgot the specific word for it and translating Mindestorhdichte did not yield any results, I hope you get the meaning.) I would leave a gap of 20mm behind the absorber (0,787 inch).
> 
> So, first question here: Is that a reasonable absorber material to use in this combination for a "generic" treatment of the room? home theather is located in the basement, walls are only decorated with wallpaper, so the overall echo is quite bad. If there are better options that I should consider, for example 50mm instead of 40mm (which is closer to the 2" @nickboul suggested, that would be fine as well). The Termarock are also available in 40 and 50 kg/m³ of minimum raw density and equal thickness. This would
> 
> 2) *fabric to use: *I think this one is quite tricky, because the translations make it really hard to search for something in german. Especially since I have no idea which product properties to look for exactly, or which ones are really relevant. I found one shop that is printing on elastic speaker fabric, but the print quality doesn't look that good from the pictures. I'll give them a call tomorrow and then I'll order a sample I guess. Anything for the fabric that I should look out for though?
> 
> Thanks everyone for the information you guys provided in this thread, very interesting stuff. And of course thanks @nickbuol for the fantastic write up.


That Rockwool product looks like it should do the job well.






Making cheap acoustic panels – Tom's 3D printing guides and reviews







toms3d.org





For places to print in Europe, I don't have any ideas. I know the popular place mentioned in this thread all the time does all their printing in SE Asia, if I have read their web site right. I know that doesn't help you specifically but maybe there are vendors in Europe that do the same thing.


----------



## RemixMark

TakeshiKovacs said:


> Hello everyone,
> 
> I have this thread, or rather V1, in my bookmarks for some time now and I want to treat my room to better acoustics. Thing is though, I'm located in germany and not in the states so I'm having a hard time sourcing the recommend materials or even find comparable ones. On top of that, I'm either stupid, or there is no way to search within this thread only (or the old one), so I have to rely on search engines to provide answers, but so far I was not succesfull. I want to start out with one wall of the hometheater to get a good feeling for it and work through the process. For the back wall, I would probably go double the thickness if I'm happy with the first wall. I'm aware of the "effect" just one side has, it's more the whole build process that I want to be familiar with, before I buy materials for the rest of the room.
> 
> I think the two most important points for me are:
> 
> 1) *absorber material:* amazon seems to be the only vendor even having the OC 703, but they're not available (anymore) so I need an alternative. Rockwool seems to be readily available here and one product line that I saw recommend on a german home theather side was:
> 
> Rockwool Termarock 30 40 mm (1,575 inch) with a minimum raw density of kg/m³ | 30 (I forgot the specific word for it and translating Mindestorhdichte did not yield any results, I hope you get the meaning.) I would leave a gap of 20mm behind the absorber (0,787 inch).
> 
> So, first question here: Is that a reasonable absorber material to use in this combination for a "generic" treatment of the room? home theather is located in the basement, walls are only decorated with wallpaper, so the overall echo is quite bad. If there are better options that I should consider, for example 50mm instead of 40mm (which is closer to the 2" @nickboul suggested, that would be fine as well). The Termarock are also available in 40 and 50 kg/m³ of minimum raw density and equal thickness. This would
> 
> 2) *fabric to use: *I think this one is quite tricky, because the translations make it really hard to search for something in german. Especially since I have no idea which product properties to look for exactly, or which ones are really relevant. I found one shop that is printing on elastic speaker fabric, but the print quality doesn't look that good from the pictures. I'll give them a call tomorrow and then I'll order a sample I guess. Anything for the fabric that I should look out for though?
> 
> Thanks everyone for the information you guys provided in this thread, very interesting stuff. And of course thanks @nickbuol for the fantastic write up.


Not sure if you saw my post, but this might help you find some oc703: 'DIY Custom-Printed Movie Poster Acoustic Panels - cheap!' Version 2.0 Discussion








'DIY Custom-Printed Movie Poster Acoustic Panels -...


VIDEO - Making Your Frames and Hanging Your Panels (disclaimer: I am not a professional YouTuber or internet personality. Please forgive my "ah"s and "um"s or any other verbal anomalies in any of my videos.) Hey Nick, thanks for posting this! Can you post a link for the hardware to anchor...




r.tapatalk.com






Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## TakeshiKovacs

Thanks for both your answers!

I guess I'll stick with the rockwool then unless someone has some other suggestions. @RemixMark Did not see that, but their website seems to only recognize US zip codes. Thanks for linking that though.


----------



## nathan_h

(FYI I used a version of Rockwool in my panels -- different model number than in Europe but looks to be the same in terms of specs, rigid "boards" of Rockwool. They are 3.5" deep so if you can go with 8cm to 9cm of rockwool, I think you will be very pleased with the results.)


----------



## TakeshiKovacs

nathan_h said:


> (FYI I used a version of Rockwool in my panels -- different model number than in Europe but looks to be the same in terms of specs, rigid "boards" of Rockwool. They are 3.5" deep so if you can go with 8cm to 9cm of rockwool, I think you will be very pleased with the results.)


Wow, 3,5", that's a lot. So yours contain 3,5" rockwool and then an additional 1,5" of clearance to the wall? So the overall thickness is about 5 inches? I'm just curious, because nickbuol talked about overall thickness of 3,5" with 1,5" air gap and 2" of insulation. Or is the difference because of the different materials? That's why I mentioned the 40mm (1,575") rockwools. I have the option for 60mm(2,362"), 80mm (3,15") or 100mm (3,937") in thickness. 

Thanks again for the helpful answers and discussions!


----------



## nathan_h

Sorry for the confusion. Basically I used almost a solid 3.5” and almost no gap.

Leaving a gap is fine. You get the same frequency range just a little less absorption (quantity).

--

Honestly if this was a dedicated room instead of a shared space, I would have created six inch panels since that would cover down to the upper bass region, which is ideal. But in a non dedicated room, it’s obnoxious to have six inch panels.

—

fyi yes rockwool isn’t quite as dense/absorptive as the Owens Corning stuff, but the difference is minor. 

--

In your case what size lumber do you have access to? I might let that guide my selection of what thickness of rockwool I get.


----------



## TakeshiKovacs

No worries, just wanted to make sure I got your point. 

With regards to lumber, my current plan is to use 20mm x 95mm (0,787" x 3,74") with the 60mm rockwool (2,362") which would leave roughly 1,4" of air gap. From what I've read so far, that seems to be a reasonable combination of thickness with an air gap, without standing out too much. Although it is a dedicated room, I don't want them sticking out too much. 

I've found a site that prints on speaker fabric for a fair price, but I'm currently struggling with the image process. Starts with finding good quality pictures to be honest, because I prefer posters with text on them. Hopefully reddit offers some good pictures. And then I have to figure out the border process and getting the image right. Lot's to learn still, but I'll get there eventually.


----------



## nathan_h

Unless you need the cost savings, I would go with the 80mm Rockwool. It won't change the look or size of the panel which will all fit within the wood frame you are planning (and will still cover the same frequency range) but it will provide more (amount) of acoustic absorption.

But either way should be helpful for sure.

For printing, people in the USA used to print movie posters with the words on them......but then ran into legal/copyright issues, and most places doing printing no longer accept an image like that. I'm not sure whether you will have a similar issue in Germany.


----------



## TakeshiKovacs

Oh, interesting. The printing was the problem, not the actual distribution of the posters. I haven't ordered any printing yet, because I wanted to start with the corner where my simracing rig is placed and use some pictures of the Nordschleife. Currently waiting for a quote from the shop, since they don't give out the actual pictures.

As for the rockwool, the 80mm is actually cheaper than the 60mm one. 28 bucks for 6 of the 80mm rockwool pieces, so that's a very fair price I'd say. I'll place an order now for one package of the rockwool and then pickup the lumber once that was delivered. 

Thanks again nathan, I appreciate your help!


----------



## nickbuol

In case someone wants a 20% off code, got this via email today: 



MyFabricDesigns said:


> Use code *Cotton20 *at checkout for 20% your order!
> Offer valid through 2/21/2022


----------



## Mr.6

At what height should I hang the acoustic panels?


----------



## nathan_h

Ear


----------



## Mr.6

nathan_h said:


> Ear


Centered i take it?


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## nathan_h

@Mr.6

I would say anywhere from 25 to 75 percent of the panel is adequate.

And many people prefer to start with them at the “first reflection” points on the side and rear walls (behind you).

This tends to work well in most rooms with most speakers.

If you want to go down the rabbit hole, there is a whole thread (and many related threads) on this the topic of where, how many, what type, etc: Acoustical Treatments Master Thread

Of if you want some more rules of thumb, rather than endless opinion, the guides at GIK Acoustics are not a bad approach at all.

And if you want something in between those extremes, and like to watch videos, this is a decent place to start:


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## nickbuol

Got this creative sale email this morning for 22% off:


MyFabricDesigns said:


> ...this sale is only good for TWO days! February 22-23rd, so be sure and order quick with code: *SaveTwo-Day *at checkout...


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## NextTime76

I've got a 14' x 14' room that opens up in the back to the larger family room/game room in the basement. I have no plans to permanently enclose it, but if you guys have any non-permanent suggestions, I'm all ears.

I still want the art on the walls, but should I be looking at maybe just making posters? Or would the acoustic panels still be worth it?


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## nathan_h

NextTime76 said:


> I've got a 14' x 14' room that opens up in the back to the larger family room/game room in the basement. I have no plans to permanently enclose it, but if you guys have any non-permanent suggestions, I'm all ears.
> 
> I still want the art on the walls, but should I be looking at maybe just making posters? Or would the acoustic panels still be worth it?


Panels would still be worth it. You just won't have to worry about the back wall, which is often a place of worry since people sit too close to the back wall. But with a whole room behind you, reflections from back wall will be less of a problem than in many rooms because you don't have a back all close to you.

(You will need larger subwoofers to fill that larger space.)

If you want to go down the rabbit hole, there is a whole thread (and many related threads) on this the topic of where, how many, what type, etc: Acoustical Treatments Master Thread

Or if you want some more rules of thumb, rather than endless opinion, the guides at GIK Acoustics web site are not a bad approach at all. You can even send them photos and a drawing of your ROOMS (all the open space not just the theater space) and they will advise you regarding what will make the most and best impact.

And if you want something in between those extremes, and like to watch videos, this is a decent place to start:


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## maestreaux

I'm in the process off make some panels my self. I see that My Fabric Designs now has a copyright warning on the upload your design file page. Will they still print movie posters? Anyone use them for this since that warning has been up?


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## nathan_h

If there are no words on the image it appears they don’t fret. And this is in part why wordless images are the recommended choice. Of course you assume any liability, one suspects.


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## nickbuol

maestreaux said:


> I'm in the process off make some panels my self. I see that My Fabric Designs now has a copyright warning on the upload your design file page. Will they still print movie posters? Anyone use them for this since that warning has been up?


They have asked for some time about copyright and whatever. They have never prevented someone from printing images in the past, but like nathan_h mentioned, not having words on there helps too, but they still print with words and logos.


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## Nen_Chill

Special thanks to @nickbuol ; .. without your videos , this project would never got completed 



































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## sollyemmy

Nen_Chill said:


> Special thanks to @nickbuol ; .. without your videos , this project would never got completed
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> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Bhayya - nuvvu thopu.. the posters look amazing especially the Bahubali one


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## maestreaux

Question on the fabric for making these. I have access to a print shop locally but they only "fabric" they can print on is canvas. Is canvas a good acoustic material to use for these panels? or is the Performance Knit from My Designs a much better choice?


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## nathan_h

Canvas is questionable. Can you blow air through it? Can you breath through it?


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## jsharmer_8878

So Ive gotten everything completed and have to say how amazed at how well things have turned out. The panels look amazing though honestly I had my doubts about the performance and didnt think they would make much of a difference related to fixing the acustics in my 2 channel setup but happy to report that the 9 panels I put up made a huge difference. I couldnt have asked for better sound from my system now and completely blown away by how well the panels work.


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## TakeshiKovacs

I have another question, while waiting for the first batch of fabrics to be delivered. I have some leftover foam here and before I throw it, I was wondering if it would harm anything if I put the foam behind the absorber material? So instead of having empty space behind the absorber, the foam is there. 

Any thoughts on this?


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## nathan_h

We don't know what kind of foam it is but acoustically it probably causes no harm to add it. Foam is not as cost effective as fiberglass/rockwool but the scenario you describe (using foam to fill an air gap behind a panel that is already full of rock wool or fiberglass that would otherwise just be open space) doesn't appear to be a problem. It might even increase the amount of absorption a little.

The only downside is if this is not acoustic foam or is otherwise a potential fire danger. Much non specialized foam is highly flammable, and I personally would avoid putting that on my wall.


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## Hydrargyrus

Hi all, I know you like seeing the finished products so I figured I'd share the ones I made for my home theater in the basement. Couldn't have done it without all the knowledge shared in this thread by Nick, Nathan, and others, so thank you very much for taking the time and effort to compile such a fantastic resource for others to use! I love how they came out, and everyone who steps foot in the room has had something positive to say about them. The effect on the acoustics has been really fantastic for both movies/tv as well as music!
































(this last one is a panoramic pic to try to get all of them in the same shot)


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## RemixMark

Hydrargyrus said:


> Hi all, I know you like seeing the finished products so I figured I'd share the ones I made for my home theater in the basement. Couldn't have done it without all the knowledge shared in this thread by Nick, Nathan, and others, so thank you very much for taking the time and effort to compile such a fantastic resource for others to use! I love how they came out, and everyone who steps foot in the room has had something positive to say about them. The effect on the acoustics has been really fantastic for both movies/tv as well as music!
> 
> View attachment 3253863
> View attachment 3253864
> View attachment 3253865
> View attachment 3253867
> 
> 
> 
> (this last one is a panoramic pic to try to get all of them in the same shot)
> 
> View attachment 3253868


Congrats! That’s a ton of work. Can you hear a big difference? It was night and day everywhere I put mine up. Did you use OC703?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Hydrargyrus

RemixMark said:


> Congrats! That’s a ton of work. Can you hear a big difference? It was night and day everywhere I put mine up. Did you use OC703?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks! Yep it's OC703, and yeah I can definitely hear a big difference. The entrance to the basement is via a stairway that drops into the middle of the room, on the other side of the stairwell is a pool table / bar area, and even in causal conversation I can hear a difference between the two areas, if we're hanging out and chatting in one spot vs the other. In terms of before / after, the most notable thing to me is better clarity in the dialogue when watching movies - before, it used to be muddled and hard to discern, despite a nice speaker setup - but in general I appreciate the clarity of all the sound compared to the reflections I could hear before. When I have a guest who's skeptical of how much of a difference they make, I tell them to try a simple test - stand in front of a flat wall next to one of the posters, and shout "hello". Then repeat the same a foot or two over, centered in front of a poster. You can just _feel _your voice being swallowed up by the poster, it's so neat.

Here are some more images of the build process that I didn't initially include since I didn't want to flood the post with pictures - Acoustic Panels


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## RemixMark

Hydrargyrus said:


> Thanks! Yep it's OC703, and yeah I can definitely hear a big difference. The entrance to the basement is via a stairway that drops into the middle of the room, on the other side of the stairwell is a pool table / bar area, and even in causal conversation I can hear a difference between the two areas, if we're hanging out and chatting in one spot vs the other. In terms of before / after, the most notable thing to me is better clarity in the dialogue when watching movies - before, it used to be muddled and hard to discern, despite a nice speaker setup - but in general I appreciate the clarity of all the sound compared to the reflections I could hear before. When I have a guest who's skeptical of how much of a difference they make, I tell them to try a simple test - stand in front of a flat wall next to one of the posters, and shout "hello". Then repeat the same a foot or two over, centered in front of a poster. You can just _feel _your voice being swallowed up by the poster, it's so neat.
> 
> Here are some more images of the build process that I didn't initially include since I didn't want to flood the post with pictures - Acoustic Panels


Love the pizza box roller stand  These work great as well, if you ever get sick of the cardboard that is. All jokes aside these came out great and just goes to show how much you can do with a few basic tools. I opted for a brad nailer for the corners vs pocket holes and screws to save some time.

"Swallowing" the sounds is a great way to put it. How much of an air gap did you have in the back and what'd you cover the rear with? What's the print w/ the circle inside of the triangle and the bottom half of the woman's face below the house?

When I did my posters I noticed the reds and oranges really popped in such a great way. Did you notice that with your Stranger Things print and, to a lesser extent, your Episode III print?

I could see some array speakers fitting SOOO great between your acoustic panels if you want to take those surrounds down and have some speakers more ear height. You can see all the JBL "Constant Beamwidth Technology" speakers here. And some of them w/ pricing here.


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## amanfromearth

RemixMark said:


> Congrats! That’s a ton of work. Can you hear a big difference? It was night and day everywhere I put mine up. Did you use OC703?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


look great! Can you share where you got the printing done? What fabric?


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## RemixMark

amanfromearth said:


> look great! Can you share where you got the printing done? What fabric?


Oh thanks, yea with the help of @nickbuol and @aron7awol things turned out really great. I ordered the prints from www.myfabricdesigns.com and used the performance knit fabric. I highly suggest you ask lots of questions here and read the first few posts as this is mentioned in post 8 in this thread. There's a wealth of knowledge here if you're comfortable DIYing some acoustic panels.


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## Hydrargyrus

RemixMark said:


> Love the pizza box roller stand  These work great as well, if you ever get sick of the cardboard that is. All jokes aside these came out great and just goes to show how much you can do with a few basic tools. I opted for a brad nailer for the corners vs pocket holes and screws to save some time.
> 
> "Swallowing" the sounds is a great way to put it. How much of an air gap did you have in the back and what'd you cover the rear with? What's the print w/ the circle inside of the triangle and the bottom half of the woman's face below the house?
> 
> When I did my posters I noticed the reds and oranges really popped in such a great way. Did you notice that with your Stranger Things print and, to a lesser extent, your Episode III print?
> 
> I could see some array speakers fitting SOOO great between your acoustic panels if you want to take those surrounds down and have some speakers more ear height. You can see all the JBL "Constant Beamwidth Technology" speakers here. And some of them w/ pricing here.


Haha thanks, yeah the roller stand would have been great, I'll have to keep that in mind next time I break out the miter saw for a project. I left about a 1" air gap - the frames were 3.5" thick, and I used 2" oc703, but I didn't press the fiberglass all the way against the front of the frame, I found when the fabric was stretched over the front that you could see dimples from the fiberglass, so I would snug the fiberglass about 1/2" from the front of the frame to keep the fabric touching only the frame as it was wrapped across the front. If it were perfectly snug to the front, it would have left a 1.5" air gap, but that's why I'm approximating about 1". The back is covered with a cheap bed sheet that I picked up at target. I think I got a king size, and it came with both a fitted and regular sheet, so between those two I was able to cover the backs of all 13 of the posters - you can see it in the dropbox link, pictures 10 & 11, it's the gray sheet stapled when I am still working in my garage.

The triangle with the circle inside is a critical aspect & namesake of the last Harry Potter novel (split into films 7 & 8) known as the Deathly Hallows.

The house & woman's face is from Mike Flanagan's adaptation of Shirley Jackson's novel Haunting of Hill House. A brilliant 10 episode series on Netflix that addresses the natural aspects of grief, trauma, and addiction, using the lens of a supernatural ghost story. One of the best filmed works I've EVER seen, coming from a big literature/movie nerd. If you haven't seen it and are into horror (it's not extremely scary, but if you don't like horror you probably won't like it), I would highly, highly recommend. Few things I've ever watched have ever reached me, to the core, the way that series did.

And yes, I found the reds & oranges to look fantastic on the prints. That's why we have the Episode III & Stranger Things ones in the 2 & 4 spot on the back wall, to sort've visually balance themselves between the darker and less vibrant ones. The colors just pop and look great. Man, that Episode III scene, with the blue lightsabers among the backdrop of Mustafar & Vader's face overlooking... it's wonderous to look at. It's also why we kept those on the back wall, wanting to have the ones on the wall near the projector to have darker & more muted colors, I didn't want the vibrancy of the EpIII and ST posters catching the eyes of viewers trying to pay attention to the screen, lol. Although I do have them all mounted identically so I can swap posters around at will if I'd like. You'll notice I made 13, but only hung 10 (have since hung 2 more on the staircase wall, pretty much opposite the LotR & Pirates posters) - but I wanted to maximize the output of the materials I had purchased & give some flexibility to change things around if I'd like. 

I appreciate the heads up on the array speakers, and I agree they'd look great potentially - but they check in at double what my L/R speakers cost so I think they'd have to come at a time when I'm looking to make a more significant upgrade to the system... and with a little one on the way, it might be tough trying to convince the wife that it's a great idea at this time  When it came to the spacing of the frames / rear surrounds, I ended up aligning the rear surrounds first, based on centering a focal point on the couch to give a centralized focused listening point. Then I came across the idea of the posters, and when planning that rear wall, we wanted to space the posters basically from the side to where the stairway comes down, which fit five nicely. So if you're just looking at the back wall & the speakers, they might seem spaced out a little odd / off center, but when you stand back and look it becomes apparent why they're spaced that way.


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## RemixMark

Oh thanks for the recommendation of Haunting of Hill House. My wife and I just watched Midnight Mass and binged through it quickly. This may be right up our Alley.

You're not wrong about the brightness being distracted close to the screen. I may end up moving my Vader panel. Depending on where I sit the light saber may catch the corner of my eye:









I know exactly what you mean about the texture of OC703 showing through the performance knit. Not a bad idea to just leave it set back just a hair if you're a tad OCD about that kinda stuff. 

I have a two extra prints as well just because we saw so many great images we wanted to incorporate. I hope to move them by my concession stand once I finish building a permanent one out of wood this spring. I still have one full panel of OC703. I should probably spend the ~$30 and order one more print from myfabricdesigns.com to use it up.


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## Hydrargyrus

RemixMark said:


> Oh thanks for the recommendation of Haunting of Hill House. My wife and I just watched Midnight Mass and binged through it quickly. This may be right up our Alley.
> 
> You're not wrong about the brightness being distracted close to the screen. I may end up moving my Vader panel. Depending on where I sit the light saber may catch the corner of my eye:
> View attachment 3254064
> 
> 
> I know exactly what you mean about the texture of OC703 showing through the performance knit. Not a bad idea to just leave it set back just a hair if you're a tad OCD about that kinda stuff.
> 
> I have a two extra prints as well just because we saw so many great images we wanted to incorporate. I hope to move them by my concession stand once I finish building a permanent one out of wood this spring. I still have one full panel of OC703. I should probably spend the ~$30 and order one more print from myfabricdesigns.com to use it up.
> 
> View attachment 3254067


Looks great! I'll have to check out your thread at some point, I'm at work currently so I can't really browse. I can see what you mean about the lightsaber, it's a pretty bright red. Great choice on the print through. Like you said, there are a lot of great options out there. I was originally going to make 8, but running numbers again and looking at the breakpoints for fiberglass shipment (couldn't find a local OC703 supplier) and lumber availability, we decided to go ahead with 13 to give us some flexibility - I'm glad we did, because having 5 on that rear wall I feel really helps, and it fills out the room better visually to have 5 on each of the two walls. My wife and I ended up making voting brackets to narrow down our image selections, it was a fun part of the process!

If you enjoyed Midnight Mass, I have a feeling you'll love Hill House. Out of the Flanagan Netflix series, I'd personally rank them HH > Bly Manor > MM, I enjoyed MM but just felt like the monologues got to be a bit much and took from the flow of the plot/action. Although, I have yet to do a rewatch and I have a feeling that might change things. I've watched both HH and BM multiple times and Flanagan is so detail oriented and purposeful with his directing that each rewatch definitely further enriches the experience.

I love the concession stand! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with for the permanent build. A friend of mine brought his popcorn machine for a LotR marathon we did after we had most of the theater completed and it was awesome. Opening the door to go down into the basement, you were just hit with a wall of the aroma that seemed to just transport you to the 'theater experience'. I may try to figure out a way to incorporate one for movie nights but I'll have to figure out spacing & setup as we're a bit strapped on open floor space at this point (the other side of the stairs has a pool table & bar so it's more of a multipurpose entertainment area than a dedicated theater). Funny we both started our projects about a year ago.


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## nickbuol

For those that can't get other codes to work or that have expired, a new discount code was released today:



My Fabric Designs said:


> Save 20% now on your custom printed fabric order with code *CustomFabric20* at checkout
> Offer valid through 3/25/22


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## RemixMark

Hydrargyrus said:


> Looks great! I'll have to check out your thread at some point, I'm at work currently so I can't really browse. I can see what you mean about the lightsaber, it's a pretty bright red. Great choice on the print through. Like you said, there are a lot of great options out there. I was originally going to make 8, but running numbers again and looking at the breakpoints for fiberglass shipment (couldn't find a local OC703 supplier) and lumber availability, we decided to go ahead with 13 to give us some flexibility - I'm glad we did, because having 5 on that rear wall I feel really helps, and it fills out the room better visually to have 5 on each of the two walls. My wife and I ended up making voting brackets to narrow down our image selections, it was a fun part of the process!
> 
> If you enjoyed Midnight Mass, I have a feeling you'll love Hill House. Out of the Flanagan Netflix series, I'd personally rank them HH > Bly Manor > MM, I enjoyed MM but just felt like the monologues got to be a bit much and took from the flow of the plot/action. Although, I have yet to do a rewatch and I have a feeling that might change things. I've watched both HH and BM multiple times and Flanagan is so detail oriented and purposeful with his directing that each rewatch definitely further enriches the experience.
> 
> I love the concession stand! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with for the permanent build. A friend of mine brought his popcorn machine for a LotR marathon we did after we had most of the theater completed and it was awesome. Opening the door to go down into the basement, you were just hit with a wall of the aroma that seemed to just transport you to the 'theater experience'. I may try to figure out a way to incorporate one for movie nights but I'll have to figure out spacing & setup as we're a bit strapped on open floor space at this point (the other side of the stairs has a pool table & bar so it's more of a multipurpose entertainment area than a dedicated theater). Funny we both started our projects about a year ago.


Downloaded both seasons of The Haunting of Hill House. Looking forward to checking this one out! I am also sitting in the Amazon series Reacher that looks like it has some great bone snapping bass I want to see. Love decisions like this 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## TakeshiKovacs

Alright, time to post my results as well I guess, although I'm not finished yet. But first of all, once again a big thank you to every one providing information and help in this thread!

Since I'm not based in the US, I had to look for an alternative supplier for the prints and I was able to find one on etsy. I'll write a more detailed review of the prints and interaction with the seller once I have ordered and received the remaining prints. But for one, I'm really happy with the result. These 3 cost me 125$ including shipping from Malaysia for a size of roughly 27"x40"










Now that I have a better understanding of all the quirks, I want to order the remaining prints but I'm having a hard time finding a suitable picture where the resolution is high enough. My plan is to use this picture of gravity for the frame at the back, with a size of roughly of 86" x 40". The room is painted black, so this picture would be a very neat gimmick at the back of the room I think. Good thing is, I don't need a big printing area when it is printed on black fabric. The problem is, the astronaut needs to be big enough to be still visible on this bigger frame but I can't seem to find a higher resolution of this picture. (checked moviemania, theposterdb and several search engines). I haven't watched the image enhancement video from @nickbuol yet, but I might as well just watch it now. So if anybody has any suggestions for this, I'm all ears.


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## 4fit?

TakeshiKovacs said:


> Alright, time to post my results as well I guess, although I'm not finished yet. But first of all, once again a big thank you to every one providing information and help in this thread!
> 
> Since I'm not based in the US, I had to look for an alternative supplier for the prints and I was able to find one on etsy. I'll write a more detailed review of the prints and interaction with the seller once I have ordered and received the remaining prints. But for one, I'm really happy with the result. These 3 cost me 125$ including shipping from Malaysia for a size of roughly 27"x40"
> 
> View attachment 3255216


Digging the Band of Brothers print. I've been thinking about ordering that one in landscape format myself. 

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk


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## nickbuol

TakeshiKovacs said:


> Now that I have a better understanding of all the quirks, I want to order the remaining prints but I'm having a hard time finding a suitable picture where the resolution is high enough. My plan is to use this picture of gravity for the frame at the back, with a size of roughly of 86" x 40". The room is painted black, so this picture would be a very neat gimmick at the back of the room I think. Good thing is, I don't need a big printing area when it is printed on black fabric. The problem is, the astronaut needs to be big enough to be still visible on this bigger frame but I can't seem to find a higher resolution of this picture. (checked moviemania, theposterdb and several search engines). I haven't watched the image enhancement video from @nickbuol yet, but I might as well just watch it now. So if anybody has any suggestions for this, I'm all ears.
> 
> View attachment 3255217


Sadly, I looked through all of my files and only have the gravity poster image like the one below that I've ever had anyone ask for. I don't have the astronaut image. I looked up what I could find via Google, and it was pretty small. I still tried to enlarge it and tweak it, but faking detail on such a small image just makes it grainy and look "out of focus."











The astronaut image is a large 10+MB image, which is large for something with so much black background with some stars, and you will see what I mean.

I tried to attach it here, but AVS compresses it down to 1 MB

So I put it on my Google Drive and will send you a link to it. Again, it isn't great since the source images were so small to start with, but if you find anything useful with it, then great.


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## allen.williams.22

nathan_h said:


> Great idea to make a fresh thread where the first few posts can serve as an FAQ and be updated as needed.
> 
> Per your request @nickbuol I’m copying my post from the old thread to this one. However I am sure once the videos and faqs are update they will answer my questions……
> 
> Was going to try to cut up something like this:
> 
> View attachment 3193423
> 
> 
> which is a wordless version of this:
> 
> View attachment 3193425
> 
> 
> for example. So I’m hunting around online to find the best source to start with.
> 
> Being mostly solid colors and illustrated my back up plan is to do touch up work on the best image I can find if I can’t find one large enough or high enough quality.
> 
> Anyway, not expecting anyone to do the work for me, and it sucks that someone stole your work. Just looking for advice to help me learn.
> 
> ——-
> 
> If I don’t manage to fret something usable like the above example, I may make it easier on myself and just find the largest versions of these, make a three version of two of them, and call it good.
> 
> View attachment 3193428
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> 
> View attachment 3193429
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> ——
> 
> Or this one, which appears to be large, so I could cut the top off to make it 3:1 ratio for a three panel version.
> 
> View attachment 3193430
> 
> 
> 
> though my ideal is to find something related to 2001, perhaps one of the painted promotional images. like the following image, I could cut the bottom off, until getting close to the spaceship, and then trim a little from the top, if more trimming was needed, in order to get the right aspect ratio.
> 
> View attachment 3193431
> 
> 
> 
> Kind of like:
> 
> View attachment 3193432


what site did you find these images?


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## nathan_h

I used the sites that Nick talks about in his videos.


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## maestreaux

I just completed my first panel. It came out pretty good. My only disappointment is with the print image itself. I printed just 3 to start with at MyFabicDegins on the performance knit and the colors on all 3 are quite dull. After seeing all the cool images on this thread I was surprised at how dull and washed out they look in comparison to everyone else. The blacks are somewhat dark but the colors do not pop like was expecting or reading about in this thread. Any suggestions on what I should do before I print the rest?


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## nickbuol

maestreaux said:


> I just completed my first panel. It came out pretty good. My only disappointment is with the print image itself. I printed just 3 to start with at MyFabicDegins on the performance knit and the colors on all 3 are quite dull. After seeing all the cool images on this thread I was surprised at how dull and washed out they look in comparison to everyone else. The blacks are somewhat dark but the colors do not pop like was expecting or reading about in this thread. Any suggestions on what I should do before I print the rest?
> View attachment 3256449


Hmmm. That is interesting since most people agree that the performance knit has the best black levels (thus highest contrast capabilities) and color.

For people that I work on images for, I usually add a little extra color saturation and a tiny touch of highlight and contrast "pop" but even without that, it shouldn't look dull unless the source image didn't have the contrast. Sorry that it doesn't meet your expectations.


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## gvfreeman1

Still editing my photos but will be ordering soon. Are there any updated coupon codes? It looks like CustomFabric20 expired 03/25/2022. Thanks for all the advice in here. Looking forward to building these.

As I was loading my prints onto MyFabricsDesign account the option for Performance Knit is nowhere to be seen in the drop down menu. I'm not sure if it is out of stock temporarily or permanently. With Silky Faille being way too short at 42" does anyone have a recommendation that is better than Basic Combined Cotton if Performance Knit does not pop back up as an option in the next few days?


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## nickbuol

gvfreeman1 said:


> Still editing my photos but will be ordering soon. Are there any updated coupon codes? It looks like CustomFabric20 expired 03/25/2022. Thanks for all the advice in here. Looking forward to building these.
> 
> As I was loading my prints onto MyFabricsDesign account the option for Performance Knit is nowhere to be seen in the drop down menu. I'm not sure if it is out of stock temporarily or permanently. With Silky Faille being way too short at 42" does anyone have a recommendation that is better than Basic Combined Cotton if Performance Knit does not pop back up as an option in the next few days?


I haven't seen a new one recently myself. I'll be sure to post the next time I get an email about one.


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## flatblackratrod

gvfreeman1 said:


> Still editing my photos but will be ordering soon. Are there any updated coupon codes? It looks like CustomFabric20 expired 03/25/2022. Thanks for all the advice in here. Looking forward to building these.
> 
> As I was loading my prints onto MyFabricsDesign account the option for Performance Knit is nowhere to be seen in the drop down menu. I'm not sure if it is out of stock temporarily or permanently. With Silky Faille being way too short at 42" does anyone have a recommendation that is better than Basic Combined Cotton if Performance Knit does not pop back up as an option in the next few days?


And now through 4.1.22 take 15% off your custom fabric order with coupon code: PhotoPrint


Sent from my Pixel 4a using Tapatalk


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## 4fit?

gvfreeman1 said:


> Still editing my photos but will be ordering soon. Are there any updated coupon codes? It looks like CustomFabric20 expired 03/25/2022. Thanks for all the advice in here. Looking forward to building these.


Haven't tested it lately, but fabric25 has been yielding 25% off for years. 

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk


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## nickbuol

I might need to make sure that they are still sending me codes. LOL


----------



## gvfreeman1

fabric25 still works. Thanks. Are there any other fabric recommendations in here? I'm in the dark here since the widely chosen Performance Knit isn't an option right now.


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## jbushmire_4368

I made 5 panels with the 703 OC and Performance knit and they came out great (other than I did something wrong and they were less tall than I expected so I had to cut the insulation). I went to do more and also discovered that myfabricdesigns is not listing Performance Knit. Has anyone used the other fabrics Nick mentions?


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## TooManyTimeZones

Response from My Fabric Designs:

"We have unfortunately discontinued the Performance Knit from the selection of fabrics that we offer. If you want a stretch fabric, I might suggest our Polyester Pongee Silk as it is very similar to the Performance Knit just a bit lighter in weight with a slightly narrower printable width. You can see the comparison of these fabrics below. There is also a price difference as the Polyester Pongee silk is only $15.50yd, which is $9.50 less than the performance knit.​Performance Knit 60” wide 3.83oz per sq yd​Polyester Pongee Silk 58” wide 3.39oz per sq yd"​​@nickbuol : Any suggestions for an alternative fabric?


----------



## nickbuol

TooManyTimeZones said:


> Response from My Fabric Designs:
> 
> "We have unfortunately discontinued the Performance Knit from the selection of fabrics that we offer. If you want a stretch fabric, I might suggest our Polyester Pongee Silk as it is very similar to the Performance Knit just a bit lighter in weight with a slightly narrower printable width. You can see the comparison of these fabrics below. There is also a price difference as the Polyester Pongee silk is only $15.50yd, which is $9.50 less than the performance knit.​Performance Knit 60” wide 3.83oz per sq yd​Polyester Pongee Silk 58” wide 3.39oz per sq yd"​​@nickbuol : Any suggestions for an alternative fabric?


It was bound to happen at some point. Spoonflower dropped their Performance Knit years ago too.

I will reach out to them and see if there have a fabric sample set that they can send me. In the meantime, there are still Silky Faille and Basic Combed Cotton that people have used.

I will let you know what I hear back from them.


----------



## nickbuol

Quick update. MFD responded to my message already and are helping me out (due to the amount of people I've sent their way for business over the years) to get fabric samples that I can use to gauge fabric quality and sound transparency.

They are shooting to ship the special samples out to me on Monday, but I don't know how long it will take to get them, but I will do a quick low-tech test of sound transparency and then look to set up my testing rig again for more formal tests in a month-ish. We moved from Iowa to Florida in January, staying in temporary housing for 2 months before getting a house squared away. We still have a lot to unpack before I can get out a speaker and my calibrated mic to do measurements.

Anyway, I wanted to let you know that MFD is helping me out with this and I should have something relatively soon.


----------



## CycleGirl

We just finished our panels this weekend! I found the images and did the work in Gimp. I'm not a photoshop person, so the digital editing process took a while. My husband did the carpentry. We hung them together and the final result exceed my expectations for how they added color to a theater that was a bit drab before. Thanks so much for @nickbuol and for everyone else who contributed to this thread!

We filled them with the Rockwool R-15, which is on closeout at Home Depot in the Seattle area for about $35 a batt. These are 15" x 48" x 3.5". They were a great fit in the simple 1x4 frames we built (actual 0.75 x 3.5). 

For hanging them we used aluminum cleats from OOK. They're a bit more pricey than other solutions, but we knew that they would be robust and give us horizontal latitude and allow the frames to mount fairly close to the wall, which we wanted. If I had planned ahead a little better, I would have ordered an aluminum french cleat multipack from Amazon, such as the BIGTEDDY. We've made french cleats out of 1x2 wood before (that is how the step diffuser is hung on the white door in the back) but I wanted something more compact this time.









NOW... (ignore the crown molding in the back. new HDMI cable going to the back closet "projection room")







Anyway, all of the small absorbers and little diffusers are gone. The 3-piece absorber covers the window and large wall area.

WAS... We had a window in a really awkward spot. We filled in the window cavity and covered it, then put dampers and diffusers around it. For a while we were proud of it because the room sounded good, but it looked kludged together.


----------



## nickbuol

CycleGirl said:


> We just finished our panels this weekend! I found the images and did the work in Gimp. I'm not a photoshop person, so the digital editing process took a while. My husband did the carpentry. We hung them together and the final result exceed my expectations for how they added color to a theater that was a bit drab before. Thanks so much for @nickbuol and for everyone else who contributed to this thread!
> 
> We filled them with the Rockwool R-15, which is on closeout at Home Depot in the Seattle area for about $35 a batt. These are 15" x 48" x 3.5". They were a great fit in the simple 1x4 frames we built (actual 0.75 x 3.5).
> 
> For hanging them we used aluminum cleats from OOK. They're a bit more pricey than other solutions, but we knew that they would be robust and give us horizontal latitude and allow the frames to mount fairly close to the wall, which we wanted. If I had planned ahead a little better, I would have ordered an aluminum french cleat multipack from Amazon, such as the BIGTEDDY. We've made french cleats out of 1x2 wood before (that is how the step diffuser is hung on the white door in the back) but I wanted something more compact this time.
> 
> View attachment 3264672
> 
> NOW... (ignore the crown molding in the back. new HDMI cable going to the back closet "projection room")
> View attachment 3264666
> 
> Anyway, all of the small absorbers and little diffusers are gone. The 3-piece absorber covers the window and large wall area.
> 
> WAS... We had a window in a really awkward spot. We filled in the window cavity and covered it, then put dampers and diffusers around it. For a while we were proud of it because the room sounded good, but it looked kludged together.
> 
> View attachment 3264665


Looks great! I love that you have a nice variety of acoustical treatments to really take your room's sound to the next level.


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## Movie Maniac

Hello AVS forum! I've spent the last two years finishing my basement and lurking on these forums to create my home theater, with these acoustic panels always in the back of my mind. I finally reached a point that I am ready to pull the trigger on this poster project, but I do have a couple of questions that some of you folks may be able to answer. 

During the construction of the basement I went overboard with lots of things simply because I wanted to ensure that I had no regrets after the walls were covered with drywall. I ran all of the speaker and subwoofer cables through the walls, I double layered drywall on the ceiling with green glue in between, built speaker boxes, etc. But I also decided to install sconces on the wall that would rest above each poster. These sconces have a 2" gap between the back of the light and the wall and I would like to avoid having the light blocked by the acoustic panels themselves. So the first big question I have is whether or not 2" acoustic panels will offer any real sound absorption, or do these panels need to be in the three to four inch range? I love this idea and this project, but I would hate to have wasted the time, energy, and money on panels that provide little to no acoustic enhancement.

It also appears as though I couldn't have timed the starting of this project any worse, as the "go-to" fabric of choice for the forum is now no longer available. Should I hold off on putting in my fabric orders until we hear back about the quality of the samples? I plan on making a significant amount of these (14-16) and I would hate to find out that there is a better fabric out there a week after I receive my order. (Sorry for the long winded post, I didn't realize I had so much to say).

Thank you!


----------



## Bbapache

Hey everyone,
I'm starting to plan out my construction while waiting on @nickbuol 's opinions about fabric and have a question about the type of boards to use for the frame. Available nearby is:
1 in. x 4 in. x 8 ft. Furring Strip Board - *$4.85*
WeatherShield1 in. x 4 in. x 4 ft. Appearance Grade Pressure-Treated Board - *$4.18*
1 in. x 4 in. x 8 ft. Premium Kiln-Dried Square Edge Whitewood Common Board - *$7.58*

I'm not sure what would work the best for this application. Anyone's thoughts would be greatly appreciated!


----------



## CycleGirl

Bbapache said:


> Hey everyone,
> I'm starting to plan out my construction while waiting on @nickbuol 's opinions about fabric and have a question about the type of boards to use for the frame. Available nearby is:
> 1 in. x 4 in. x 8 ft. Furring Strip Board - *$4.85*
> WeatherShield1 in. x 4 in. x 4 ft. Appearance Grade Pressure-Treated Board - *$4.18*
> 1 in. x 4 in. x 8 ft. Premium Kiln-Dried Square Edge Whitewood Common Board - *$7.58*
> 
> I'm not sure what would work the best for this application. Anyone's thoughts would be greatly appreciated!


We used the last. The Whitewood Common Board. It seemed like a good compromise between straightness + edge quality and cost. It came in 6ft lengths where we are.


----------



## nickbuol

Movie Maniac said:


> Hello AVS forum! I've spent the last two years finishing my basement and lurking on these forums to create my home theater, with these acoustic panels always in the back of my mind. I finally reached a point that I am ready to pull the trigger on this poster project, but I do have a couple of questions that some of you folks may be able to answer.
> 
> During the construction of the basement I went overboard with lots of things simply because I wanted to ensure that I had no regrets after the walls were covered with drywall. I ran all of the speaker and subwoofer cables through the walls, I double layered drywall on the ceiling with green glue in between, built speaker boxes, etc. But I also decided to install sconces on the wall that would rest above each poster. These sconces have a 2" gap between the back of the light and the wall and I would like to avoid having the light blocked by the acoustic panels themselves. So the first big question I have is whether or not 2" acoustic panels will offer any real sound absorption, or do these panels need to be in the three to four inch range? I love this idea and this project, but I would hate to have wasted the time, energy, and money on panels that provide little to no acoustic enhancement.
> 
> It also appears as though I couldn't have timed the starting of this project any worse, as the "go-to" fabric of choice for the forum is now no longer available. Should I hold off on putting in my fabric orders until we hear back about the quality of the samples? I plan on making a significant amount of these (14-16) and I would hate to find out that there is a better fabric out there a week after I receive my order. (Sorry for the long winded post, I didn't realize I had so much to say).
> 
> Thank you!


2" panels will still do amazing things for you. The thicker panels (either with insulation or an air gap) will boost performance into deeper frequency ranges.

Stay tuned for some updates on the fabrics...


----------



## nickbuol

Bbapache said:


> Hey everyone,
> I'm starting to plan out my construction while waiting on @nickbuol 's opinions about fabric and have a question about the type of boards to use for the frame. Available nearby is:
> 1 in. x 4 in. x 8 ft. Furring Strip Board - *$4.85*
> WeatherShield1 in. x 4 in. x 4 ft. Appearance Grade Pressure-Treated Board - *$4.18*
> 1 in. x 4 in. x 8 ft. Premium Kiln-Dried Square Edge Whitewood Common Board - *$7.58*
> 
> I'm not sure what would work the best for this application. Anyone's thoughts would be greatly appreciated!


Kiln dried lumber usually is going to start and stay straighter over time. The other products I can't vouch for specifically, but usually a furring strip board is pretty low grade lumber.

I used Poplar for all of my frames, but I know that is still a fairly pricy option for people too. Poplar is super straight, low sap product that doesn't "dry out" over time like pine because it was never that "wet" (sappy) to begin with...

Sorry, I know that isn't much help.

If you are too concerned, you could always add corner braces and a center brace to try to hold things square too. That is the main concern with the lumber... Oh and knot free. Imperfections like that can telescope through the fabric. Then again, some wood filler and sanding can rectify that situation too.


----------



## nickbuol

Quick fabric update. 

I received my 8" x 8" samples of fabric from MFD. There are 25 of these suckers.

I planned to do a full acoustical transparency measurement on these, but I 1) don't even have my speakers unboxed after moving from Iowa to Florida, 2) I am not 100% sure where the box is that has my calibrated microphone, and 3) I don't have even a clue where all of my tools are in the garage (to create the fabric holding frames and stand to hold the fabric between the speaker and my calibrated microphone).

I don't, however, want to slow down people getting their prints going.

Some of these are an easy "Nope" because their image quality is low, or the material is honestly too thin, etc. Some seem double layered, which might put them into that same category. 

I just got these, so give me a little time to create a basic spreadsheet with initial thoughts on the image quality, non-scientific acoustical transparency, and how much they do or don't stretch.

Stay tuned as it might take a day or so. I have a softball game to go watch that starts in 15 minutes and is a double header, and I will be gone for 2 hours tomorrow night as well. I will at least get started.


----------



## nickbuol

I am trying to provide some information timely for everyone, so I did a rough "Round - 1" examination of each of these fabrics. I want to go back and look at the best options, see if I can differentiate more between the top contenders, but at least you have my initial thoughts.... I will set up a sharable file when I have more sorted out, but for now this copy/paste of my Excel sheet that I am working on. (*Note: This has been added to the main table of contents and the first page (Post #15) of posts as well for easier reference.*)


FabricPrintable WidthThread CountOverall Image QualityImage ColorImage ClarityFabric SheenStretchyAT "Blow Test"ViableNotesBasic Combed Cotton54"100x76GoodGoodGoodMatteMinorOK-LowYesCan see the weave and is visually see through.Cotton Poplin42"144x84Good-GreatGood-GreatGreatMatteNoOKYesNice color and clarity. Looks good, slightly see-through against contrasting background.Cotton Silk42"UnknownOKGoodOKSatinNoOKMaybeCan see the weave and it impacts the clarity. Slightly see through, but not bad.Cotton Voile42"108x100Good -GreatGoodGoodMatteMinimalOKMaybeVery thin fabric making it see-through and contrast isn't the best. Due toFaux Linen Canvas54"40x50TerribleOKTerribleMatteNoMinimalNoBad weave level makes this completely unusable.Faux Linen Slub42"90x90OKGoodOKMatteNoOKLast resortWeave is visible and fabric is slightly see-through. I would choose something else.Faux Linen Slub Sheer58"72x55TerriblePoorPoorMatteNoYesNoLoose weave and very see through and this destroys the image quality.Flame Retardant Faux Linen Canvas56"40x30TerribleOKTerribleMatteNoYesNoLike Faux Linen Canvas, but a very loose knit making it just as ugly, but also very see-through. Don't use this.Heavy Cotton Twill58"136x60PoorGoodPoorSatinNoNoNoNice color, but very textured fabric reduces image clarity and fails the breathability test.Interlock Blend46"UnknownOKVibrantOKSatinSignificant in one directionGreatMaybeFabric seems to have a little color bleed which takes a little bit from the clarity. If stretched, the image starts to show white (not good).Linen Cotton Blend50"103x42PoorGoodPoorMatteNoNoNoStrong variable visible weave gives more of an "industrial" look, but hurts image quality.Nylon Lycra Blend56UnknownPoorPoorOKMatteSignificant in both directionsYesNoFabric almost looks "grey" as an base color, thus making everything else very dull. Not recommended.Organic Cotton Interlock Knit58"UnknownOKGood-GreatOKMatteSignificant in one directionGoodYesCan see the weave in one direction. Good at not being see-through.Organic Cotton Jacquard58"UnknownPoorGoodPoorSatinSignificant in one directionGreatNoFabric itself is patterned and it destroys the otherwise great image.Organic Cotton Sateen56"160x90GoodGoodGoodMatteMinimalOKYesCan see the weave and is visually see through.Polyester Crepe Jersey58"UnknownTerribleOKOKSatinSignificant in one directionYesNoThe base fabric is very inconsistent in thickness making it about 50% OK for transparency and 50% see through. This also takes away from the overall look of the quality and causes the fabric to look "blotchy."Polyester French Terry58"UnknownOK-GoodGreatGoodSatinSignificant in one directionYesYesImage is very slightly blurry from color bleed, but not bad. Thicker than most other fabrics meaning it is significantly better than the others at hiding anything behind it. You can see the weave a little bit though. Beware of stretching too much as it can make the weave a little more noticeable.Polyester Pongee Silk58"UnknownGoodGreatGoodSemi-GlossSignificant in one directionYesMaybeGood color and clarity, better than Polyester French Terry. You can see the weave, but it isn't bad. Stretchy, but a little more forgiving than other fabrics in retaining constant color. Black levels could be better. Use only with images with limited black coloration.Polyester Slub Jersey58"UnknownTerribleOKPoorSatinSignificant in one directionYesNoThe base fabric is very inconsistent in thickness making it about 75% OK for transparency and 25% see through. This also takes away from the overall look of the quality and causes the fabric to look "blotchy." Color also seems to bleed a bit also reducing the quality.Premium Cotton54"60x60PoorGoodPoorMatteMinimalOK-LowLast resortImage has "blurry" looking, can see the weave, less see-through than Basic Combed CottonQuadri Performance Sport Knit62"UnknownTerribleGoodOKSemi-GlossSignificant in one directionYesNoDistinct weave pattern that destroys the image quality. Don't use this.Satin56"50x50Good-GreatVibrantGreatSatinNoMinimalYesOverall this looks really good. Not very AT per the "blow test." Slightly see-through, but not terrible like some of the others.Silk Crepe De Chine42"UnknownGoodVibrantGoodSatinMinimalOK-LowMaybeColors are blown out a bit, but really solid. Super thin and see through, but surprisingly not super AT. Possible color bleed.Silk Crinkle Linen52"UnknownPoorGoodPoorMatteNoGoodNoStrong visible weave, but also thin and see-through. Both hurts the image quality.Silky Faille42"200x78GoodGreatVery GoodSemi-GlossNoNoMaybeNeed measured and it 100% fails the blow-through test. Slight color bleed takes away from being spot-on for quality, but still really good.


----------



## gvfreeman1

Finally got my panels up. I went ahead and ordered the basic combed cotton and I'm not disappointed. If the images could look better it would only be the cherry on top. I'm pretty shocked how well they turned out for printed fabric. I went with 1x3 wood with a piece of quarter round/shoe molding/trim (whatever was cheapest at home depot) to give my 1x3 a bit more depth as well as give the image an edge to sit on to help make it pop a little more. The Dude does not have the extra trim piece since it's behind the door and it looks great too, so it's just personal preference. I used 2" 8# Roxul from Grainger with about a 1" air gap behind the backing fabric. 8 panels printed MyFabricDesigns basic combed cotton (arrived exactly 2 weeks from placing order) and 2 panels Guilford And Maine Anchorage Fabric color Cobalt from ATSAcoustics for behind my LR. All images are from MovieMania and edited in Gimp (very very basic and minimal editing at that).

Do I get bonus points for my DIY diffusion treatment as well? 🤣


----------



## nickbuol

FYI that if anyone wants to try Cotton Poplin, it is 50% off right now! No coupon needed. Sale ends 4/22/22

Keep in mind, that it is only at 42" width, so depending on your boarder size, this will work. You can see my notes in my chart above that this might be a good option. 42" width means if you have a 24x36 image (not my suggested 25.5 x 38.25 upsize for reduced insulation cutting) you would only have a 3" border all around. So 1x3 framing material would be the thickest you probably could go unless you are handy and cut your own lumber to something between 2.5 inches and 3 inches.


----------



## nickbuol

gvfreeman1 said:


> Finally got my panels up. I went ahead and ordered the basic combed cotton and I'm not disappointed. If the images could look better it would only be the cherry on top. I'm pretty shocked how well they turned out for printed fabric. I went with 1x3 wood with a piece of quarter round/shoe molding/trim (whatever was cheapest at home depot) to give my 1x3 a bit more depth as well as give the image an edge to sit on to help make it pop a little more. The Dude does not have the extra trim piece since it's behind the door and it looks great too, so it's just personal preference. I used 2" 8# Roxul from Grainger with about a 1" air gap behind the backing fabric. 8 panels printed MyFabricDesigns basic combed cotton (arrived exactly 2 weeks from placing order) and 2 panels Guilford And Maine Anchorage Fabric color Cobalt from ATSAcoustics for behind my LR. All images are from MovieMania and edited in Gimp (very very basic and minimal editing at that).
> 
> Do I get bonus points for my DIY diffusion treatment as well? 🤣


It all looks great! How does it sound?


----------



## galonzo

Wow, those came out excellent @gvfreeman1 ! Curious how the sound is as well...

Thanks for the tip @nickbuol , I may give the Cotton Poplin a go🤔


----------



## gvfreeman1

nickbuol said:


> It all looks great! How does it sound?


The sound improvement in my room is not that drastic honestly. It helps for sure but my room is a carpeted bonus room with a sizeable sectional so I think that helped quite a bit with absorption to begin with. It's also a bonus/rec/office room with a desk and some small bookshelves. It's not the best set up acoustically but it wasn't a big hollow room is what I'm getting at. It has always sounded pretty good to me. I am also not running much power in my system yet as you can see, just a 7 channel Marantz AVR for now (5.2.2 with an 8" B&W sub and 10" Martin Logan sub). The idea was to improve what I can now and treat the room as best I can so I can confidently upgrade to power amps and bigger subs when the time comes.


----------



## Doubledjunky

nickbuol said:


> FYI that if anyone wants to try Cotton Poplin, it is 50% off right now! No coupon needed. Sale ends 4/22/22
> 
> Keep in mind, that it is only at 42" width, so depending on your boarder size, this will work. You can see my notes in my chart above that this might be a good option. 42" width means if you have a 24x36 image (not my suggested 25.5 x 38.25 upsize for reduced insulation cutting) you would only have a 3" border all around. So 1x3 framing material would be the thickest you probably could go unless you are handy and cut your own lumber to something between 2.5 inches and 3 inches.


Good looking out. I've been trying to keep an eye out for sales.


----------



## RemixMark

gvfreeman1 said:


> The sound improvement in my room is not that drastic honestly. It helps for sure but my room is a carpeted bonus room with a sizeable sectional so I think that helped quite a bit with absorption to begin with. It's also a bonus/rec/office room with a desk and some small bookshelves. It's not the best set up acoustically but it wasn't a big hollow room is what I'm getting at. It has always sounded pretty good to me. I am also not running much power in my system yet as you can see, just a 7 channel Marantz AVR for now (5.2.2 with an 8" B&W sub and 10" Martin Logan sub). The idea was to improve what I can now and treat the room as best I can so I can confidently upgrade to power amps and bigger subs when the time comes.


How do your waterfall graphs in REW look? You could do a sweep of each speaker with and without treatment. I heard the R60 shows some info in REW but that’s over my head. 










CineMARK Basement Build


Decided to make an official build post for my theater since I just submitted the paperwork to the inspectors office and I could use all the help I can get! Big inspiration and thanks to: laoping and The Rush Creek Theater - Build Thread javeryh and Javery's NJ Theater @aron7awol @fattire...




www.avsforum.com


----------



## gvfreeman1

RemixMark said:


> How do your waterfall graphs in REW look? You could do a sweep of each speaker with and without treatment. I heard the R60 shows some info in REW but that’s over my head.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> CineMARK Basement Build
> 
> 
> Decided to make an official build post for my theater since I just submitted the paperwork to the inspectors office and I could use all the help I can get! Big inspiration and thanks to: laoping and The Rush Creek Theater - Build Thread javeryh and Javery's NJ Theater @aron7awol @fattire...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.avsforum.com


My REW knowledge is very limited and I'm not even running a miniDSP either so I have only been able to mess with sub distance in my Marantz and haven't really had much luck on flattening my curve. I have no clue how to read and eventually manipulate the distortion/R60/waterfall graphs etc. in regards to acoustic treatments. I haven't even found that rabbit hole on Youtube yet, only subwoofer alignment. Anyone got a link to begin my plunge into waterfall graphs?


----------



## RemixMark

gvfreeman1 said:


> My REW knowledge is very limited and I'm not even running a miniDSP either so I have only been able to mess with sub distance in my Marantz and haven't really had much luck on flattening my curve. I have no clue how to read and eventually manipulate the distortion/R60/waterfall graphs etc. in regards to acoustic treatments. I haven't even found that rabbit hole on Youtube yet, only subwoofer alignment. Anyone got a link to begin my plunge into waterfall graphs?


A great place to start and ask questions: Simplified REW Setup and Use (USB Mic & HDMI.... I’d bet the fine folks there would love to help out anyone with a thirst for knowledge on the topic!










CineMARK Basement Build


Decided to make an official build post for my theater since I just submitted the paperwork to the inspectors office and I could use all the help I can get! Big inspiration and thanks to: laoping and The Rush Creek Theater - Build Thread javeryh and Javery's NJ Theater @aron7awol @fattire...




www.avsforum.com


----------



## RemixMark

nickbuol said:


> I am trying to provide some information timely for everyone, so I did a rough "Round - 1" examination of each of these fabrics. I want to go back and look at the best options, see if I can differentiate more between the top contenders, but at least you have my initial thoughts.... I will set up a sharable file when I have more sorted out, but for now this copy/paste of my Excel sheet that I am working on.
> 
> 
> FabricPrintable WidthThread CountOverall Image QualityImage ColorImage ClarityFabric SheenStretchyAT "Blow Test"ViableNotesBasic Combed Cotton54"100x76GoodGoodGoodMatteMinorOK-LowYesCan see the weave and is visually see through.Cotton Poplin42"144x84Good-GreatGood-GreatGreatMatteNoOKYesNice color and clarity. Looks good, slightly see-through against contrasting background.Cotton Silk42"UnknownOKGoodOKSatinNoOKMaybeCan see the weave and it impacts the clarity. Slightly see through, but not bad.Cotton Voile42"108x100Good -GreatGoodGoodMatteMinimalOKMaybeVery thin fabric making it see-through and contrast isn't the best. Due toFaux Linen Canvas54"40x50TerribleOKTerribleMatteNoMinimalNoBad weave level makes this completely unusable.Faux Linen Slub42"90x90OKGoodOKMatteNoOKLast resortWeave is visible and fabric is slightly see-through. I would choose something else.Faux Linen Slub Sheer58"72x55TerriblePoorPoorMatteNoYesNoLoose weave and very see through and this destroys the image quality.Flame Retardant Faux Linen Canvas56"40x30TerribleOKTerribleMatteNoYesNoLike Faux Linen Canvas, but a very loose knit making it just as ugly, but also very see-through. Don't use this.Heavy Cotton Twill58"136x60PoorGoodPoorSatinNoNoNoNice color, but very textured fabric reduces image clarity and fails the breathability test.Interlock Blend46"UnknownOKVibrantOKSatinSignificant in one directionGreatMaybeFabric seems to have a little color bleed which takes a little bit from the clarity. If stretched, the image starts to show white (not good).Linen Cotton Blend50"103x42PoorGoodPoorMatteNoNoNoStrong variable visible weave gives more of an "industrial" look, but hurts image quality.Nylon Lycra Blend56UnknownPoorPoorOKMatteSignificant in both directionsYesNoFabric almost looks "grey" as an base color, thus making everything else very dull. Not recommended.Organic Cotton Interlock Knit58"UnknownOKGood-GreatOKMatteSignificant in one directionGoodYesCan see the weave in one direction. Good at not being see-through.Organic Cotton Jacquard58"UnknownPoorGoodPoorSatinSignificant in one directionGreatNoFabric itself is patterned and it destroys the otherwise great image.Organic Cotton Sateen56"160x90GoodGoodGoodMatteMinimalOKYesCan see the weave and is visually see through.Polyester Crepe Jersey58"UnknownTerribleOKOKSatinSignificant in one directionYesNoThe base fabric is very inconsistent in thickness making it about 50% OK for transparency and 50% see through. This also takes away from the overall look of the quality and causes the fabric to look "blotchy."Polyester French Terry58"UnknownOK-GoodGreatGoodSatinSignificant in one directionYesYesImage is very slightly blurry from color bleed, but not bad. Thicker than most other fabrics meaning it is significantly better than the others at hiding anything behind it. You can see the weave a little bit though. Beware of stretching too much as it can make the weave a little more noticeable.Polyester Pongee Silk58"UnknownGoodGreatGoodSemi-GlossSignificant in one directionYesYesGood color and clarity, better than Polyester French Terry. You can see the weave, but it isn't bad. Stretchy, but a little more forgiving than other fabrics in retaining constant color.Polyester Slub Jersey58"UnknownTerribleOKPoorSatinSignificant in one directionYesNoThe base fabric is very inconsistent in thickness making it about 75% OK for transparency and 25% see through. This also takes away from the overall look of the quality and causes the fabric to look "blotchy." Color also seems to bleed a bit also reducing the quality.Premium Cotton54"60x60PoorGoodPoorMatteMinimalOK-LowLast resortImage has "blurry" looking, can see the weave, less see-through than Basic Combed CottonQuadri Performance Sport Knit62"UnknownTerribleGoodOKSemi-GlossSignificant in one directionYesNoDistinct weave pattern that destroys the image quality. Don't use this.Satin56"50x50Good-GreatVibrantGreatSatinNoMinimalYesOverall this looks really good. Not very AT per the "blow test." Slightly see-through, but not terrible like some of the others.Silk Crepe De Chine42"UnknownGoodVibrantGoodSatinMinimalOK-LowMaybeColors are blown out a bit, but really solid. Super thin and see through, but surprisingly not super AT. Possible color bleed.Silk Crinkle Linen52"UnknownPoorGoodPoorMatteNoGoodNoStrong visible weave, but also thin and see-through. Both hurts the image quality.Silky Faille42"200x78GoodGreatVery GoodSami-GlossNoNoMaybeNeed measured and it 100% fails the blow-through test. Slight color bleed takes away from being spot-on for quality, but still really good.


I wanted to make use of one last OC 703 panel I have left over and was thinking about placing an order. What fabric would you go with if you were in my shoes? Seems like possibly Polyester Pongee Silk might be the best tested fabric based on your chart?

I was thinking about this print: Deadpool 2 (2018) Phone Wallpaper | Moviemania Think it'd look good on that fabric?


----------



## nickbuol

RemixMark said:


> I wanted to make use of one last OC 709 panel I have left over and was thinking about placing an order. What fabric would you go with if you were in my shoes? Seems like possibly Polyester Pongee Silk might be the best tested fabric based on your chart?
> 
> I was thinking about this print: Deadpool 2 (2018) Phone Wallpaper | Moviemania Think it'd look good on that fabric?


Hard to put my full stamp of approval on it since my samples are just under 8" x 8", but looking at it right in front of me, I still agree with my previous comments and it seems like a good option.

As for that image, I don't recall the panel size you had (I'm sure I could find it readily enough), but the largest image that they offer on MovieMania.io has already been enlarged, meaning that there are enlargement artifacts in the image. Some of that can be combatted with some "Artifact Reduction" and adding a small amount of "Film Grain." Let me know if you need some help with that. Even so, it won't be a perfectly clean image, but again, from a couple of feet back, it will still be a super fun and great looking image.


----------



## RemixMark

nickbuol said:


> Hard to put my full stamp of approval on it since my samples are just under 8" x 8", but looking at it right in front of me, I still agree with my previous comments and it seems like a good option.
> 
> As for that image, I don't recall the panel size you had (I'm sure I could find it readily enough), but the largest image that they offer on MovieMania.io has already been enlarged, meaning that there are enlargement artifacts in the image. Some of that can be combatted with some "Artifact Reduction" and adding a small amount of "Film Grain." Let me know if you need some help with that. Even so, it won't be a perfectly clean image, but again, from a couple of feet back, it will still be a super fun and great looking image.


That last panel of OC 703 is 2'x4'. Add 1.5" (.75" for the frame the insulation will sit in) to the width and that's the size I'm looking for so I can utilize the full width of the insulation. And just the black filler for the outside of the frame. I'll stick with 4" wide/deep wood for this panel.

That deadpool poster made my wife and I laugh. Do you think this would be better: https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/...dpool-relaxing-on-an-inflated-duck-in-a-pool? This is the highest resolution image I could find through google image search (width="2025" height="3000")

Can you help me? Just crop the text off the bottom and format it to fit 2' 1.5" wide and whatever the length ends up being.


----------



## Bbapache

nickbuol said:


> Hard to put my full stamp of approval on it since my samples are just under 8" x 8", but looking at it right in front of me, I still agree with my previous comments and it seems like a good option.
> 
> As for that image, I don't recall the panel size you had (I'm sure I could find it readily enough), but the largest image that they offer on MovieMania.io has already been enlarged, meaning that there are enlargement artifacts in the image. Some of that can be combatted with some "Artifact Reduction" and adding a small amount of "Film Grain." Let me know if you need some help with that. Even so, it won't be a perfectly clean image, but again, from a couple of feet back, it will still be a super fun and great looking image.


Since you have them in front of you... Which do you prefer; the Cotton Poplar or the Polyester Pongee Silk?


----------



## nickbuol

Bbapache said:


> Since you have them in front of you... Which do you prefer; the Cotton Poplar or the Polyester Pongee Silk?


Side-by-side they both have pros and cons. The Cotton Poplin is a little more "clear" in the text and less noticeable weave. The Polyester Pongee Silk has more vibrant colors and isn't as see-through as the Cotton Poplin.
The Cotton Poplin has little to no stretch compared to the Polyester Pongee Silk and the PPS is significantly more acoustically transparent using the unscientific blow-through test.

Honestly, I'd give the winning edge to the Cotton Poplin if it wasn't noticeably see through. I mean it isn't terrible like some of them, but you can see the image of whatever is behind the white (unprinted) sections of it. the lacking color "pop" probably wouldn't be noticeable on your wall because it wouldn't be next to something more vibrant like the PPS so there would be nothing to compare it to.

Between those two, I guess if you have lots of ultra fine details that are very critical or fine lettered words maybe consider the Cotton Poplin. If not, or if the words are more logo sized, then go PPS.

I took a picture of them side by side, but cell phones always want to over-correct this or that.

Don't zoom in too much on this picture (AVS also compresses images too), but look for things like the more noticeable weave on the PPS and the clearer text on the Cotton Poplin. The difference in vibrancy doesn't come through on the picture, and if you attempt to zoom in, the text quality of both will look bad when in reality they aren't. One is just better than the other. Oh, PPS's white is more "white" than Cotton Poplin, but they look similar in the photo too. I'd say that it is a good representation of the white for the Cotton Poplin, but then again, my monitor may be calibrated differently than yours too.

The white block with the fabric name is just over 1 inch tall at the 4th letter of the fabric name (2nd T in Cotton and the Y in Polyester), so scale things back on your screen until that is how small they look.


----------



## TooManyTimeZones

nickbuol said:


> So far, it sounds like there is (you guessed it) a supply chain issue. I was not given any new timeframe outside of being on hold "indefinitely." When I pressed my source a little, it sounded like at least the end of 2022 being best case because they were trying to just get the first sample rolls of the material for testing and quality checks to validate the material composition being as promised and then go to a full supply order.


@nickbuol Do you think either of these (Cotton Poplin or Polyester Pongee Silk) is MFD's replacement for Performance Knit? If not, do you know whether they are still in development for samples later this year?.


----------



## nickbuol

TooManyTimeZones said:


> @nickbuol Do you think either of these (Cotton Poplin or Polyester Pongee Silk) is MFD's replacement for Performance Knit? If not, do you know whether they are still in development for samples later this year?.


Please see my post right above yours where I did a little more of a side by side comparison. I would say that the PPS is closer to Performance Knit in look and acoustic performance, but with a little more noticeable weave (still not bad at all, just Performance Knit was a very fine weave).


----------



## Bbapache

nickbuol said:


> Side-by-side they both have pros and cons. The Cotton Poplin is a little more "clear" in the text and less noticeable weave. The Polyester Pongee Silk has more vibrant colors and isn't as see-through as the Cotton Poplin.
> The Cotton Poplin has little to no stretch compared to the Polyester Pongee Silk and the PPS is significantly more acoustically transparent using the unscientific blow-through test.
> 
> Honestly, I'd give the winning edge to the Cotton Poplin if it wasn't noticeably see through. I mean it isn't terrible like some of them, but you can see the image of whatever is behind the white (unprinted) sections of it. the lacking color "pop" probably wouldn't be noticeable on your wall because it wouldn't be next to something more vibrant like the PPS so there would be nothing to compare it to.
> 
> Between those two, I guess if you have lots of ultra fine details that are very critical or fine lettered words maybe consider the Cotton Poplin. If not, or if the words are more logo sized, then go PPS.
> 
> I took a picture of them side by side, but cell phones always want to over-correct this or that.
> 
> Don't zoom in too much on this picture (AVS also compresses images too), but look for things like the more noticeable weave on the PPS and the clearer text on the Cotton Poplin. The difference in vibrancy doesn't come through on the picture, and if you attempt to zoom in, the text quality of both will look bad when in reality they aren't. One is just better than the other. Oh, PPS's white is more "white" than Cotton Poplin, but they look similar in the photo too. I'd say that it is a good representation of the white for the Cotton Poplin, but then again, my monitor may be calibrated differently than yours too.
> 
> The white block with the fabric name is just over 1 inch tall at the 4th letter of the fabric name (2nd T in Cotton and the Y in Polyester), so scale things back on your screen until that is how small they look.
> 
> View attachment 3281636


THANK YOU!!!


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## RemixMark

Hey @nickbuol thanks for all your help, as usual . Can you check these out to make sure I didn't make any mistakes? I want the deadpool image to be 25.5" wide (24" of insulation + 1.5" for the frame).

Ready to print jpg: Deadpool 2.jpg
.xcf file from gimp: Deadpool 2.xcf

Do you have any coupon codes at the moment for www.https://myfabricdesigns.com?

Does this look correct for my order:


----------



## nickbuol

RemixMark said:


> Hey @nickbuol thanks for all your help, as usual . Can you check these out to make sure I didn't make any mistakes? I want the deadpool image to be 25.5" wide (24" of insulation + 1.5" for the frame).
> 
> Ready to print jpg: Deadpool 2.jpg
> .xcf file from gimp: Deadpool 2.xcf
> 
> Do you have any coupon codes at the moment for www.https://myfabricdesigns.com?
> 
> Does this look correct for my order:
> View attachment 3281729


Short version is that looks good!

Some items for your consideration or for those reading this:
I am seeing a 25.5" wide x 35.423" tall poster image (no borders) when I look at it in Photoshop and remove the borders. It might be worth a slight crop down to 35.25 or some other easier-to-measure size for building frames. .423" is close to some odd size like 27/64". Maybe you are able to be that precise, but I'm not. LOL

You have 5" border on all sides which is good for a frame up to 4.5" thick. You have the width and height in the 1 yard of fabric, so this doesn't hurt anything at all.

Lastly, MyFabricDesigns still is limited to 150 DPI printing. They can accept higher DPI, but just reduce the image down to 150 DPI when they print, so there is no need to make these 300 DPI. At least not at this time. Will they ever be able to print higher than 150 DPI? I have my doubts. They are, after all, printing on fabric and not a smooth solid photo paper. If they do get to that point, then it would make sense to make 300 DPI images so that you know what the enlargement quality is so that MFD doesn't enlarge them using some unknown algorithm. 

Chance of this hurting the final image quality sending a 300 DPI image when they can only print at 150 DPI isn't huge, but one way to look at this is:
1) You start with an image that needs enlarged and probably changed from 96 DPI to 150DPI to hit the "best bang for your buck" DPI. That means using software to "create" pixels to get to that size. Many times there are vastly more of these "created" pixels than original pixels in these images. 
2) Now expand that to 300 DPI and it is vastly more pixels created. 
3) Then it goes to MFD and their system cuts those 300 DPI pixels down to 150 DPI but you have no idea what pixels they are throwing out. It will mostly be the pixels created when enlarging, but you will likely also lose some original pixels too. 
4) End of the world? Probably not (we are printing on fabric like I mentioned already), but just seems like extra work and an increased chance of something going wrong in the software stream.

Mark, you should be good here on DPI too, I just mention it for those that didn't go through the effort already that there isn't any real value in doing 300 DPI at this time (at least with MFD) so that others can learn too. Plus a lot of times people can run into upload file size limits at MFD using 300DPI images.

Nice work though. Please be sure to post a picture of that one when done either here or on your build thread!

As for coupons, their last sales ended on 5/13 so a new coupon should be coming. There is a code that others were using for 25% off that never seems to expire, but it might be on your first order only or something... it is *FABRIC25*


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## RemixMark

nickbuol said:


> Short version is that looks good!
> 
> Some items for your consideration or for those reading this:
> I am seeing a 25.5" wide x 35.423" tall poster image (no borders) when I look at it in Photoshop and remove the borders. It might be worth a slight crop down to 35.25 or some other easier-to-measure size for building frames. .423" is close to some odd size like 27/64". Maybe you are able to be that precise, but I'm not. LOL
> 
> You have 5" border on all sides which is good for a frame up to 4.5" thick. You have the width and height in the 1 yard of fabric, so this doesn't hurt anything at all.
> 
> Lastly, MyFabricDesigns still is limited to 150 DPI printing. They can accept higher DPI, but just reduce the image down to 150 DPI when they print, so there is no need to make these 300 DPI. At least not at this time. Will they ever be able to print higher than 150 DPI? I have my doubts. They are, after all, printing on fabric and not a smooth solid photo paper. If they do get to that point, then it would make sense to make 300 DPI images so that you know what the enlargement quality is so that MFD doesn't enlarge them using some unknown algorithm.
> 
> Chance of this hurting the final image quality sending a 300 DPI image when they can only print at 150 DPI isn't huge, but one way to look at this is:
> 1) You start with an image that needs enlarged and probably changed from 96 DPI to 150DPI to hit the "best bang for your buck" DPI. That means using software to "create" pixels to get to that size. Many times there are vastly more of these "created" pixels than original pixels in these images.
> 2) Now expand that to 300 DPI and it is vastly more pixels created.
> 3) Then it goes to MFD and their system cuts those 300 DPI pixels down to 150 DPI but you have no idea what pixels they are throwing out. It will mostly be the pixels created when enlarging, but you will likely also lose some original pixels too.
> 4) End of the world? Probably not (we are printing on fabric like I mentioned already), but just seems like extra work and an increased chance of something going wrong in the software stream.
> 
> Mark, you should be good here on DPI too, I just mention it for those that didn't go through the effort already that there isn't any real value in doing 300 DPI at this time (at least with MFD) so that others can learn too. Plus a lot of times people can run into upload file size limits at MFD using 300DPI images.
> 
> Nice work though. Please be sure to post a picture of that one when done either here or on your build thread!
> 
> As for coupons, their last sales ended on 5/13 so a new coupon should be coming. There is a code that others were using for 25% off that never seems to expire, but it might be on your first order only or something... it is *FABRIC25*


Thanks so much for the quick and helpful feedback.

It's simple to adjust the DPI in gimp so I knocked it down to 150 per your recommendation which makes total sense. This got my image file size to what my previous image files sizes were for my past acoustic panels so it was good to see that I should've set this image to 150DPI in the first place.

I'll get the saw measurement for the height close enough . Since this fabric has some stretch to it like you said, I should be ok not making it 100% exact. I know with the old fabric you recommended that MFD used to carry, performance polyester I believe was the name, it had a lot of stretch to it which came in very handy. I may opt for poplar wood this time around since I see ripping down plywood/MDF had a tendency to bow, but perhaps w/ 2-3 pieces of wood on the back for bracing (top, middle, bottom) that bowing can be totally eliminated.

MFD automatically applied a 25% coupon for me, shipping was still $9.80, but it's coming to America from Thailand so not too bad all things considered.









I'll for sure post pix of this build and looking to seeing how Mr. Pool looks hanging on my wall


----------



## galonzo

I ordered *this one for my back wall* on the cotton poplin during the sale (almost a month ago), so we'll see how it turns out (I picked up the wood for the frame and some weed barrier earlier today, I already have the OC709 ready to go)...


----------



## nickbuol

galonzo said:


> I ordered *this one for my back wall* on the cotton poplin during the sale (almost a month ago), so we'll see how it turns out (I picked up the wood for the frame and some weed barrier earlier today, I already have the OC709 ready to go)...


Cool. Let us know how the white area does at hiding the wood frame. You may find that you need to paint the wood frame white before putting the fabric on it... Your 1st hand experience with the Cotton Poplin will be super helpful.


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## PopSmith

I wanted to publicly say thank you to Nick for the tutorials. They were very helpful and informative.

I ordered four panels on the 16th (update: "preparing shipment" on the 21st, shipped June 2nd, arrived June 7th) made with Cotton Poplin. I debated between PPS and Cotton Poplin for a while, hopefully the Poplin performs well. For the four panels, the first two are for the first reflection points and the last two are for the rear wall reflection points. I'm planning to pick up some OC703 (4" for the rear panels, 2" for the sides), Kiln-dried whitewood (or maybe poplar, I haven't decided...), and weed barrier as soon as the panels ship.

It will be interesting to see how they turn out.

*Jurassic Park:









Lord of the Rings:*









*Scott Pilgrim vs the World:*









*Free Solo:*


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## maestreaux

Wanted to share my prints and experience in doing this project. I think they turned out awesome and they look so much better than posters in plastic frames on my wall. I used the performance knit fabric for these and it sucks it is no longer available because the print quality and colors came out great. Although I have a little advice when comes to color. I recommend increasing the color saturation and contrast of your image to get deep blacks and better color. I ordered 2 test prints before I did them all and I'm glad I did because as you can see from the photo the high saturation an contrast really look better on this fabric. I found the colors on the first prints they did came out dull and muted. The second batch I did looked very over saturated on my screen but looked great on the fabric. I also recommend putting a bleed on your prints around the edges so they wrap around like on my Ghostbusters panel. I found it a lot easier to mount to the frame since this fabric stretched a lot and I didn't have to worry about getting the edges of the print to line up exactly to the edge on the board. I also used this ROXUL insulation I found locally since the Owens was more expensive to ship than the panels themselves. Thanks for all the help in making these come out great.


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## RemixMark

Great job. Really dig the Ghostbusters print and that you had the print wrap around the sides. I see you did that with your Back to the Future print as well. Why didn't you wrap around all your prints that way? 

How this is your roxol and how deep are your frames?

Anyone that's looking for some OC703 local, this trick work for me as shipping was always silly expensive: 'DIY Custom-Printed Movie Poster Acoustic Panels -...


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## nickbuol

maestreaux said:


> Wanted to share my prints and experience in doing this project. I think they turned out awesome and they look so much better than posters in plastic frames on my wall. I used the performance knit fabric for these and it sucks it is no longer available because the print quality and colors came out great. Although I have a little advice when comes to color. I recommend increasing the color saturation and contrast of your image to get deep blacks and better color. I ordered 2 test prints before I did them all and I'm glad I did because as you can see from the photo the high saturation an contrast really look better on this fabric. I found the colors on the first prints they did came out dull and muted. The second batch I did looked very over saturated on my screen but looked great on the fabric. I also recommend putting a bleed on your prints around the edges so they wrap around like on my Ghostbusters panel. I found it a lot easier to mount to the frame since this fabric stretched a lot and I didn't have to worry about getting the edges of the print to line up exactly to the edge on the board. I also used this ROXUL insulation I found locally since the Owens was more expensive to ship than the panels themselves. Thanks for all the help in making these come out great.
> 
> View attachment 3283599


They look great. I absolutely agree on bumping up the saturation on images. Of course, making sure that they are color corrected first for older ones is a must-do as well. I just did a Star Wars Ep IV poster for someone and it was tinted towards green a LOT, so I had to correct that first and then bump up the saturation. That is one step that I've been doing with images that I work on for people for several years. It looks so much better in person.

Same with the contrast and brightness. Bump them both up a little bit and the images "pop" more that just the additional color saturation. All great stuff.


----------



## RemixMark

nickbuol said:


> They look great. I absolutely agree on bumping up the saturation on images. Of course, making sure that they are color corrected first for older ones is a must-do as well. I just did a Star Wars Ep IV poster for someone and it was tinted towards green a LOT, so I had to correct that first and then bump up the saturation. That is one step that I've been doing with images that I work on for people for several years. It looks so much better in person.
> 
> Same with the contrast and brightness. Bump them both up a little bit and the images "pop" more that just the additional color saturation. All great stuff.


Do you have a before and after example of this? I’m interested it the difference as @maestreaux ;showed in a newer image like infinity war.

There’s a lot of nuance to these prints and a lot depends on the material they’re printed on. As always, we REALLY appreciate your work man! I just had some family over to watch Interstellar and they were in awe of the panels I created that I could not do without your guidance.


----------



## maestreaux

RemixMark said:


> Great job. Really dig the Ghostbusters print and that you had the print wrap around the sides. I see you did that with your Back to the Future print as well. Why didn't you wrap around all your prints that way?
> 
> How this is your roxol and how deep are your frames?
> 
> Anyone that's looking for some OC703 local, this trick work for me as shipping was always silly expensive: 'DIY Custom-Printed Movie Poster Acoustic Panels -...


Thanks. I did wrap the images on all of my prints except the Almost Famous one. It is just hard to tell from these images and most of the other prints had a lot of black on the sides. I found the ROXOL great. Well made, easy to work with and very rigid. I only made my frames 3in deep.


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## Mr.6

maestreaux said:


> Thanks. I did wrap the images on all of my prints except the Almost Famous one. It is just hard to tell from these images and most of the other prints had a lot of black on the sides. I found the ROXOL great. Well made, easy to work with and very rigid. I only made my frames 3in deep.


Nice job!

Did you wrap the roxul in another type of cloth or did you just stick it in the frame and wrap the performance knot around it?


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## maestreaux

Mr.6 said:


> Nice job!
> 
> Did you wrap the roxul in another type of cloth or did you just stick it in the frame and wrap the performance knot around it?


I just wrapped the print fabric around the sides and finished off the back with the black weed control fabric you can find at Lowes or Home Depot. It worked great.


----------



## nickbuol

RemixMark said:


> Do you have a before and after example of this? I’m interested it the difference as @maestreaux ;showed in a newer image like infinity war.
> 
> There’s a lot of nuance to these prints and a lot depends on the material they’re printed on. As always, we REALLY appreciate your work man! I just had some family over to watch Interstellar and they were in awe of the panels I created that I could not do without your guidance.



Hmm.. It is hard to explain and some images need more than others, but if you want to play it safe, add 10-15% more brightness, contrast, and saturation to start. I honestly eyeball it every time and probably go with numbers similar to those most of the time.


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## Masked

I really love this idea and would love to see if I can make some myself. It seems a little overwhelming but I think I will give it a try. I wonder if being in Canada will make the materials harder/more expensive to access?

Me and the wife would love to make 6 to 8 of these and create a horror movie/horror image theme 😎


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## Mr.6

Masked said:


> I really love this idea and would love to see if I can make some myself. It seems a little overwhelming but I think I will give it a try. I wonder if being in Canada will make the materials harder/more expensive to access?
> 
> Me and the wife would love to make 6 to 8 of these and create a horror movie/horror image theme 😎


For sure it is more expensive here with the exchange rate and shipping. Using the coupon codes that Nick posts helps.

Personally I think it is worth it.


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## galonzo

nickbuol said:


> galonzo said:
> 
> 
> 
> I ordered *this one for my back wall* on the cotton poplin during the sale (almost a month ago), so we'll see how it turns out (I picked up the wood for the frame and some weed barrier earlier today, I already have the OC709 ready to go)...
> 
> 
> 
> Cool. Let us know how the white area does at hiding the wood frame. You may find that you need to paint the wood frame white before putting the fabric on it... Your 1st hand experience with the Cotton Poplin will be super helpful.
Click to expand...

You were correct, @nickbuol , the Cotton Poplin is quite see-through on a very light image (but not at all in the darker, lower area); I thought I might "cheat" the painting of the wood white by allowing excess white fabric to cover the wood, but as you can see, the OC pressing against the excess around the perimeter shows through, and then some (I may have done better to cut the excess fabric, since the wood almost matches the OC 🤷‍♂️ ):








At any rate, I'm quite pleased at how my first one turned out, and I didn't even bump saturation or brightness or contrast, but only cropped the image slightly to fit a full 2' x 4' OC703 panel for the back wall. I'm sure most won't notice the imperfections around the lighter border, as this one is on the back wall anyway:








Thanks again for all that you do, the videos and instructions are very helpful! I'll be sure to post the rest once I make up my mind on a cohesive theme...


----------



## squared80

maestreaux said:


> Wanted to share my prints and experience in doing this project. I think they turned out awesome and they look so much better than posters in plastic frames on my wall. I used the performance knit fabric for these and it sucks it is no longer available because the print quality and colors came out great. Although I have a little advice when comes to color. I recommend increasing the color saturation and contrast of your image to get deep blacks and better color. I ordered 2 test prints before I did them all and I'm glad I did because as you can see from the photo the high saturation an contrast really look better on this fabric. I found the colors on the first prints they did came out dull and muted. The second batch I did looked very over saturated on my screen but looked great on the fabric. I also recommend putting a bleed on your prints around the edges so they wrap around like on my Ghostbusters panel. I found it a lot easier to mount to the frame since this fabric stretched a lot and I didn't have to worry about getting the edges of the print to line up exactly to the edge on the board. I also used this ROXUL insulation I found locally since the Owens was more expensive to ship than the panels themselves. Thanks for all the help in making these come out great.
> View attachment 3283598
> 
> View attachment 3283597
> 
> View attachment 3283596
> 
> View attachment 3283599


Thanks for the tips. Where did you get the hi res version of Back to the Future? I pulled the one off MovieMania but I'm not sure that's good enough...


----------



## Snoochers

Hi all. I'm very interested in making acoustic treatments with these types of prints, but I am concerned about potential acoustic issues. I don't want to compromise on acoustics and for this reason I've been leaning towards using speaker fabrics, but these are ugly. Data shows that many fabrics (GOM FR701 included) affect the performance of absorbers/diffusers significantly, despite their popularity. It seems to me that a fabric that you can't very easily breath through is going to have issues. I've looked at fabrics available on some of these websites and they all seem quite dense to me. I haven't held a sample in my hands so I can't be sure yet but I'm wondering if anyone can comment on this. Are these fabrics much more transparent than FR701 and others? I see the prints and they look awesome but it's hard for me to imagine such beautiful printing on very open fabric.

I did land upon one test in the previous thread where a person measured the decibel loss caused by the fabric and it was quite small, but unfortunately that is not robust enough of a test. Looks like you need to measure off by 45 degrees and perhaps other things (chapter 7 - sound reproduction Floyd Toole)


----------



## RemixMark

I ordered from myfabricdesigns.com on May 17th and my one print order is still showing “preparing shipment”. Hopefully they’ll get it out soon.


----------



## nickbuol

Snoochers said:


> Hi all. I'm very interested in making acoustic treatments with these types of prints, but I am concerned about potential acoustic issues. I don't want to compromise on acoustics and for this reason I've been leaning towards using speaker fabrics, but these are ugly. Data shows that many fabrics (GOM FR701 included) affect the performance of absorbers/diffusers significantly, despite their popularity. It seems to me that a fabric that you can't very easily breath through is going to have issues. I've looked at fabrics available on some of these websites and they all seem quite dense to me. I haven't held a sample in my hands so I can't be sure yet but I'm wondering if anyone can comment on this. Are these fabrics much more transparent than FR701 and others? I see the prints and they look awesome but it's hard for me to imagine such beautiful printing on very open fabric.
> 
> I did land upon one test in the previous thread where a person measured the decibel loss caused by the fabric and it was quite small, but unfortunately that is not robust enough of a test. Looks like you need to measure off by 45 degrees and perhaps other things (chapter 7 - sound reproduction Floyd Toole)


I've done a lot of actual measuring of the fabric over the years, and all of the fabrics that we've recommended here are proven to be really AT. That being said, these aren't being used (usually) to cover speakers. People HAVE used some of the fabric over speakers, and the impact to the measurements is so minimal and at a high enough frequency with a pinpoint impact that you would have to measure something through a single speaker before and after, but during a multiple speaker playback, you aren't going to notice a difference, but you could always EQ the impact of the fabric out.

For absorption panels, this really isn't an issue. The fabric recommendations are still easily AT enough to let the absorption material do its job, and far more AT than the GOM FR701 that "professionals" use.

That is the short version. I am trying to respond during my work day, and the days are crazy busy.


----------



## Snoochers

nickbuol said:


> I've done a lot of actual measuring of the fabric over the years, and all of the fabrics that we've recommended here are proven to be really AT. That being said, these aren't being used (usually) to cover speakers. People HAVE used some of the fabric over speakers, and the impact to the measurements is so minimal and at a high enough frequency with a pinpoint impact that you would have to measure something through a single speaker before and after, but during a multiple speaker playback, you aren't going to notice a difference, but you could always EQ the impact of the fabric out.
> 
> For absorption panels, this really isn't an issue. The fabric recommendations are still easily AT enough to let the absorption material do its job, and far more AT than the GOM FR701 that "professionals" use.
> 
> That is the short version. I am trying to respond during my work day, and the days are crazy busy.


Thanks for the reply! Have you posted much of these measurement results? I'll take your word for it but seeing actual measurements would be nice.


----------



## nickbuol

Snoochers said:


> Thanks for the reply! Have you posted much of these measurement results? I'll take your word for it but seeing actual measurements would be nice.


They are buried in the old thread somewhere. I fully planned to do measurements of all of the current fabrics, but the sample sizes I received from MyFabricDesigns about a month ago are too small to rig up properly for the test. That being said, the fabrics that I've recommended even since the last round of tests are even more acoustically transparent using non-scientific methods (blow test) and have much better print/image quality. But again, even commercial/professional grade absorption panels many times are using covering materials that really aren't AT at all. I received samples many years ago from GIK, ATS, and had access to other materials that were on the absorption panels used at my church at the time, and they would fail the AT tests, scientific or not, but still do a great job with absorption panels as proven by their impact in a room more-so than the AT qualities of their covering material. Now, if putting over a speaker, yes, you would want as AT as possible, and what I recommend in my last chart has options for that too.

I am a stickler for this stuff. If someone says that the best recommendation for something is X, then I tend to go X+1. When people were making 1" and 2" panels that were 24" x 36", when I heard that an air gap helped, and taller frames would help more with reflection points, I went 3.5" thick and 24" x 48" for my side wall panels, and 5.5" thick (4" of OC703) on the back wall in that panel. I would have gone thicker, but at the time few people were putting in air gaps or going larger like that. I wanted something so that I wouldn't say "Hmmm, I wonder if something else/different would have been better." I tried to get it right the first time by going a little more than what others were doing. That also included testing of the fabric too. I wanted the OC703 to do its job and for the fabric to "stay out of the way." I've sense learned that there are other great insulation options beside OC703 (which was the "gold standard" a few years back), and that the fabric we use isn't as impactful as you might think in an absorption panel, but still far more AT than commercial/professional panels. 

One caveat about the commercial/professional panels. They use things like GOM FR701 because it has been the "standard" in the solid color panel industry for a long time, the colors from one fabric run to another are consistent (important in commercial use if a panel needs replaced due to damage), and probably most importantly, it is fire retardant. If you apply fire retardant material onto the fabrics we use, you will basically plug up every hole between the fibers. The thicker, and courser, GOM products have a bigger weave that allows for the fire retardant material to be applied while still retaining enough AT properties (which doesn't need to be much) for an acoustical absorption panel.


----------



## RemixMark

RemixMark said:


> I ordered from myfabricdesigns.com on May 17th and my one print order is still showing “preparing shipment”. Hopefully they’ll get it out soon.


Well, just got an email fro MFD that my print was shipped/label created. Time to pick up some poplar this weekend so I’m ready when the print arrives


----------



## Snoochers

nickbuol said:


> They are buried in the old thread somewhere. I fully planned to do measurements of all of the current fabrics, but the sample sizes I received from MyFabricDesigns about a month ago are too small to rig up properly for the test. That being said, the fabrics that I've recommended even since the last round of tests are even more acoustically transparent using non-scientific methods (blow test) and have much better print/image quality. But again, even commercial/professional grade absorption panels many times are using covering materials that really aren't AT at all. I received samples many years ago from GIK, ATS, and had access to other materials that were on the absorption panels used at my church at the time, and they would fail the AT tests, scientific or not, but still do a great job with absorption panels as proven by their impact in a room more-so than the AT qualities of their covering material. Now, if putting over a speaker, yes, you would want as AT as possible, and what I recommend in my last chart has options for that too.
> 
> I am a stickler for this stuff. If someone says that the best recommendation for something is X, then I tend to go X+1. When people were making 1" and 2" panels that were 24" x 36", when I heard that an air gap helped, and taller frames would help more with reflection points, I went 3.5" thick and 24" x 48" for my side wall panels, and 5.5" thick (4" of OC703) on the back wall in that panel. I would have gone thicker, but at the time few people were putting in air gaps or going larger like that. I wanted something so that I wouldn't say "Hmmm, I wonder if something else/different would have been better." I tried to get it right the first time by going a little more than what others were doing. That also included testing of the fabric too. I wanted the OC703 to do its job and for the fabric to "stay out of the way." I've sense learned that there are other great insulation options beside OC703 (which was the "gold standard" a few years back), and that the fabric we use isn't as impactful as you might think in an absorption panel, but still far more AT than commercial/professional panels.
> 
> One caveat about the commercial/professional panels. They use things like GOM FR701 because it has been the "standard" in the solid color panel industry for a long time, the colors from one fabric run to another are consistent (important in commercial use if a panel needs replaced due to damage), and probably most importantly, it is fire retardant. If you apply fire retardant material onto the fabrics we use, you will basically plug up every hole between the fibers. The thicker, and courser, GOM products have a bigger weave that allows for the fire retardant material to be applied while still retaining enough AT properties (which doesn't need to be much) for an acoustical absorption panel.


Thanks for the information. My concern is the fact that people who are testing for acoustic transparency typically just use the fabric resource sound and the microphone but aren’t testing at different angles with the actual absorber with the fabric. Sound coming in at 45° hitting an absorber is different than sound coming in at 45° with an absorber and fabric. The fabric plays an important role as an air barrier but this is rarely tested properly. I’ll try to get my hands on some samples!


----------



## nickbuol

Snoochers said:


> Thanks for the information. My concern is the fact that people who are testing for acoustic transparency typically just use the fabric resource sound and the microphone but aren’t testing at different angles with the actual absorber with the fabric. Sound coming in at 45° hitting an absorber is different than sound coming in at 45° with an absorber and fabric. The fabric plays an important role as an air barrier but this is rarely tested properly. I’ll try to get my hands on some samples!


When I did previous tests, I used the microphone at 5 positions. Center, top, bottom, left, and right. The baseline measurement was with the frame in place but no fabric to get a control. Then I put the fabric in place and took measurements again for each one. No absorption material, just testing AT characteristics. Even some of the fabric that was originally used back at the beginning of that old thread by the author I would say was far from ideal if using the "blow test" (that stuff would suffocate you), still was viable because the frequency at which it was impacted was so small and at such a high frequency that it could either be attempted to be EQ'd out or simply left alone and the human ear wouldn't know any different.

I was not recommending that fabric though when I took over as the curator of all of this. I wanted the BEST DIY solution with proven materials for absorption (why I paid more for OC703 when I built my panels vs some of the alternatives that are now available or were available then but are now proven to be really good too). We were using Spoonflower for printing and their absolute best AT material was their Performance Knit. It was spectacular at being AT. It had its issues with being super stretchy, but to me I wanted the performance to be as good as possible. So that is what I used.

Then Spoonflower stopped printing movie, tv, music related images and we switched to MyFabricDesigns. Same drill. Got samples of what looked online the the best options, tested them out, etc.

Similar results using 5 measurement points. So it came down to image quality and stretch again.

Then MyFabricDesigns dropped their best AT product, and enough time had passed since I evaluated their fabrics as a whole that I asked for a full sample set. Unfortunately, they sent everything in 8" x 8" squares. I was using fat quarters in the past (18" x 22") which allowed me more room for measurements. I just simply haven't had the time to build a new small frame to try and hold these 8" x 8" samples as they would be more like 7" x 7", but the frame being that small would mean no off-axis measurements, and even on axis would be impacted by the frames, no matter how small I try to make them.

So with the latest fabric samples, I have only done a non-scientific analysis. I did compare them to some original Spoonflower Performance Knit samples in look, both printed and just the fabric itself, porosity, etc. It isn't a true off-axis test or even technically a true on-axis test either, but with all of my testing, these fabrics are so thin that their impact to frequencies, even off-axis, is so minimal that they really aren't a concern for absorption panels. The fabric is absorbing that tiny, microscopic frequency range and not reflecting it with these fabrics, and broadband absorption insulation isn't perfectly even at every frequency range either, so it really isn't a problem. The fabric absorbs unlike the foil or paper backed insulation or strips that people add for some reflection in a fully measured room with absorption, diffusion, and reflection plans.

In other words, keep it simple, don't over think it (I've already done that for everyone) this does work and it works very well for broadband absorption.


----------



## Snoochers

nickbuol said:


> When I did previous tests, I used the microphone at 5 positions. Center, top, bottom, left, and right. The baseline measurement was with the frame in place but no fabric to get a control. Then I put the fabric in place and took measurements again for each one. No absorption material, just testing AT characteristics. Even some of the fabric that was originally used back at the beginning of that old thread by the author I would say was far from ideal if using the "blow test" (that stuff would suffocate you), still was viable because the frequency at which it was impacted was so small and at such a high frequency that it could either be attempted to be EQ'd out or simply left alone and the human ear wouldn't know any different.
> 
> I was not recommending that fabric though when I took over as the curator of all of this. I wanted the BEST DIY solution with proven materials for absorption (why I paid more for OC703 when I built my panels vs some of the alternatives that are now available or were available then but are now proven to be really good too). We were using Spoonflower for printing and their absolute best AT material was their Performance Knit. It was spectacular at being AT. It had its issues with being super stretchy, but to me I wanted the performance to be as good as possible. So that is what I used.
> 
> Then Spoonflower stopped printing movie, tv, music related images and we switched to MyFabricDesigns. Same drill. Got samples of what looked online the the best options, tested them out, etc.
> 
> Similar results using 5 measurement points. So it came down to image quality and stretch again.
> 
> Then MyFabricDesigns dropped their best AT product, and enough time had passed since I evaluated their fabrics as a whole that I asked for a full sample set. Unfortunately, they sent everything in 8" x 8" squares. I was using fat quarters in the past (18" x 22") which allowed me more room for measurements. I just simply haven't had the time to build a new small frame to try and hold these 8" x 8" samples as they would be more like 7" x 7", but the frame being that small would mean no off-axis measurements, and even on axis would be impacted by the frames, no matter how small I try to make them.
> 
> So with the latest fabric samples, I have only done a non-scientific analysis. I did compare them to some original Spoonflower Performance Knit samples in look, both printed and just the fabric itself, porosity, etc. It isn't a true off-axis test or even technically a true on-axis test either, but with all of my testing, these fabrics are so thin that their impact to frequencies, even off-axis, is so minimal that they really aren't a concern for absorption panels. The fabric is absorbing that tiny, microscopic frequency range and not reflecting it with these fabrics, and broadband absorption insulation isn't perfectly even at every frequency range either, so it really isn't a problem. The fabric absorbs unlike the foil or paper backed insulation or strips that people add for some reflection in a fully measured room with absorption, diffusion, and reflection plans.
> 
> In other words, keep it simple, don't over think it (I've already done that for everyone) this does work and it works very well for broadband absorption.


Thanks for your replies and contributions! I'll give this some thought and see what my wife wants printed


----------



## PopSmith

I've run into a bit of a dilemma and want to see what the forum thinks. My prints are coming Sunday, so I checked with two local distributors of OC703 and neither carry it (it's special order). My local Home Depot has 5.5" Thermafiber mineral wool but not Safe'n'Sound. It's $50 for a package of 6. (EDIT: My local Lowes has Safe'n'Sound in stock for $60 for 12 panels, which is plenty. Based on a couple of posts in this thread, I'll just pick that up instead.) I found four panels of 4" OC703 online for $200, with shipping being $70 of that (ouch).

Would the Thermafiber work almost as well as the OC703? Or should I bite the bullet and just order the OC703?

Here's the Thermafiber I'm looking at:








Owens Corning 15 in. x 47 in. R21 Thermafiber Fire and Sound Guard Plus Mineral Wool Insulation Batt 1196589 - The Home Depot


Thermafiber Fire and Sound Guard Plus mineral wool insulation is designed to provide excellent thermal performance, noise control and fire resistance in residential and light commercial construction applications.



www.homedepot.com


----------



## squared80

nickbuol said:


> So with the latest fabric samples, I have only done a non-scientific analysis.


And what did your non-scientific analysis tell you? I'm about to order a few panels but wait with bated breath on your opinion of which to get.


----------



## nickbuol

squared80 said:


> And what did your non-scientific analysis tell you? I'm about to order a few panels but wait with bated breath on your opinion of which to get.


I have a breakdown here: Fabric Choices that have more than just fabric quality notes, but also size limitations. anything with a Yes in the Viable column could be considered in my opinion. Just look at the width and my notes and if needed ask me about which one(s) you are considering and I can look at the samples right in front of me for a more specific comparison. Once we get more people using the different choices since the really great stuff we were using before keeps being discontinued, we can settle on a couple of tried and true options.

Some fabrics that people have used are:
Basic Combed Cotton of course (not my favorite since it isn't as vibrant as some of the others, but it does work and MANY have used it.
Cotton Poplin (seems very promising as long as you don't have large areas of white in your image and can fit within the 42" width, which is our height since we rotate the images 90 degrees for printing).
Organic Cotton Sateen is a good choice too. It doesn't excel in anything, but is an option for people that need 56" width (again, height in our case).
Polyester Pongee Silk was a surprising option to me since it has the work "silk" in the name, but it doesn't look or feel like the other silk fabrics, except that it has a bit more shine to it.

Not sure about any others, and several of these we have not heard back yet from those that ordered them as to how they look and function in real life. If in doubt, you can go with Basic Combed Cotton. It passes all of the tests and is 54" wide, but personally I am not a huge fan of the image quality and the visible weave compared to other materials, but we aren't standing right in front of the panels and examining the image. They are typically viewed from across the room (when entering your space) or from a couple of feet away. I just have been spoiled with the Performance Knit printed panels I built for the previous theater and ones I build about 1.5 years ago for my home office.


----------



## squared80

Man, this is one hell of a thread. Huge props to @nickbuol for the tutorials, videos, links, testing, etc., etc. Give that man a gold star.


----------



## Bbapache

Just got an email saying the Polyester Pongee Silk is half off right now!


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## squared80

Bbapache said:


> Just got an email saying the Polyester Pongee Silk is half off right now!


Is $7.25 the sale price?









_EDIT_

I Googled coupon codes, and using *FABRIC25 *works as of this posting.


----------



## Bbapache

squared80 said:


> Is $7.25 the sale price?
> View attachment 3290647
> 
> 
> _EDIT_
> 
> I Googled coupon codes, and using *FABRIC25 *works as of this posting.


Yeah


----------



## PopSmith

For those that have built a few of these, did you do anything to the prints to remove the creases prior to mounting them? My prints, which arrived today, were highly folded with significant creases and a few wrinkles. Do they need to be worked out? Would it harm the prints to use a clothes steamer? Or is stretching the prints over the frame enough?

That aside, they arrived in great shape and actually look better than I expected! The blacks look pretty dark and the colors turned out well, despite me not doing any editing aside from adding a border. There's a lot more whitespace on the border than I expected, but I don't suspect it to be an issue. I'll post pictures when I build the frames this weekend.


----------



## squared80

Looking at doing an MST3K panel. I was searching for some decent movie stills from Pod People (like, "It Stinks!"), but haven't found one yet. I attached the PNG I made of the silhouette if anyone wants to use it (example below using Up). Image size is 49.50 x 25.50, 150 PPI, but I don't know if the quality holds when I upload it here.


----------



## RemixMark

PopSmith said:


> For those that have built a few of these, did you do anything to the prints to remove the creases prior to mounting them? My prints, which arrived today, were highly folded with significant creases and a few wrinkles. Do they need to be worked out? Would it harm the prints to use a clothes steamer? Or is stretching the prints over the frame enough?
> 
> That aside, they arrived in great shape and actually look better than I expected! The blacks look pretty dark and the colors turned out well, despite me not doing any editing aside from adding a border. There's a lot more whitespace on the border than I expected, but I don't suspect it to be an issue. I'll post pictures when I build the frames this weekend.


Iron the print before attaching to you frame.


----------



## nickbuol

PopSmith said:


> For those that have built a few of these, did you do anything to the prints to remove the creases prior to mounting them? My prints, which arrived today, were highly folded with significant creases and a few wrinkles. Do they need to be worked out? Would it harm the prints to use a clothes steamer? Or is stretching the prints over the frame enough?
> 
> That aside, they arrived in great shape and actually look better than I expected! The blacks look pretty dark and the colors turned out well, despite me not doing any editing aside from adding a border. There's a lot more whitespace on the border than I expected, but I don't suspect it to be an issue. I'll post pictures when I build the frames this weekend.


You can use wrinkle release spray if you want, steaming them can work too, but most people are pretty successful with just stretching them on the frames too. I would recommend trying to remove the creases before mounting so that when you stretch the fabric onto the frame, it just gets rid of the last bit of creases instead of trying to remove all of it at that time. Then again, different fabrics stretch more than others and the more stretchy something is, the easier it is to get rid of wrinkles.


----------



## TooManyTimeZones

Let there be light!








Speakers will be installed next week and flooring the following week. It's time for me to get ~10 acoustic posters printed and assembled. These are some images that I'm considering:









I plan to put the 4 star wars images on the back wall.


----------



## galonzo

I ordered the rest of my prints on the PPS during the sale, and one of them is similar to *the one with the white problem area I posted*, so we'll see how it compares (It's *this one*)...


----------



## RemixMark

Got to use my last peice of OC703. The new material, Polyester Pongee Silk, was very stretchy and forgiving.


Maximum effort.


----------



## squared80

Put in my order today - less than $100 for all this! Some 2x4, some 2x3, some 1.5x4. A couple deeper ones are 3x3 using 1x8 boards. I usually use Pixlr to edit phots, but Photopea was much easier and quicker for what I needed to do with these; mainly adjustments with vibrance, saturation, contrast, and obviously sizing/pixel density.

I chose Polyester Pongee Silk and just made all the borders a colored 58x36 (1 yard of fabric) so I didn't have to worry about the white parts. I did not want a black border with our blue walls, so what I did was find the exact Hex code for our room color (Home Depot Behr Marquee Starless Night), made it 25% darker, and rolled with that. Wish me luck. If we don't like it, I have a ton of extra black velvet that I can wrap the outside with.

I asked my wife and 3 kids what their all-time favorite movies were, and I'll surprise them with these. Of course I had to get Shawshank Redemption in there, too. I'm hoping the wording turns out okay on that one. I also have an ode to MST3K on my Up poster. 

Most of these I found on Movie Mania, but I had to do deep dives and spent _hours _looking for a few of these online that were of a high enough quality.


----------



## OnEMoReTrY121

Awesome thread and huge props to @nickbuol for the value added. I'm finalizing my order with MyFabricDesigns for 9 posters on Polyester Pongee Silk and am wondering what the recommendation is for adding brightness/contrast/saturation? All my images are sourced from MovieMania.io. Hoping to get the order placed before EOD to take advantage of the sale but am concerned at the prospect of 'dull' colors.

EDIT: upped the brightness, contrast, and saturation by 12%, let's see how this turns out.


----------



## RemixMark

squared80 said:


> Put in my order today - less than $100 for all this! Some 2x4, some 2x3, some 1.5x4. A couple deeper ones are 3x3 using 1x8 boards. I usually use Pixlr to edit phots, but Photopea was much easier and quicker for what I needed to do with these; mainly adjustments with vibrance, saturation, contrast, and obviously sizing/pixel density.
> 
> I chose Polyester Pongee Silk and just made all the borders a colored 58x36 (1 yard of fabric) so I didn't have to worry about the white parts. I did not want a black border with our blue walls, so what I did was find the exact Hex code for our room color (Home Depot Behr Marquee Starless Night), made it 25% darker, and rolled with that. Wish me luck. If we don't like it, I have a ton of extra black velvet that I can wrap the outside with.
> 
> I asked my wife and 3 kids what their all-time favorite movies were, and I'll surprise them with these. Of course I had to get Shawshank Redemption in there, too. I'm hoping the wording turns out okay on that one. I also have an ode to MST3K on my Up poster.
> 
> Most of these I found on Movie Mania, but I had to do deep dives and spent _hours _looking for a few of these online that were of a high enough quality.
> 
> View attachment 3292217


Adjusting the vibrance and saturation was probably a good call, the blues and reds should really pop. I'm guessing you have some specific spots for the Peanuts and Spiderverse posters as those look pretty tall from the thumbnail.

Looking forward to seeing these once you have them.


----------



## swfire271

OnEMoReTrY121 said:


> Awesome thread and huge props to @nickbuol for the value added. I'm finalizing my order with MyFabricDesigns for 9 posters on Polyester Pongee Silk and am wondering what the recommendation is for adding brightness/contrast/saturation? All my images are sourced from MovieMania.io. Hoping to get the order placed before EOD to take advantage of the sale but am concerned at the prospect of 'dull' colors.
> 
> EDIT: upped the brightness, contrast, and saturation by 12%, let's see how this turns out.


Please update when you receive or build them. I will be doing this myself here pretty quickly as well, sourcing my images from the same website and everything. Curious to see your thoughts when you are finished - thanks!


----------



## kingz0489

TooManyTimeZones said:


> Let there be light!
> View attachment 3291393
> 
> 
> Speakers will be installed next week and flooring the following week. It's time for me to get ~10 acoustic posters printed and assembled. These are some images that I'm considering:
> View attachment 3291430
> 
> 
> I plan to put the 4 star wars images on the back wall.


Hey TooMany, would you be willing to share the 4 panel star was back wall images. I have been trying hard to replicate this and cant find them anywhere that is a useable resolution. thank you.


----------



## Bbapache

nathan_h said:


> So due to availability I ended up getting some of this stuff. I have enough to use two 1.5" thick pieces in each panel (inside the typical 3.5" deep wood frame).
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ROCKWOOL R-6.3 Comfortboard 80 1-1/2 in. x 24 in. x 48 in. Stone Wool Insulated Sheathing Board (48 sqft) RXCB11224 - The Home Depot
> 
> 
> ROCKWOOL Comfortboard 80 thermal insulated sheathing is a rigid stone wool insulation board designed for use as an exterior continuous insulation in residential to increase the performance of basement
> 
> 
> 
> www.homedepot.com
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I am assuming I should definitely double it up, to get significant absorption as low as possible in the frequency range?


How did this turn out? This seems like one of the few options available to me right now.


----------



## TooManyTimeZones

kingz0489 said:


> Hey TooMany, would you be willing to share the 4 panel star was back wall images. I have been trying hard to replicate this and cant find them anywhere that is a useable resolution. thank you.


Hi KingZ,

You can download the image here. (I'm not sure where I originally found it). I might prefer a crisper image, but this is fine for my application.
I'll send you a link to my version of it and the changes I made in Photoshop. I had to change to 3 posters instead of 4 so they would fit between my rear speakers. 
The separation between the posters will be 2 inches.


----------



## TooManyTimeZones

kingz0489 said:


> Hey TooMany, would you be willing to share the 4 panel star was back wall images. I have been trying hard to replicate this and cant find them anywhere that is a useable resolution. thank you.


I've sent you a couple links in a conversation.


----------



## nathan_h

Bbapache said:


> How did this turn out? This seems like one of the few options available to me right now.


Works well for me.


----------



## GunerX

so ive been reading through this thread (theres a LOT of information here) and I'm trying to understand it all, can anyone do a quick confirm on all this info to ensure I'm doing this right?

The goto source for movie poster images is moviemania.

Upscale your image (there are various ways of doing this, but i prefer to use this site here and then do my work in GIMP: IMAGEUPSCALER )

Make the image be 58 inches wide to fit the current fabric of choice, Polyester Pongee Silk. (right here I found that actually Doubling the size to be 116 inches wide actually makes their websites little "dpi" scaler function better, then making the image smaller until it fits)

Add a border based on the size of the Frame that you want to use, example: 2 inch frame, 2 inch black border all the way around with the picture still centered.

The first posts say to use Owens Corning 703, but later posts say to use different materials. What should I be using? Where do I get it?


----------



## Navv

Anyone willing to make me 3 of these acoustic picture frames? I’ve been traveling for work, and can’t find any free time to make them. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## RemixMark

Navv said:


> Anyone willing to make me 3 of these acoustic picture frames? I’ve been traveling for work, and can’t find any free time to make them.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


If you were local I'd be happy to (I'm in Michigan and it looks like you're in Texas). This may be a good option for you: Acoustic Panels | Bass Traps | Sound Diffusers - GIK Acoustics

If you don't mind paying shipping and tell me what pictures you want I could throw you a quote, but I doubt it'll be cheaper than what GIK does.

Perhaps I'm wrong here, but the appeal w/ these panels is you can make many of them fairly cheap (I think I made 18 custom panels for <$500) as you're not paying for your own time. If you have the money to blow than GIK may be the better option for you, especially if you just want 3. @nickbuol will probably have some very wise thoughts on this subject as well


----------



## PopSmith

GunerX said:


> so ive been reading through this thread (theres a LOT of information here) and I'm trying to understand it all, can anyone do a quick confirm on all this info to ensure I'm doing this right?


MovieMania works great. Theposterdb.com has a great variety and a lot of textless posters as well.

Preferably, look for the highest resolution picture you can find instead of upscaling. Only if you can't find a very high resolution picture should you upscale.

Yes, on the border size.

If you can locally get Owens Corning 703, that's fine. Safe'n'Sound (insulation brand) has been shown to work just as well with better availability and cost. It's available nationwide (in the US) at Lowes.


----------



## PopSmith

Sorry for the double post, I finished my panels tonight and wanted to share a few pictures.

For some reason one of my posters turned out slightly too small. Luckily it doesn't look weird due to the black border.

I steamed the posters before installing them, which basically got the wrinkles and creases out. (Thanks to Nick for the suggestion!)

My work bench:










First frame built, weed barrier and insulation installed! I did the insulation on this one a bit different than the rest. I meant to leave an air gap but forgot until after I stapled the poster on. 










Checking the poster fit before stapling it. I messed up and only did 4" borders, despite intending to do 6" thick frames on the rear wall posters. Whoops🤦‍♂️










Weed barrier installed, poster stapled and excess fabric trimmed.










Close-up right after finishing. This panel is 1x6 and will go on the back wall of the theater with the panel at the end of this post. It just needs the French cleat, which I'll install just prior to hanging it.










I installed the insulation in the remaining panels by inserting a full-width piece and a half-width piece like this:









One finished panel with 1x4s. Next to velvet it looks almost dark grey:










Another finished panel with 1x4s:









The other rear panel with 1x6s. Strangely, this poster was too narrow. The black border looks great though and almost makes it look framed.










Overall, I enjoyed the process. It was a lot of fun and something I'd recommend. I'll add a few more pictures once I get time to hang them.

Update: Added more pictures from the MLP after I got everything hung. The LoTR panel had to be in front of the door to be in proper position, so I had to rig up a slider. I used an old office drawer rail for it.

Jurassic Park (left side when facing the screen):









LoTR (right side when facing the screen):









Scott Pilgrim and Free Solo on rear wall:


----------



## OnEMoReTrY121

How long did it take for MyFabricDesigns to deliver your posters? I ordered 6/10 and it still says preparing for shipment.


----------



## nathan_h

RemixMark said:


> If you have the money to blow than GIK may be the better option for you, especially if you just want 3.


This is very true.


----------



## TooManyTimeZones

OnEMoReTrY121 said:


> How long did it take for MyFabricDesigns to deliver your posters? I ordered 6/10 and it still says preparing for shipment.


I'm curious also. I ordered my first posters from MFD on 6/17 and they haven't arrived yet. Their website says "Ships in 10-15 business-days". If they ship UPS Ground that could be up to 5 business days, depending on MFD's location. July 4th holiday will add another "business" day. That would put the worst case for me at July 16 . But given all the supply chain issues, I'm not planning on it. 

Sure hope they aren't shipping from China.


----------



## RemixMark

TooManyTimeZones said:


> I'm curious also. I ordered my first posters from MFD on 6/17 and they haven't arrived yet. Their website says "Ships in 10-15 business-days". If they ship UPS Ground that could be up to 5 business days, depending on MFD's location. July 4th holiday will add another "business" day. That would put the worst case for me at July 16 . But given all the supply chain issues, I'm not planning on it.
> 
> Sure hope they aren't shipping from China.


My last order of just one print was ordered on 5/17/2022 and the shipping label was created on 6/2/2022 and shipped out of Dallas, TX. Took 4 days to reach me in Michigan via USPS.


----------



## nathan_h

When I oredered it shipped from Southeast Asia and took about three weeks total.


----------



## PopSmith

OnEMoReTrY121 said:


> How long did it take for MyFabricDesigns to deliver your posters? I ordered 6/10 and it still says preparing for shipment.





TooManyTimeZones said:


> I'm curious also. I ordered my first posters from MFD on 6/17 and they haven't arrived yet.


I ordered my prints on May 16th and received them June 7th, for a turnaround time of 22 days. The exact dates were:

Ordered May 16th
Preparing shipment May 21st
Shipped June 2nd
Arrived June 7th


----------



## kh602

I'm going to order the print from MFD. Since the Performance Knit seems to be a favorite, I'll go for that. I can only find the Quadri Performance Knit. Is that the same one that everyone is talking about?


----------



## kay7711226

I want to literally thank everyone for the knowledge and help shared in this forum. I spent my entire afternoon reading the forum and tutorial videos(amazing work) and now I am going down the rabbit hole........
Question's
I am considering maybe 6 panels, 2 of which is in stairwell going down into the basement and not so much need for acoustic purposes, the other 4 will be for acoustic around the MLP. My back wall is 15ft away from MLP and don't think I need treatment there(REW is as good as I can get it for base response) 
I may however decide to do all 6 for acoustic incase want to switch out/move panels around. I saw some did the "wrap around" option If I decide to go that route what changes should I consider to the picture sizing compared to what's recommended in the beginning of this thread?(my size will be same 25.5” x 38.25” )

Are there any other options than the OC703 and the ROCKWOOL SAFE 'n' SOUND? I'm located in the Northeast and can't seem to find any locally(did look up the tips and trick to finding it however no luck)

Was there a "final" say on what is now the "current" best fabric option with the Performance Knit no longer available?

Any coupons going around for sale on the fabric from MFD?

Again thanks and hopefully once I get going I can share my learnings that may help the next after me!


----------



## TooManyTimeZones

kay7711226 said:


> Are there any other options than the OC703 and the ROCKWOOL SAFE 'n' SOUND? I'm located in the Northeast and can't seem to find any locally(did look up the tips and trick to finding it however no luck)


Are any of these close to you? SPI usually has them in stock at the one near Dallas.


----------



## RemixMark

kay7711226 said:


> Was there a "final" say on what is now the "current" best fabric option with the Performance Knit no longer available?
> 
> Any coupons going around for sale on the fabric from MFD?


See for info about fabric: 'DIY Custom-Printed Movie Poster Acoustic Panels -...

it’s typically a good idea to boost the contrast and color a bit as it gets washed out after printing. 

For a coupon, sign up for their newsletter and create an account. Sometimes a coupon is automatically added to your order.


----------



## jon44

Any idea how to keep the image at a reasonable file size? I have a small but simple 3 color image I'd like to resize to 25.5 wide at 150 px/in. But am getting a warning that the file will be 585MB. I must be missing something.


----------



## RemixMark

jon44 said:


> Any idea how to keep the image at a reasonable file size? I have a small but simple 3 color image I'd like to resize to 25.5 wide at 150 px/in. But am getting a warning that the file will be 585MB. I must be missing something.


Can you post a link to the image on google drive or one drive?

I'm guessing your resolution is too high. You only need 150DPI.


----------



## jon44

Thanks for your response. The image is located here...









acoustic panel


Shared with Dropbox




www.dropbox.com


----------



## RemixMark

Couple of things here.


the image you uploaded had a canvas size larger than what your image was. I cropped it to just your image.
I changed the image size to what you wanted (25.5 inches wide). This put the length at 52.535 inches (very tall). You'll need to use at least two pieces of insulation to accommodate this length if you're using OC703. Not a big deal, but just an FYI.
When I resized the image in Gimp I did get a warning about the file size. However, when I exported the image as a .jpg it was only ~2MB.
I'm guessing you want to add a solid color border around the image (for the depth of the frame)? I think it'd be cool to use that existing tan color and extend it out so it fills the depth of your frame, but your call at the end of the day . Here's the .jpg and .xcf file jon44
Let me know if you'd like any additional help!

p.s. this video always helps when I forget what "tools/functions" to use inside of Gimp


----------



## jon44

RemixMark said:


> Couple of things here.
> 
> 
> the image you uploaded had a canvas size larger than what your image was. I cropped it to just your image.
> I changed the image size to what you wanted (25.5 inches wide). This put the length at 52.535 inches (very tall). You'll need to use at least two pieces of insulation to accommodate this length if you're using OC703. Not a big deal, but just an FYI.
> When I resized the image in Gimp I did get a warning about the file size. However, when I exported the image as a .jpg it was only ~2MB.
> I'm guessing you want to add a solid color border around the image (for the depth of the frame)? I think it'd be cool to use that existing tan color and extend it out so it fills the depth of your frame, but your call at the end of the day . Here's the .jpg and .xcf file jon44
> Let me know if you'd like any additional help!
> 
> p.s. this video always helps when I forget what "tools/functions" to use inside of Gimp


This is a huge help. Thanks!


----------



## nickbuol

jon44 said:


> Thanks for your response. The image is located here...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> acoustic panel
> 
> 
> Shared with Dropbox
> 
> 
> 
> 
> www.dropbox.com


When I downloaded the file from that link, it was just 57KB in size, but it sounds like RemixMark got you squared away.

One other thing, it the original was a PNG file, then that is most likely uncompressed too which makes for huge file sizes like Mark fixed in his step 3 above. 

Hopefully you get it all sorted out. If not, as you see, there are people here willing to help.

I have been offline for a couple of weeks. Trying to get a break from work, but they kept finding me. LOL

Anyway, I'm back home now and back to my normal crazy schedule, so I too will be back in the forums more again.


----------



## kay7711226

TooManyTimeZones said:


> Are any of these close to you? SPI usually has them in stock at the one near Dallas.
> View attachment 3303587





RemixMark said:


> See for info about fabric: 'DIY Custom-Printed Movie Poster Acoustic Panels -...
> 
> it’s typically a good idea to boost the contrast and color a bit as it gets washed out after printing.
> 
> For a coupon, sign up for their newsletter and create an account. Sometimes a coupon is automatically added to your order.


Thanks both for the suggestions, I did reach out to *SPI* prices are to expensive so decided on this instead Safe 'n' Sound 3 in. x 15-1/4 in. x 47 in . 

It is not 24inches wide but 15.25, my plan is to use 1 full piece and cut another in half giving me ~22.5inches wide. With 1x4 boards that should give me picture width of 24(x1.5 ratio)= 36 however in the image program editor gimp it worked out to be 24x38.4 which I left as is then added 4inch boarders.
Poster with boarders worked out to be 48x33(flipped horizontally) and also added 10+ to both the contrast and brightness. 
My plan is to make 8 of these using the cotton poplin, appreciate if someone can help double check 2 of my posters in the following link kay7711226 posters the naming convention 10x10x24x38 and 24x38 is referencing my calculations and edits above. If any suggestions I will apply to the rest of my posters

My brother is also looking into helping getting these printed at no cost, he previously worked at a billboard printing company in the NYC area. I cannot say what fabric they will use but I do have some prints we did some years ago and they looked fantastic. It was a minimal stretch none cotton fabric will find out more if he can get it done, based on @*nickbuol *fabric testing I think it is viable without knowledge on the "blow test". Anything else I should watch out for if he can get them printed?


----------



## jon44

nickbuol said:


> When I downloaded the file from that link, it was just 57KB in size, but it sounds like RemixMark got you squared away.
> 
> One other thing, it the original was a PNG file, then that is most likely uncompressed too which makes for huge file sizes like Mark fixed in his step 3 above.
> 
> Hopefully you get it all sorted out. If not, as you see, there are people here willing to help.
> 
> I have been offline for a couple of weeks. Trying to get a break from work, but they kept finding me. LOL
> 
> Anyway, I'm back home now and back to my normal crazy schedule, so I too will be back in the forums more again.


Thanks Nick. I think I'm on the right track now. I'll post up some photos when done.


----------



## nickbuol

New coupon hit my inbox earlier today for 30% off.



MyFabricDesigns said:


> Use code *XmasPrep* at checkout to get 30% OFF Now!
> Discount code is one-time use per user
> Valid thru 07/22/22


----------



## shivaji

It is a bit annoying that they send the prints folded up and all creased. They should roll them and ship in a tube.


----------



## nickbuol

shivaji said:


> It is a bit annoying that they send the prints folded up and all creased. They should roll them and ship in a tube.


For smaller individual 1 yard prints like we are doing, it sure would be nice, even as an option. I know that folded keeps the shipping costs down, but it would be nice, although it would be about a 3.5 foot long tube and probably get bent in transit anyway....

Plus, their business is catering to people actually buying custom printed fabric for making clothing and such, so those people are ordering larger quantities than 1 yard at a time per print. Then you would need potentially 6+ foot long tubes for some of those.

Still, for smaller sizes like we do, it would be a nice option (like I said above).


----------



## galonzo

galonzo said:


> I ordered the rest of my prints on the PPS during the sale, and one of them is similar to *the one with the white problem area I posted*, so we'll see how it compares (It's *this one*)...


Small update on the different materials: my PPS (Polyester Pongee Silk) prints are in, and although I haven't been able to test the whiter areas (like I said I would in my previous post above), I found that blacks are not so great on the PPS 

In Photoshop, I applied a filter on these two movie scene images and added the rest of the black above, and here's the difference I'm seeing between the two (Cotton Poplin on the left):








Off to re-order this print, but on CP...


----------



## nathan_h

galonzo said:


> Small update on the different materials: my PPS (Polyester Pongee Silk) prints are in, and although I haven't been able to test the whiter areas (like I said I would in my previous post above), I found that blacks are not so great on the PPS
> 
> In Photoshop, I applied a filter on these two movie scene images and added the rest of the black above, and here's the difference I'm seeing between the two (Cotton Poplin on the left):
> View attachment 3308411
> 
> 
> Off to re-order this print, but on CP...


That’s a great example. Thanks.


----------



## djester2000

nickbuol said:


> *MyFabricDesigns Fabric Choices - April 2022*
> 
> 
> From April 11, 2022. Current fabric choices from MyFabricDesigns and my initial thoughts on them.
> From Post #205:
> I am trying to provide some information timely for everyone, so I did a rough "Round - 1" examination of each of these fabrics. I want to go back and look at the best options, see if I can differentiate more between the top contenders, but at least you have my initial thoughts.... I will set up a sharable file when I have more sorted out, but for now this copy/paste of my Excel sheet that I am working on.
> 
> 
> FabricPrintable WidthThread CountOverall Image QualityImage ColorImage ClarityFabric SheenStretchyAT "Blow Test"ViableNotesBasic Combed Cotton54"100x76GoodGoodGoodMatteMinorOK-LowYesCan see the weave and is visually see through.Cotton Poplin42"144x84Good-GreatGood-GreatGreatMatteNoOKYesNice color and clarity. Looks good, slightly see-through against contrasting background.Cotton Silk42"UnknownOKGoodOKSatinNoOKMaybeCan see the weave and it impacts the clarity. Slightly see through, but not bad.Cotton Voile42"108x100Good -GreatGoodGoodMatteMinimalOKMaybeVery thin fabric making it see-through and contrast isn't the best. Due toFaux Linen Canvas54"40x50TerribleOKTerribleMatteNoMinimalNoBad weave level makes this completely unusable.Faux Linen Slub42"90x90OKGoodOKMatteNoOKLast resortWeave is visible and fabric is slightly see-through. I would choose something else.Faux Linen Slub Sheer58"72x55TerriblePoorPoorMatteNoYesNoLoose weave and very see through and this destroys the image quality.Flame Retardant Faux Linen Canvas56"40x30TerribleOKTerribleMatteNoYesNoLike Faux Linen Canvas, but a very loose knit making it just as ugly, but also very see-through. Don't use this.Heavy Cotton Twill58"136x60PoorGoodPoorSatinNoNoNoNice color, but very textured fabric reduces image clarity and fails the breathability test.Interlock Blend46"UnknownOKVibrantOKSatinSignificant in one directionGreatMaybeFabric seems to have a little color bleed which takes a little bit from the clarity. If stretched, the image starts to show white (not good).Linen Cotton Blend50"103x42PoorGoodPoorMatteNoNoNoStrong variable visible weave gives more of an "industrial" look, but hurts image quality.Nylon Lycra Blend56UnknownPoorPoorOKMatteSignificant in both directionsYesNoFabric almost looks "grey" as an base color, thus making everything else very dull. Not recommended.Organic Cotton Interlock Knit58"UnknownOKGood-GreatOKMatteSignificant in one directionGoodYesCan see the weave in one direction. Good at not being see-through.Organic Cotton Jacquard58"UnknownPoorGoodPoorSatinSignificant in one directionGreatNoFabric itself is patterned and it destroys the otherwise great image.Organic Cotton Sateen56"160x90GoodGoodGoodMatteMinimalOKYesCan see the weave and is visually see through.Polyester Crepe Jersey58"UnknownTerribleOKOKSatinSignificant in one directionYesNoThe base fabric is very inconsistent in thickness making it about 50% OK for transparency and 50% see through. This also takes away from the overall look of the quality and causes the fabric to look "blotchy."Polyester French Terry58"UnknownOK-GoodGreatGoodSatinSignificant in one directionYesYesImage is very slightly blurry from color bleed, but not bad. Thicker than most other fabrics meaning it is significantly better than the others at hiding anything behind it. You can see the weave a little bit though. Beware of stretching too much as it can make the weave a little more noticeable.Polyester Pongee Silk58"UnknownGoodGreatGoodSemi-GlossSignificant in one directionYesMaybeGood color and clarity, better than Polyester French Terry. You can see the weave, but it isn't bad. Stretchy, but a little more forgiving than other fabrics in retaining constant color. Black levels could be better. Use only with images with limited black coloration.Polyester Slub Jersey58"UnknownTerribleOKPoorSatinSignificant in one directionYesNoThe base fabric is very inconsistent in thickness making it about 75% OK for transparency and 25% see through. This also takes away from the overall look of the quality and causes the fabric to look "blotchy." Color also seems to bleed a bit also reducing the quality.Premium Cotton54"60x60PoorGoodPoorMatteMinimalOK-LowLast resortImage has "blurry" looking, can see the weave, less see-through than Basic Combed CottonQuadri Performance Sport Knit62"UnknownTerribleGoodOKSemi-GlossSignificant in one directionYesNoDistinct weave pattern that destroys the image quality. Don't use this.Satin56"50x50Good-GreatVibrantGreatSatinNoMinimalYesOverall this looks really good. Not very AT per the "blow test." Slightly see-through, but not terrible like some of the others.Silk Crepe De Chine42"UnknownGoodVibrantGoodSatinMinimalOK-LowMaybeColors are blown out a bit, but really solid. Super thin and see through, but surprisingly not super AT. Possible color bleed.Silk Crinkle Linen52"UnknownPoorGoodPoorMatteNoGoodNoStrong visible weave, but also thin and see-through. Both hurts the image quality.Silky Faille42"200x78GoodGreatVery GoodSemi-GlossNoNoMaybeNeed measured and it 100% fails the blow-through test. Slight color bleed takes away from being spot-on for quality, but still really good.


It appears they are no longer carrying Performance Knit. Do you recommend another site?
Fantastic post. I have done everything using Gimp and am ready to order. *Thanks so much for all the time you've put in.*


----------



## RemixMark

djester2000 said:


> It appears they are no longer carrying Performance Knit. Do you recommend another site?
> Fantastic post. I have done everything using Gimp and am ready to order. *Thanks so much for all the time you've put in.*


We are still using MFD. Polyester Pongee Silk is the fabric you want. Just make sure you increase your brightness and contrast a bit (maybe 25% or so) before you upload your images.


----------



## M4BGRINGO

I'll keep reading this thread, thanks so much for linking it for me!
I joined the album art exchange, I think a lot of my images will come from there, after all, it is a music room, why not! 
I also found galaxy fabric on Spoonflower which looks really nice. I may start with that. Heck, once the frames are built and the insulation is in the back, the material can be swapped when I get bored with it.


----------



## Mike_d_s

@TooManyTimeZones I thought I saw a pic of the the star wars panels up on a wall in a thread but can't find it in here (and don't remember where I saw it). I wanted to show my wife to give her an idea of what they look like in reality. Was that you that posted the pic of them up on the wall and can you repost it here or a link to the thread with the pic?


----------



## TooManyTimeZones

Mike_d_s said:


> @TooManyTimeZones I thought I saw a pic of the the star wars panels up on a wall in a thread but can't find it in here (and don't remember where I saw it). I wanted to show my wife to give her an idea of what they look like in reality. Was that you that posted the pic of them up on the wall and can you repost it here or a link to the thread with the pic?


Here's the post where I first saw it. View attachment 3203993


----------



## Mike_d_s

TooManyTimeZones said:


> Here's the post where I first saw it. View attachment 3203993


Thanks, that must have been it. For some reason I had it in my head that it was a 3 panel version so I had it connected to you in my head since you said you did 3 panels instead of 4. Appreciate the help.


----------



## nickbuol

Mike_d_s said:


> Thanks, that must have been it. For some reason I had it in my head that it was a 3 panel version so I had it connected to you in my head since you said you did 3 panels instead of 4. Appreciate the help.


There are both 3 and 4 panels versions of this that people have had printed. I did a 3-panel a couple of years ago, but also shared my un-cut image file which has been turned into other 3 and 4 panel versions that you see out there.


----------



## Mike_d_s

nickbuol said:


> There are both 3 and 4 panels versions of this that people have had printed. I did a 3-panel a couple of years ago, but also shared my un-cut image file which has been turned into other 3 and 4 panel versions that you see out there.


I saw the image file and I thought I had seen a 3 panel version someone attached to a thread here on AVSforum. I just couldn't find the thread with the attached image. But the image TMTZ posted was good enough to give my wife an idea of what it actually looks like on the wall.


----------



## nickbuol

Mike_d_s said:


> I saw the image file and I thought I had seen a 3 panel version someone attached to a thread here on AVSforum. I just couldn't find the thread with the attached image. But the image TMTZ posted was good enough to give my wife an idea of what it actually looks like on the wall.


Any image that is posted here would be a reduced resolution one, but if you are just needing to give the boss wife an idea of what it would look like, then that works.


----------



## Mike_d_s

nickbuol said:


> Any image that is posted here would be a reduced resolution one, but if you are just needing to give the boss wife an idea of what it would look like, then that works.


Yep, wasn't thinking to use the attached image as a source file just trying to find the finished example pic. My wife is super visual about stuff like that and one example pic is usually better than any explanation or sketch. Specifically I wanted her to see the sort of triptych style with the image split across multiple panels. She's a big Lawrence of Arabia fan and I wanted her to see the example as she was asking me about doing an LOA poster and I think a desert panorama shot might make a good multipanel set.


----------



## TooManyTimeZones

Mike_d_s said:


> Yep, wasn't thinking to use the attached image as a source file just trying to find the finished example pic. My wife is super visual about stuff like that and one example pic is usually better than any explanation or sketch. Specifically I wanted her to see the sort of triptych style with the image split across multiple panels. She's a big Lawrence of Arabia fan and I wanted her to see the example as she was asking me about doing an LOA poster and I think a desert panorama shot might make a good multipanel set.


This is the 3-panel version I'm working on. It assumes a 2" separation between the panels. Total length is 80.5 inches. This fits between my rear speakers.


----------



## OnEMoReTrY121

TooManyTimeZones said:


> This is the 3-panel version I'm working on. It assumes a 2" separation between the panels. Total length is 80.5 inches. This fits between my rear speakers.
> View attachment 3313068


This is exactly what I'm hoping to do too. Have you found a high-quality source version of this image?


----------



## RemixMark

OnEMoReTrY121 said:


> This is exactly what I'm hoping to do too. Have you found a high-quality source version of this image?


I’m on mobile so I can’t, but you can google reverse image search this: star wars wallpaper 2 monitors - Google Search


----------



## hankhill11

So if I'm not printing pictures on my first round of diy panels, is there any fabric that's easy to get (hobby lobby, Joanns, walmart) that comes in a couple basic colors, that is considered better than others? I think I see burlap being ok and with a few colors, or just actual speaker grill fab, but that's typically just black.


----------



## RemixMark

hankhill11 said:


> So if I'm not printing pictures on my first round of diy panels, is there any fabric that's easy to get (hobby lobby, Joanns, walmart) that comes in a couple basic colors, that is considered better than others? I think I see burlap being ok and with a few colors, or just actual speaker grill fab, but that's typically just black.


@nickbuol probably has some great info, but the breath test seems to be “good enough”. Breath through it and if you can feel your breath on the other side then sound waves will also be able to get through the fabric. Head down to Joann’s and start breathing on fabric! 😉


----------



## TooManyTimeZones

OnEMoReTrY121 said:


> This is exactly what I'm hoping to do too. Have you found a high-quality source version of this image?


I sent you some info via conversations.


----------



## nickbuol

hankhill11 said:


> So if I'm not printing pictures on my first round of diy panels, is there any fabric that's easy to get (hobby lobby, Joanns, walmart) that comes in a couple basic colors, that is considered better than others? I think I see burlap being ok and with a few colors, or just actual speaker grill fab, but that's typically just black.


Really, just about any cheap fabric will do if you want solid colors. If you can blow air through it at all, then it is fairly acoustically transparent. If you find something that is a little hard to blow through, it probably will still work totally find for absorption panels, but it will slightly block some of the absorption that the acoustical insulation would do, but barely noticeable without measuring equipment.


----------



## nickbuol

OnEMoReTrY121 said:


> This is exactly what I'm hoping to do too. Have you found a high-quality source version of this image?


TMTZ has copies of my images that I've used before. Sounds like he is getting them to you, but if you need anything different done with them, just give a yell.


----------



## OnEMoReTrY121

Big thanks to everyone supporting this thread and especially the Life of Bliss video on YouTube. I just finished the initial batch of acoustic panels but haven't mounted them on the walls yet. Too excited not to share.

*What I learned:*
1. This took a lot of time. I am a perfectionist, and I spent a lot of time ensuring the borders were perfect. I also had a pretty crappy workspace so those of you with better setups will probably need less time. Including photo editing this project took me close to 40 hours.

2. I ordered prints at 12% added brightness, contrast, and saturation but the colors looked really bad, so I reordered with no adjustments and they turned out great, YMMV depending on your images.

3. I found stretching one side at a time and clamping the cloth with binder clips to keep it in place was a great way of making sure the edges were perfect. After clamping one side I flipped it over and stapled, rinse repeat for the other 3 sides.

4. I used the polyester pongee silk and it worked out great. Blacks seem to be better than some of the other images on this thread, YMMV probably. I didn't modify these photos in any way, they look pretty accurate to what I see in person.


*Acoustic panels:*





































*Build process:*













































































*Theater room with 5.2.4 setup:*


----------



## gbeezy33

Can anyone talk me out of the basic white cotton or should I go with it? I have 4 posters in my cart, all of them are relatively dark. Then I discovered this thread and my world has sort of been turned upside down. Seems like I missed the boat on the performance knit, but the pongie silk seems like the popular choice. My concern is that the excel chart says it's not ideal for blacks.

I appreciate all that you guys are doing. The internet can be a marvelous thing that brings people together.


----------



## M4BGRINGO

@OnEMoReTrY121 Ok, I have you beat in the workplace department for sure, but those panels turned out amazing! No excuses for me now. 
Looks like we have the same PC's.............
What subs are those? Looks like the Hammer I just put in the living room. The wife agreed to another sub in there, and I showed her how to turn it off if she didn't need it going.
Can't put what I really want it there, just don't have the room. It's fine, I wasn't trying to make a HT in the house anyway.
What is that black material? That is the las thing I need to get, except for the fabric for the front. My wife is helping me with that now. I am doing album covers for two of the walls. The "bad" thing about them is that they are square............ All these panels I see are rectangular. I don't think it will really matter. As long as I can get the correct size fabric for the frame the rest will fall in place.


----------



## nickbuol

gbeezy33 said:


> Can anyone talk me out of the basic white cotton or should I go with it? I have 4 posters in my cart, all of them are relatively dark. Then I discovered this thread and my world has sort of been turned upside down. Seems like I missed the boat on the performance knit, but the pongie silk seems like the popular choice. My concern is that the excel chart says it's not ideal for blacks.
> 
> I appreciate all that you guys are doing. The internet can be a marvelous thing that brings people together.


I changed the comments on the Pongee Silk when some people reported less than black blacks, even though my sample fabric looked really good.

OnEMoReTrY121's images look really good. Maybe it was a source image problem for the ones with poor blacks, or some print variance. Pongee Silk was one of my top recommendations before those bad results previously, so again, maybe those were a fluke.

I will update my comments, again, for Pongee Silk.


----------



## nickbuol

OnEMoReTrY121 said:


> Big thanks to everyone supporting this thread and especially the Life of Bliss video on YouTube. I just finished the initial batch of acoustic panels but haven't mounted them on the walls yet. Too excited not to share.
> 
> *What I learned:*
> 1. This took a lot of time. I am a perfectionist, and I spent a lot of time ensuring the borders were perfect. I also had a pretty crappy workspace so those of you with better setups will probably need less time. Including photo editing this project took me close to 40 hours.
> 
> 2. I ordered prints at 12% added brightness, contrast, and saturation but the colors looked really bad, so I reordered with no adjustments and they turned out great, YMMV depending on your images.
> 
> 3. I found stretching one side at a time and clamping the cloth with binder clips to keep it in place was a great way of making sure the edges were perfect. After clamping one side I flipped it over and stapled, rinse repeat for the other 3 sides.
> 
> 4. I used the polyester pongee silk and it worked out great. Blacks seem to be better than some of the other images on this thread, YMMV probably. I didn't modify these photos in any way, they look pretty accurate to what I see in person, though in person is probably a little more vivid.


Thanks for sharing your images. They look great. Kyle's video is a big dated and doesn't catch everything that gets covered here, but it does get most of it mainly because he took time to review the process with me, at least as of a few years ago, before publishing it.


----------



## OnEMoReTrY121

M4BGRINGO said:


> @OnEMoReTrY121 Ok, I have you beat in the workplace department for sure, but those panels turned out amazing! No excuses for me now.
> Looks like we have the same PC's.............
> What subs are those? Looks like the Hammer I just put in the living room. The wife agreed to another sub in there, and I showed her how to turn it off if she didn't need it going.
> Can't put what I really want it there, just don't have the room. It's fine, I wasn't trying to make a HT in the house anyway.
> What is that black material? That is the las thing I need to get, except for the fabric for the front. My wife is helping me with that now. I am doing album covers for two of the walls. The "bad" thing about them is that they are square............ All these panels I see are rectangular. I don't think it will really matter. As long as I can get the correct size fabric for the frame the rest will fall in place.


Thanks, I really wish I had room for a dedicated space in my garage, these newer builds come with tiny garages.

The subs are HSU VTF-2 MK5, they sound great and were recommended on Reddit but I don’t have much to compare them to but I’m happy with them.

The black material is the cheapest weed barrier I could find at Home Depot. Not sure how it compares to other material. I stapled it before the air gap because it seemed like it was allowing enough air to travel through it not to matter but maybe that was a mistake, I’ll let more knowledgeable folks weigh in on that decision.


----------



## OnEMoReTrY121

_accidental duplicate post_


----------



## TooManyTimeZones

@OnEMoReTrY121

*Your setup and posters look fantastic!*


----------



## OnEMoReTrY121

TooManyTimeZones said:


> @OnEMoReTrY121
> 
> *Your setup and posters look fantastic!*


Thanks, someday I'll get a house with a dedicated home theater room but for now this basement doubles as a home office, game room, and home theater. Wiring the basement and the rack took way more time than it would have taken a professional, but DIYs are so rewarding.


----------



## fattire

@OnEMoReTrY121 Those panels look great! I have only one complaint ...

Next time you post a picture of your A/V rack, please mark it as "NSFW" 😂


----------



## OnEMoReTrY121

Finally got the French cleats on the wall, turned out great! Can't wait to run Audyssey tonight.


----------



## RemixMark

OnEMoReTrY121 said:


> Finally got the French cleats on the wall, turned out great! Can't wait to run Audyssey tonight.
> View attachment 3315454
> 
> View attachment 3315456


They look great on your walls! They really change the space don’t they? How does it sound down there? Big difference?

I see a small riser for a second row and HoverEz in your future


----------



## M4BGRINGO

@OnEMoReTrY121 
I am curious on the Surround Speakers.
Is that the typical location?
I have seen some people put them directly behind them firing forwards, but to me that is where the Rear Surrounds should be.
Yours are sort of behind you, but certainly to the sides.
Are they there because of the doorway? Don't want to walk in the room and bonk your head on a speaker should you or someone else forget about it?
My brother faces the same dilemma in his house if we do a nice system when his kids leave, yeah, like THAT'S gonna happen! Two years post-college and still there......... Both of mine are gone! 

Anyway, AWESOME JOB on the panels! I hope mine can look that good. Will report back in a few weeks hopefully.


----------



## OnEMoReTrY121

M4BGRINGO said:


> @OnEMoReTrY121
> I am curious on the Surround Speakers.
> Is that the typical location?
> I have seen some people put them directly behind them firing forwards, but to me that is where the Rear Surrounds should be.
> Yours are sort of behind you, but certainly to the sides.
> Are they there because of the doorway? Don't want to walk in the room and bonk your head on a speaker should you or someone else forget about it?
> My brother faces the same dilemma in his house if we do a nice system when his kids leave, yeah, like THAT'S gonna happen! Two years post-college and still there......... Both of mine are gone!
> 
> Anyway, AWESOME JOB on the panels! I hope mine can look that good. Will report back in a few weeks hopefully.


Nope, surrounds should be placed to the side of the seating position but there's a doorway there instead of a wall, so I had to compromise and place them further back as the room didn't allow for proper placement.


----------



## BrewNinja

I'm in the process of building these for my theater. I'm wondering if anyone has put the front outside edges on a diagonal. My thought is you have more stretched area and you wouldn't see any of the wood behind it or if it's a little uneven. Maybe it's a terrible idea, but seemed reasonable.


----------



## nickbuol

BrewNinja said:


> I'm in the process of building these for my theater. I'm wondering if anyone has put the front outside edges on a diagonal. My thought is you have more stretched area and you wouldn't see any of the wood behind it or if it's a little uneven. Maybe it's a terrible idea, but seemed reasonable.


Do you mean like a beveled edge where the "inside" of the image area is cut away so that only the outer edge of the frame's front is what the fabric touches?

Some people early on in the original version of this were adding a small 1/2 round piece of wood to reduce contact points, but to me that doesn't give a nice, clean outside edge.
For my panels, that are NOT movie themed, I beveled mine the other way for a more unique look where you see the angle, but it certainly could be done to bevel the inside away for less contact points. 

That being said, I don't think the the frames are that visible. Mine don't show at all from the front using Poplar wood. There is a risk that the thinner edges of your frames could get bumped and either dented or chipped. Not sure how realistic of a problem that is as it may never happen, but I am just trying to think of the possible cons, which don't seem like there are many if you have the time to do it.


----------



## OnEMoReTrY121

nickbuol said:


> Do you mean like a beveled edge where the "inside" of the image area is cut away so that only the outer edge of the frame's front is what the fabric touches?
> 
> Some people early on in the original version of this were adding a small 1/2 round piece of wood to reduce contact points, but to me that doesn't give a nice, clean outside edge.
> For my panels, that are NOT movie themed, I beveled mine the other way for a more unique look where you see the angle, but it certainly could be done to bevel the inside away for less contact points.
> 
> That being said, I don't think the the frames are that visible. Mine don't show at all from the front using Poplar wood. There is a risk that the thinner edges of your frames could get bumped and either dented or chipped. Not sure how realistic of a problem that is as it may never happen, but I am just trying to think of the possible cons, which don't seem like there are many if you have the time to do it.


Yup, I took an orbital sander with high grit sandpaper to slightly round the inside edges and they’re invisible with the fabric stretched.


----------



## shivaji

Anyone seen this video on acoustic panels made from....Towels?


----------



## nickbuol

shivaji said:


> Anyone seen this video on acoustic panels made from....Towels?


Please don't do it!  I rarely actually thumbs-down videos, but I that one got a full watch by me a year or so ago and I marked it for what it was... A bad, mis-informing video.

The comments pretty much are: 1) I don't know anything about acoustics or testing anything, but these sound great. 2) I know a bit about proper acoustical treatments, and these are junk, you don't even need to test. Science and testing has proved this already.

You want to be in the second group and make proper broadband panels for a fraction of what you can buy them for and get a REAL, tried and true, tested acoustical panel vs random materials being smashed into a frame, wrapped in fabric, posted in a YouTube video, and say that it is a High Performance panel. LOL Pretty much a joke.

We are all here to help each other do this the right way, as best as possible within any limitations with size, thickness, location, looks, etc and for as little money and effort as possible.

Sorry, I just get frustrated when people create bad (and false) content just to push their channel. I just care too much about people and having good results with this stuff.


----------



## powerplaymike

So spent a couple days reading through the thread and looking at a couple of videos….only saw one mention of a similar situation I’m in:

I’m painting my room, and I need to rewrap a few GIK panels that wont match. GIK already told me I could get their fabric and simply put it over the current fabric, so I figured I’d just wrap them black to match my other panels, but then came across this awesome thread (which is perfect cause I’d like some movie posters in my room, but dont have space due to all my GIK panels).

Anyway, My two issues:
1) I didn’t know what fabric from this thread would be recommended for wrapping over my GIK panels that would not show the fabric underneath, and provide good overall results. Their current color is a light beige color. Here’s a wide angle pic of the room to show the color. (Two vertical in the front left corner, and then one horizontal behind the tv). I’m not actually seeking a “vibrant” color effect from the fabric……so erring on the side of something a little duller would probably be ok. Priorities 1 and 2 would be hiding the color behind (although I could remove their fabric if needed), and not having negative impact on the use of the panels (cause if it was negative to the point they weren’t helpful, I could just put a movie poster there instead)

2) It looks like theres’ perhaps an element of trial/error associated with this DIY from the printing aspect of getting the photos, adjusting to suit size and color, and then printing. But, I see @nickbuol also does some side work. I’m thinking surely there’s a image file already out there that I could potentially shameless steal to use? 

The panels are their 242 so it’s 2x4 foot, 3.625 thick. I believe GIK also offers custom printing, but I forgot to ask them if they do the custom printing without building the entire panel.

Thanks so much for your help!


----------



## RemixMark

powerplaymike said:


> So spent a couple days reading through the thread and looking at a couple of videos….only saw one mention of a similar situation I’m in:
> 
> I’m painting my room, and I need to rewrap a few GIK panels that wont match. GIK already told me I could get their fabric and simply put it over the current fabric, so I figured I’d just wrap them black to match my other panels, but then came across this awesome thread (which is perfect cause I’d like some movie posters in my room, but dont have space due to all my GIK panels).
> 
> Anyway, My two issues:
> 1) I didn’t know what fabric from this thread would be recommended for wrapping over my GIK panels that would not show the fabric underneath, and provide good overall results. Their current color is a light beige color. Here’s a wide angle pic of the room to show the color. (Two vertical in the front left corner, and then one horizontal behind the tv). I’m not actually seeking a “vibrant” color effect from the fabric……so erring on the side of something a little duller would probably be ok. Priorities 1 and 2 would be hiding the color behind (although I could remove their fabric if needed), and not having negative impact on the use of the panels (cause if it was negative to the point they weren’t helpful, I could just put a movie poster there instead)
> 
> 2) It looks like theres’ perhaps an element of trial/error associated with this DIY from the printing aspect of getting the photos, adjusting to suit size and color, and then printing. But, I see @nickbuol also does some side work. I’m thinking surely there’s a image file already out there that I could potentially shameless steal to use?
> 
> The panels are their 242 so it’s 2x4 foot, 3.625 thick. I believe GIK also offers custom printing, but I forgot to ask them if they do the custom printing without building the entire panel.
> 
> Thanks so much for your help!
> 
> View attachment 3317336


I know there’s at least one question in there, but I’m not seeing it. What specific help do you need?


----------



## powerplaymike

RemixMark said:


> I know there’s at least one question in there, but I’m not seeing it. What specific help do you need?


lol fair cause I’m wordy. TLDR:
1) what fabric is recommended to cover existing Beige gik fabric? Priority is not seeing the beige underneath and not impacting gik panel performance.
2) are there existing files that someone’s used for 2’x4’ panels that I could use? The first posts of this thread mainly mentioned creating and tweaking your own images, but ideally I’d like to steal shamelessly from someone that has a confirmed good copy if possible.


----------



## powerplaymike

FYI for acoustic performance / number 1 above: gik had told me I could buy their fabric and use one if not two layers over the existing fabric already on the panel. 

Just potential fyi regarding discussions of Acoustic performance/ AT / etc.


----------



## OnEMoReTrY121

powerplaymike said:


> FYI for acoustic performance / number 1 above: gik had told me I could buy their fabric and use one if not two layers over the existing fabric already on the panel.
> 
> Just potential fyi regarding discussions of Acoustic performance/ AT / etc.


How did they attach their fabric? If they stapled it you can remove it easily. I had to redo my Harry Potter panel a couple times due to no distinct black border and the best way I found was to slide a flathead screwdriver under the staple and lever it up then just grab it and pull with pliers. Only took me about 5 minutes to unstaple everything.

2’x4’might be too big for MyFabricDesign, you’ll need to consult the chart Nick posted.


----------



## M4BGRINGO

Or worse comes to worst get the correct type of fabric that can breathe easily in black and put that between your new fabric design and the existing.


----------



## powerplaymike

OnEMoReTrY121 said:


> How did they attach their fabric? If they stapled it you can remove it easily. I had to redo my Harry Potter panel a couple times due to no distinct black border and the best way I found was to slide a flathead screwdriver under the staple and lever it up then just grab it and pull with pliers. Only took me about 5 minutes to unstaple everything.
> 
> 2’x4’might be too big for MyFabricDesign, you’ll need to consult the chart Nick posted.


Thanks. Yes they stapled it…surprisingly didn’t go too crazy on it…..enough room I could even staple between if needed. Or like you said pull the original off, although I’d rather not if possible.


----------



## nickbuol

powerplaymike said:


> lol fair cause I’m wordy. TLDR:
> 1) what fabric is recommended to cover existing Beige gik fabric? Priority is not seeing the beige underneath and not impacting gik panel performance.
> 2) are there existing files that someone’s used for 2’x4’ panels that I could use? The first posts of this thread mainly mentioned creating and tweaking your own images, but ideally I’d like to steal shamelessly from someone that has a confirmed good copy if possible.


1) Since I see that the existing fabric is just stapled on, I would do as others mention and just remove the staples and start clean. If you want to keep the existing panel "intact" then you are already starting to layer up material that is blocking, to some degree, the effectiveness of the acoustical absorption material underneath, so you have a bit of a catch-22. Thicker material to hide what is underneath but reduces acoustical transparency, or a more acoustically transparent material that might (or might not) show the fabric underneath. I would stay with images that are generally darker or at least limit the amount of white in them as anything behind the fabric that is white will show through. Again, maybe not a problem since those are wrapped in an even light color.

2) What type of poster image do you like. Just about anything can be converted into a cool 24 x 48 "poster" but it takes some tweaking. I can see what I have, but would need at least some idea of what you like first before I could help.


----------



## powerplaymike

nickbuol said:


> 1) Since I see that the existing fabric is just stapled on, I would do as others mention and just remove the staples and start clean. If you want to keep the existing panel "intact" then you are already starting to layer up material that is blocking, to some degree, the effectiveness of the acoustical absorption material underneath, so you have a bit of a catch-22. Thicker material to hide what is underneath but reduces acoustical transparency, or a more acoustically transparent material that might (or might not) show the fabric underneath. I would stay with images that are generally darker or at least limit the amount of white in them as anything behind the fabric that is white will show through. Again, maybe not a problem since those are wrapped in an even light color.
> 
> 2) What type of poster image do you like. Just about anything can be converted into a cool 24 x 48 "poster" but it takes some tweaking. I can see what I have, but would need at least some idea of what you like first before I could help.


Thanks Nick. Sorry for the delay in responding.….I started painting my room yesterday, which may make my questions a little moot because at the moment, it looks like the beige panels may actually look pretty decent.

But, regarding number 1, that’s why it’s interesting that GIK said I could double and potentially even triple layer their fabric. I wouldn’t have thought so. But, I agree with you that less is better, and thank you for the darker images > lighter Part, which leads to number 2:

I was thinking maybe edge of tomorrow or Tenet or Dark Knight? I’m not too too specific meaning I’m sure there’s something out There.

But…..before venturing for number 2, let me wait til next weekend when I finish up the room, as right now the paint color with the beige panels actually looks surprisingly good…..which is 180 vs what I expected.


----------



## squared80

OnEMoReTrY121 said:


> 2’x4’might be too big for MyFabricDesign, you’ll need to consult the chart Nick posted.


Most of mine are 2x4. I have some 2x3 and couple 1.5x4, too. You can find the right poster to fit anything.


----------



## Bbapache

OnEMoReTrY121 said:


> Finally got the French cleats on the wall, turned out great! Can't wait to run Audyssey tonight.
> View attachment 3315454
> 
> View attachment 3315456


What do you think of the Emotiva speakers? I've been eyeing them up. The reviews I've seen so far sound pretty great!


----------



## OnEMoReTrY121

Bbapache said:


> What do you think of the Emotiva speakers? I've been eyeing them up. The reviews I've seen so far sound pretty great!


I'm in love with the T1+ and B1+, but I probably should have gone with the C1+ instead of the C2+ for my space. The C2+ dispersion pattern is very narrow, and I didn't do myself any favors with my seating layout. My seating is 8.5'~ from the TV in a curved 5 so the edge seats are pretty wide from the center and the sound is a little muffled from those seats. Straight on the C2+ sounds awesome though so YMMV.


----------



## RemixMark

powerplaymike said:


> Thanks Nick. Sorry for the delay in responding.….I started painting my room yesterday, which may make my questions a little moot because at the moment, it looks like the beige panels may actually look pretty decent.
> 
> But, regarding number 1, that’s why it’s interesting that GIK said I could double and potentially even triple layer their fabric. I wouldn’t have thought so. But, I agree with you that less is better, and thank you for the darker images > lighter Part, which leads to number 2:
> 
> I was thinking maybe edge of tomorrow or Tenet or Dark Knight? I’m not too too specific meaning I’m sure there’s something out There.
> 
> But…..before venturing for number 2, let me wait til next weekend when I finish up the room, as right now the paint color with the beige panels actually looks surprisingly good…..which is 180 vs what I expected.


Here are most of the prints I used. You’d want to adjust for the size you want, but this is just more of a way to show you what the final product looked like: Ready to print - Google Drive


----------



## powerplaymike

RemixMark said:


> Here are most of the prints I used. You’d want to adjust for the size you want, but this is just more of a way to show you what the final product looked like: Ready to print - Google Drive


awesome sir thank you!


----------



## mstang1988

What framing material are folks using? I didn’t find it in my reskim of this entire thread but I thought MDF was recommended for stability vs. a grained wood which would be more likely to warp. I have 6 panels I’ve had for a few years that I never framed/covered and need to get them done.


----------



## squared80

mstang1988 said:


> What framing material are folks using? I didn’t find it in my reskim of this entire thread but I thought MDF was recommended for stability vs. a grained wood which would be more likely to warp. I have 6 panels I’ve had for a few years that I never framed/covered and need to get them done.


For framing this small, I wouldn't worry too much about it. I see many using MDF, but some rip 5/8 plywood, and others just use 1x4's (myself included).


----------



## RemixMark

mstang1988 said:


> What framing material are folks using? I didn’t find it in my reskim of this entire thread but I thought MDF was recommended for stability vs. a grained wood which would be more likely to warp. I have 6 panels I’ve had for a few years that I never framed/covered and need to get them done.


Poplar is great as it’s a hard wood so it won’t bow.


----------



## mstang1988

Thanks for the material suggestions. Next question, I have noticed moviemania isn't keeping up with new movies. Anybody have any other suggested sites? Encanto and Thor Love and Thunder were not on there as examples.


----------



## AudiRedDevil

How high are ya'll generally hanging these from the ceiling? I mounted this one at 7" from the trim but it felt high so I lowered it to match the window frame. 



http://imgur.com/548zmlq


----------



## gvfreeman1

AudiRedDevil said:


> How high are ya'll generally hanging these from the ceiling? I mounted this one at 7" from the trim but it felt high so I lowered it to match the window frame.
> 
> 
> 
> http://imgur.com/548zmlq


The idea is to absorb sound reflections at ear level from main listening position. Most panels should have the tweeter at the mid-point of the panel at the first (or any) reflection point to absorb that reflection. Every room is different but the basics I stick with are tweeters at ear level at MLP with panels absorbing ear level reflections. It may not be the most aesthetically pleasing but it will serve it's purpose much more than hanging well above MLP ear level. There are plenty of videos out there about sound reflections and absorption.


----------



## OnEMoReTrY121

gvfreeman1 said:


> The idea is to absorb sound reflections at ear level from main listening position. Most panels should have the tweeter at the mid-point of the panel at the first (or any) reflection point to absorb that reflection. Every room is different but the basics I stick with are tweeters at ear level at MLP with panels absorbing ear level reflections. It may not be the most aesthetically pleasing but it will serve it's purpose much more than hanging well above MLP ear level. There are plenty of videos out there about sound reflections and absorption.


Yup, good rule of thumb I saw everywhere was midpoint between ceiling and floor should be the panel center. My basement ceiling is 7.5’ so the panels seem lower than you’d hang a picture but you get used to it and it’s definitely making a substantial difference to the room’s acoustics.

Ultimately you want them centered around ear/speaker level.


----------



## AudiRedDevil

Thanks for the help along the way. I originally did the Shawshank build at 24x48 and realized it was too big for my room so I adjusted down to what Nick and ya'll did. I'll keep that one up but the new ones like this Top Gun one are based on the sizes ya'll have done. Super excited to get some more of these up. I have 3 more built and I think that'll be all I can fit in the room based on other furniture and things. I know the top gun poster is high but I did that due to the popcorn stand. More for decoration at that spot. 

Here is a list of what I used for others...
Rockwool 24x47 from Pleasants Hardware
French cleats
Weed barrier on the front side
Basic black cotton fabric from Michaels for the back ( I did this on the back side incase they get pulled off the wall it looks better than weed barrier)
Furring strips from Home Depot or Lowes 1x4x8
Arrow staple gun ( this made it much easier than a manual staple gun. Also saved a few hand cramps I'm sure)



http://imgur.com/a/iIIx2Vw


----------



## Beasting1223

Hey everyone, I've got some of my own images that I'd like to turn into acoustic panels and figured I'd ask about it here. The images are already 2×3 ratio so they enlarged very easily to 25.5×38.25 but they are 240 ppi by default and I wasn't sure if I needed to lower this in photoshop or if this is okay to upload to the fabric site as is.


----------



## M4BGRINGO

Hot rods to the front!
Nice lift, Rotary a little too pricey for me, did a couple of Greg Smith lifts and a Bendpak.


----------



## Beasting1223

M4BGRINGO said:


> Hot rods to the front!
> Nice lift, Rotary a little too pricey for me, did a couple of Greg Smith lifts and a Bendpak.


Haha I know what you mean. And yessir this 55 gasser is a cool one!


----------



## nickbuol

Beasting1223 said:


> Hey everyone, I've got some of my own images that I'd like to turn into acoustic panels and figured I'd ask about it here. The images are already 2×3 ratio so they enlarged very easily to 25.5×38.25 but they are 240 ppi by default and I wasn't sure if I needed to lower this in photoshop or if this is okay to upload to the fabric site as is.


Awesome picture.

I've seen issues where MyFabricDesigns gives people issues when relying on their system to manage the DPI. I would recommend doing any enlargement in size and the change to DPI at the same time to minimize the amount of times the image gets enlarged or reduced.

Ideally you want a 3825px x 5838px x150pdi image before adding a border so that their system doesn't have to do math.


Otherwise, at 240 dpi, you would need something like 15.9375" x 23.9063" to scale up without any extra enlargement (pixels made up by computer algorithms) or deleted randomly to make the size fit. I would rather control that myself at the moment of enlargement I mentioned above than make it too big/small and rely on their system.

Will it work? In theory, yes, but you need to mess with the settings a little bit and then risk a reduction in quality for such a cool image.


----------



## Beasting1223

nickbuol said:


> Awesome picture. I've seen issues where MyFabricDesigns gives people issues when relying on their system to manage the DPI. I would recommend doing any enlargement in size and the change to DPI at the same time to minimize the amount of times the image gets enlarged or reduced. Ideally you want a 3825px x 5838px x150pdi image before adding a border so that their system doesn't have to do math. Otherwise, at 240 dpi, you would need something like 15.9375" x 23.9063" to scale up without any extra enlargement (pixels made up by computer algorithms) or deleted randomly to make the size fit. I would rather control that myself at the moment of enlargement I mentioned above than make it too big/small and rely on their system. Will it work? In theory, yes, but you need to mess with the settings a little bit and then risk a reduction in quality for such a cool image.


 Thank you so much for your reply! I will scale them back in photoshop to be 150 dpi at 25.5x28.25 so that I have an easier time with printing. I can't wait to get these printed! My only problem now is picking more images to print!


----------



## kay7711226

kay7711226 said:


> Thanks both for the suggestions, I did reach out to *SPI* prices are to expensive so decided on this instead Safe 'n' Sound 3 in. x 15-1/4 in. x 47 in .
> 
> It is not 24inches wide but 15.25, my plan is to use 1 full piece and cut another in half giving me ~22.5inches wide. With 1x4 boards that should give me picture width of 24(x1.5 ratio)= 36 however in the image program editor gimp it worked out to be 24x38.4 which I left as is then added 4inch boarders.
> Poster with boarders worked out to be 48x33(flipped horizontally) and also added 10+ to both the contrast and brightness.
> My plan is to make 8 of these using the cotton poplin, appreciate if someone can help double check 2 of my posters in the following link kay7711226 posters the naming convention 10x10x24x38 and 24x38 is referencing my calculations and edits above. If any suggestions I will apply to the rest of my posters
> 
> My brother is also looking into helping getting these printed at no cost, he previously worked at a billboard printing company in the NYC area. I cannot say what fabric they will use but I do have some prints we did some years ago and they looked fantastic. It was a minimal stretch none cotton fabric will find out more if he can get it done, based on @*nickbuol *fabric testing I think it is viable without knowledge on the "blow test". Anything else I should watch out for if he can get them printed?


Can anyone help check why my measurements showing as below when uploaded to MFD website?
posters are linked above with the calculations I did before hand.

Fabric Design Info
23.04 inch. x 15.84 inch. Dpi = 150 pixels/inch.


----------



## nickbuol

kay7711226 said:


> Can anyone help check why my measurements showing as below when uploaded to MFD website?
> posters are linked above with the calculations I did before hand.
> 
> Fabric Design Info
> 23.04 inch. x 15.84 inch. Dpi = 150 pixels/inch.


What is the final panel size that you are trying to get to?


----------



## kay7711226

nickbuol said:


> What is the final panel size that you are trying to get to?


Insulation panels I can get locally are15.25 wide, my plan is to use 1 full piece and cut another in half giving me ~22.5inches wide. With 1x4 boards that should give me picture width of 24(x1.5 ratio)= 36 however in the image program editor gimp it worked out to be 24x38.4 which I left as is then added 4inch boarders.
Poster with boarders worked out to be 48x33(flipped horizontally) and also added 10+ to both the contrast and brightness.


----------



## nickbuol

kay7711226 said:


> Insulation panels I can get locally are15.25 wide, my plan is to use 1 full piece and cut another in half giving me ~22.5inches wide. With 1x4 boards that should give me picture width of 24(x1.5 ratio)= 36 however in the image program editor gimp it worked out to be 24x38.4 which I left as is then added 4inch boarders.
> Poster with boarders worked out to be 48x33(flipped horizontally) and also added 10+ to both the contrast and brightness.


OK, so then something isn't right with your image file.

You want, from my best guess either 24 x 36 and having to crop 2.4 inches from the top/bottom (longer end of the image), or 24 x 38.4 (if you want to cut the insulation and wood frame to that)... Both at 150 dpi.

If you need help, shoot me a private message and I will get you a place to get me the image and I can enlarge it for you.


----------



## nickbuol

This is always an awkward conversation. You all know that I really like helping people do this. I have been helping for several years now, mostly with free work for people.
I just want to reestablish that I am a just a human with other life priorities. (My "8 to 5" job is kicking my butt the last 2 weeks, for example.) I do still get requests for free image help here, but also have larger jobs that pay money or give donations to my kids' college fund, etc. I used to get bombarded with requests for 10, 12, 15+ freebie image enlargements with crops/edits, and borders added. I couldn't live my life outside of work and free image help. 

That is why a couple of years ago I set up a "6 image limit" for free work, and it would include:

Enlarging through the image enlargement software that I use.
Basic cropping of images to get them to fit the desired size in Photoshop.
Adding of a solid border.
Creating small sample images.
Rotating the full size images 90 degrees since that is how MyFabricDesigns likes them (saves on cost as you can fit 1 image on 1 yard of fabric usually if they are sideways).
Renaming the files to a standard movie title and size reference file name.
Storing of the images on my Google Drive for 1 month.
Sharing the samples and the Google Drive link with you.
Offering future assistance if anyone gets stuck uploading and ordering their images.
I tried to still crank these requests out as quickly as possible, many times bumping them up in front of paying customers (shhhhh. Nobody from AVS though.) as most of the paid jobs were lengthy to complete. But make no mistake, just because I can turn a request around quickly doesn't mean that you aren't getting value. I can usually, if the source images are good, do those 6 freebies as listed above in about 45 minutes, maybe a little longer depending on the amount of work that the enlargement software has to do. I can also crank them out at that speed because I have a couple of decades' worth of experience with Photoshop, and do this enough to do them super fast and have success every time. You aren't getting 45 minutes of free work, you are getting all of those years of experience too. 

Anyway, I am happy to help, and always have been, but if someone thinks that just because I was able to take a request and turn it around 45 minutes after they sent it to me that I am just going to jump when they want more free work done, I can't just sit here and keep cranking on it. I need to protect some of my free time.

So the "Up to 6" rule is still in place, that isn't changing. I just get caught off guard sometimes when a request comes in for what I thought was 1 image (my mistake as the person did ask for 2 images), that turned into 7, and now 17... They didn't know, so I am not blaming, but it just reminds me that I need to make a reminder post sometimes.


----------



## Beasting1223

nickbuol said:


> This is always an awkward conversation. You all know that I really like helping people do this. I have been helping for several years now, mostly with free work for people.
> I just want to reestablish that I am a just a human with other life priorities. (My "8 to 5" job is kicking my butt the last 2 weeks, for example.) I do still get requests for free image help here, but also have larger jobs that pay money or give donations to my kids' college fund, etc. I used to get bombarded with requests for 10, 12, 15+ freebie image enlargements with crops/edits, and borders added. I couldn't live my life outside of work and free image help.
> 
> That is why a couple of years ago I set up a "6 image limit" for free work, and it would include:
> 
> Enlarging through the image enlargement software that I use.
> Basic cropping of images to get them to fit the desired size in Photoshop.
> Adding of a solid border.
> Creating small sample images.
> Rotating the full size images 90 degrees since that is how MyFabricDesigns likes them (saves on cost as you can fit 1 image on 1 yard of fabric usually if they are sideways).
> Renaming the files to a standard movie title and size reference file name.
> Storing of the images on my Google Drive for 1 month.
> Sharing the samples and the Google Drive link with you.
> Offering future assistance if anyone gets stuck uploading and ordering their images.
> I tried to still crank these requests out as quickly as possible, many times bumping them up in front of paying customers (shhhhh. Nobody from AVS though.) as most of the paid jobs were lengthy to complete. But make no mistake, just because I can turn a request around quickly doesn't mean that you aren't getting value. I can usually, if the source images are good, do those 6 freebies as listed above in about 45 minutes, maybe a little longer depending on the amount of work that the enlargement software has to do. I can also crank them out at that speed because I have a couple of decades' worth of experience with Photoshop, and do this enough to do them super fast and have success every time. You aren't getting 45 minutes of free work, you are getting all of those years of experience too.
> 
> Anyway, I am happy to help, and always have been, but if someone thinks that just because I was able to take a request and turn it around 45 minutes after they sent it to me that I am just going to jump when they want more free work done, I can't just sit here and keep cranking on it. I need to protect some of my free time.
> 
> So the "Up to 6" rule is still in place, that isn't changing. I just get caught off guard sometimes when a request comes in for what I thought was 1 image (my mistake as the person did ask for 2 images), that turned into 7, and now 17... They didn't know, so I am not blaming, but it just reminds me that I need to make a reminder post sometimes.


Sometimes we have to remind people that just because we have a pickup truck, that doesn't mean we are available to help them move 2000sqft every weekend. You have helped so many people for many years so you have definitely done more than your part. I appreciate you making this thread, it has been so helpful. That being said, now I also have a question lol. Do you have a favorite fabric now that performance knit seems to have disappeared?


----------



## Chiefsfan42

kay7711226 said:


> Insulation panels I can get locally are15.25 wide, my plan is to use 1 full piece and cut another in half giving me ~22.5inches wide. With 1x4 boards that should give me picture width of 24(x1.5 ratio)= 36 however in the image program editor gimp it worked out to be 24x38.4 which I left as is then added 4inch boarders.
> Poster with boarders worked out to be 48x33(flipped horizontally) and also added 10+ to both the contrast and brightness.


I can't really follow what you did with the borders, but your mistake came after you first scaled the image, you either forgot to resize the canvas or you didn't crop the image after you resized. Since the image was 24x38.4 after you scaled, you should have changed the canvas size to 24x36 and cropped the image to the canvas. You'd have to lose 2.4 inches from either the top or bottom; I'm pretty sure how you have it now you will see some ink/images wrapping around the top and/or bottom sides of the frame.


I thought it might be helpful and fun to type out a detailed GIMP walkthrough for anyone that needs it since the videos Nick put up are mainly Photoshop. Nick did a great job teaching in those videos but it might be tough if you have no editing experience at all and are trying to translate to GIMP. Hopefully this guide can help somebody out, I tried to make it beginner friendly and super easy.


*Movie Panel GIMP Walkthrough

A. Scale Image*
1. Open image in GIMP.
2. Click Image on the menu bar then Scale Image.
3. Change the image size unit from "px" (pixels) to "in" (inches), then change the X and Y resolution to 150 PPI. Do not click Scale yet.
4. Check the image size numbers within the Scale interface; the new PPI setting likely shrunk your image. Type in your desired width and make sure the height automatically changed to *match or exceed* what you need; if it doesn't, change the height to what you need and the width will be excessive instead. *Click Scale only if both width and height match or exceed your requirements; you will have one excessive value virtually every time.*
5. QC Check. After scaling up, zoom in to 100% on the image and review for quality. If it's blurry or pixelated at full zoom, don't bother continuing and go find another image; it won't print well. If it looks mostly sharp with fine details visible, finish editing.

*B. Resize Canvas and Crop*
6. Click Image on the menu bar then Canvas Size.
7. As in Step 3, change the canvas size units from pixels to inches.
8. Look at the width and height of the canvas; one is excessive and one is spot-on due to Step 4. Replace the excessive number with the correct number and do not click Resize yet.
9. Since length or width was reduced, some of the image can no longer fit in the canvas. In the "Offset" section below the canvas dimensions, there is a transparent window above a version of your image; the portion of the image excluded from that window after resizing needs to be cropped. You can move the window using the X/Y arrow keys or the Center key to choose what goes. When you're ok with what will be cropped, click Resize.
10. *The canvas has changed size, but the image is merely out of frame and still needs to be cropped. *On the menu bar click Select, then All.
11. On the menu bar click Image, then Crop to Selection. To confirm success, Select All again and verify no part of the selection is bordering grey/empty space.

*C. Edit Image, Add Border, Export*

12. Complete any touchups or cosmetic improvements. My routine adjustments are aimed at producing vivid/colorful prints; I increase Brightness +7, Contrast +5, and Saturation 10% (1.100 on the slider). These settings are found in the menu bar under Color. 
13. After edits are finalized click Image on the menu bar, then Canvas Size.
14. Change the canvas size units from pixels to inches.
15. Take the planned depth of your frame/panel, multiply it by two, and add that number to both the Width and Height. For example, I use 1x4's to frame my posters so I add 8 inches to width and to height. Do not click resize yet.
16. Click "Center" in the "Offset" area of the Canvas Size interface; the preview area mentioned in Step 9 should show an empty border around the entire image, with no variation in border thickness. If it does, click Resize.
17. Click Layer on the menu bar, then New Layer, then OK.
18. Click Select on the menu bar, then All.
19. On the menu bar click Tools, Paint Tools, then Bucket Fill.
20. Choose your border color, usually black, and fill the new layer.
21. Go to the Layers toolbar/list; it's usually on-screen at all times and the layer titles should be your photo's file name and "Layer". Click and drag the layer with the poster image above the all black layer so the image is in the foreground.
22. Right click your image layer and click merge down.
23. Click File on the menu bar then Export As.
24. Select JPEG as the format, increase the "Quality" slider to 100, and click Export.


----------



## nickbuol

Chiefsfan42 said:


> I can't really follow what you did with the borders, but your mistake came after you first scaled the image, you either forgot to resize the canvas or you didn't crop the image after you resized. Since the image was 24x38.4 after you scaled, you should have changed the canvas size to 24x36 and cropped the image to the canvas. You'd have to lose 2.4 inches from either the top or bottom; I'm pretty sure how you have it now you will see some ink/images wrapping around the top and/or bottom sides of the frame.
> 
> 
> I thought it might be helpful and fun to type out a detailed GIMP walkthrough for anyone that needs it since the videos Nick put up are mainly Photoshop. Nick did a great job teaching in those videos but it might be tough if you have no editing experience at all and are trying to translate to GIMP. Hopefully this guide can help somebody out, I tried to make it beginner friendly and super easy.
> 
> 
> *Movie Panel GIMP Walkthrough
> 
> A. Scale Image*
> 1. Open image in GIMP.
> 2. Click Image on the menu bar then Scale Image.
> 3. Change the image size unit from "px" (pixels) to "in" (inches), then change the X and Y resolution to 150 PPI. Do not click Scale yet.
> 4. Check the image size numbers within the Scale interface; the new PPI setting likely shrunk your image. Type in your desired width and make sure the height automatically changed to *match or exceed* what you need; if it doesn't, change the height to what you need and the width will be excessive instead. *Click Scale only if both width and height match or exceed your requirements; you will have one excessive value virtually every time.*
> 5. QC Check. After scaling up, zoom in to 100% on the image and review for quality. If it's blurry or pixelated at full zoom, don't bother continuing and go find another image; it won't print well. If it looks mostly sharp with fine details visible, finish editing.
> 
> *B. Resize Canvas and Crop*
> 6. Click Image on the menu bar then Canvas Size.
> 7. As in Step 3, change the canvas size units from pixels to inches.
> 8. Look at the width and height of the canvas; one is excessive and one is spot-on due to Step 4. Replace the excessive number with the correct number and do not click Resize yet.
> 9. Since length or width was reduced, some of the image can no longer fit in the canvas. In the "Offset" section below the canvas dimensions, there is a transparent window above a version of your image; the portion of the image excluded from that window after resizing needs to be cropped. You can move the window using the X/Y arrow keys or the Center key to choose what goes. When you're ok with what will be cropped, click Resize.
> 10. *The canvas has changed size, but the image is merely out of frame and still needs to be cropped. *On the menu bar click Select, then All.
> 11. On the menu bar click Image, then Crop to Selection. To confirm success, Select All again and verify no part of the selection is bordering grey/empty space.
> 
> *C. Edit Image, Add Border, Export*
> 
> 12. Complete any touchups or cosmetic improvements. My routine adjustments are aimed at producing vivid/colorful prints; I increase Brightness +7, Contrast +5, and Saturation 10% (all found in the menu bar under Color).
> 13. After edits are finalized click Image on the menu bar, then Canvas Size.
> 14. Change the canvas size units from pixels to inches.
> 15. Take the planned depth of your frame/panel, multiply it by two, and add that number to both the Width and Height. For example, I use 1x4's to frame my posters so I add 8 inches to width and to height. Do not click resize yet.
> 16. Click "Center" in the "Offset" area of the Canvas Size interface; the preview area mentioned in Step 9 should show an empty border around the entire image, with no variation in border thickness. If it does, click Resize.
> 17. Click Layer on the menu bar, then New Layer, then OK.
> 18. Click Select on the menu bar, then All.
> 19. On the menu bar click Tools, Paint Tools, then Bucket Fill.
> 20. Choose your border color, usually black, and fill the new layer.
> 21. Go to the Layers toolbar/list; it's usually on-screen at all times and the layer titles should be your photo's file name and "Layer". Click and drag the layer with the poster image above the all black layer so the image is in the foreground.
> 22. Right click your image layer and click merge down.
> 23. Click File on the menu bar then Export As.
> 24. Select JPEG as the format, increase the "Quality" slider to 100, and click Export.


If someone else can validate these steps, I can add them to the table of contents (with permission from @Chiefsfan42) I never seem to have time to try to do the GIMP videos let alone learn the way that GIMP does things compared to Photoshop, so having some reference would be great.


----------



## kay7711226

Current pricing as of 09/04

*Polyester Pongee Silk*
$ 7.25 per yard /$ 5.00 swatch - includes custom printing


----------



## aras1980

Why can't I choose performance knit fabric? It is not listed in the MYFABRICDESIGN order


----------



## RemixMark

aras1980 said:


> Why can't I choose performance knit fabric? It is not listed in the MYFABRICDESIGN order
> View attachment 3330908


This was discussed here: 'DIY Custom-Printed Movie Poster Acoustic Panels -...


----------



## Chiefsfan42

nickbuol said:


> If someone else can validate these steps, I can add them to the table of contents (with permission from @Chiefsfan42) I never seem to have time to try to do the GIMP videos let alone learn the way that GIMP does things compared to Photoshop, so having some reference would be great.


Yes, feel free to add them!


----------



## kay7711226

nickbuol said:


> If someone else can validate these steps, I can add them to the table of contents (with permission from @Chiefsfan42) I never seem to have time to try to do the GIMP videos let alone learn the way that GIMP does things compared to Photoshop, so having some reference would be great.


Verified


----------



## LittleHouse

Does anyone have a good source for OC-703 in Noth Dallas or online? I'm looking to build 18 panels and need 24- 2'x4'x2" sheets. The best I've seen is $528 shipped


----------



## TooManyTimeZones

LittleHouse said:


> Does anyone have a good source for OC-703 in Noth Dallas or online? I'm looking to build 18 panels and need 24- 2'x4'x2" sheets. The best I've seen is $528 shipped


I bought mine at SPI Specialty Products & Insulation in Grand Prairie. They are close enough to avoid shipping charges.

Address: 1142 Avenue S, Grand Prairie, TX 75050
Hours: Open ⋅ Closes 5PM
Phone: (972) 602-3555


----------



## LittleHouse

TooManyTimeZones said:


> I bought mine at SPI Specialty Products & Insulation in Grand Prairie. They are close enough to avoid shipping charges.
> 
> Address: 1142 Avenue S, Grand Prairie, TX 75050
> Hours: Open ⋅ Closes 5PM
> Phone: (972) 602-3555


Appreciate it!


----------



## kangaroo87

TooManyTimeZones said:


> I bought mine at SPI Specialty Products & Insulation in Grand Prairie. They are close enough to avoid shipping charges.
> 
> Address: 1142 Avenue S, Grand Prairie, TX 75050
> Hours: Open ⋅ Closes 5PM
> Phone: (972) 602-3555


Great, thanks! I've been planning to do some panels and having a local source is helpful!


----------



## aras1980

H 

I am from Poland. Unfortunately, it is not possible to buy OC703 in Poland. When building the house I used Isover PT80 wool and there was some waste that I want to use in acoustic panels. Wood for frame in Poland is 28x90 mm (1.1 "x 3.54"). 750x500 mm (29.53 "x 19.68") acoustic panel. In the attachment I add a prepared image that I want to print on Silky Faille. Can anyone check if the image is prepared for printing?


----------



## RemixMark

LittleHouse said:


> Does anyone have a good source for OC-703 in Noth Dallas or online? I'm looking to build 18 panels and need 24- 2'x4'x2" sheets. The best I've seen is $528 shipped











'DIY Custom-Printed Movie Poster Acoustic Panels -...


VIDEO - Making Your Frames and Hanging Your Panels (disclaimer: I am not a professional YouTuber or internet personality. Please forgive my "ah"s and "um"s or any other verbal anomalies in any of my videos.) Hey Nick, thanks for posting this! Can you post a link for the hardware to anchor...




www.avsforum.com


----------



## Mr.6

nickbuol said:


> *Assembling Everything*
> 
> I really wanted to make a video on this, but I don't have scrap 1x4 lumber to build a sample frame, or spare fabric and acoustical insulation sitting around. I also have been holding up the initial version of this new discussion thread on getting this information out there, so for now this will be a simple document and will be updated at some point in the future.
> 
> So first up, you should have your frames built, your insulation on hand, your printed fabric ready to go. Here is what else you will need:
> 
> A staple gun (manual or "powered")
> Staples (can be fairly thin since you are just attaching thin fabric to a wood frame.)
> Painter's tape (optional)
> 
> So assembly is easy on paper, but can be a little tricky in practice.
> 
> First things first, lay your fabric face down on a large, clean, flat surface.
> Next, put your frame with the "best side" down on the fabric. By best side, I mean whatever side of your frame looks the nicest as any flaws will show through the fabric.
> Center it as best as you can to roughly align the front image with the front of the frame.
> Fold the border fabric around towards the back of the frame.
> Now align it as best as you can and start stapling. Apply staples closer to the inside of the frame than the outside edge. More on why later. Follow the below stapling pattern. This is the same method used when people stretch canvas on a frame (something to Google or search YouTube if you want to see someone doing this).
> 
> Once you get towards the corners, plan for how you are going to fold your corners so that you are consistent and so that you are able to fold things flat before finishing the stapling.
> Once you have things stapled, you may notice that some adjustments are needed. Since you stapled towards the inside of the frame, you should have a little flexibility to slightly stretch the fabric towards the front, or pull more towards the back and apply more staples.
> 
> After this, you can trim off any excess fabric.
> Then insert your acoustical insulation and push it to the front of the frame against the printed image on the fabric.
> Lastly it is highly recommended that you cover the back of the panel with some sort of super cheap fabric or even landscaping barrier (since it is really cheap). Just staple it to the back of the frame as well and trim the extra fabric. This is just to ensure that no insulation fibers get airborne and end up being breathed in. Yes, there is really low risk of this since the panels just stay hung on your walls, but it is cheap insurance to protect your lungs.
> 
> That is pretty much it. From here you just need to hang your frames using whatever method you choose (some ideas are mentioned in the Building Your Frames video).
> 
> As for placement, this is a longer discussion, but look for first reflection points for your front left and right speakers when sitting in your main listening position. Hang those panels so that the middle of the frame is at ear height and centered at that first reflection point. There is a mirror reflection trick that works well for this.
> 
> From there, panels on the rear wall are good too.
> 
> After that, it gets a little easier as it is just a matter of evenly distributing the panels around the rest of the room between the first reflection point panels that you placed first, and any rear wall panel(s) that you placed next.
> 
> You can certainly get more scientific with this by measuring your audio response and how adjustments to the panel placements impact audio performance, but that is a lengthy process that might not yield improved results.
> 
> As always, this is all just a general set of guidelines and hiring a professional to measure and design an entire acoustical plan for your room will still yield better results, but we can still make a lot of improvements without the cost of all of that. I just want to make sure that everyone understands this. You will still experience great improvement for a relatively low investment, and it is definitely worth it.
> 
> Good luck, and share your completed panels!


Any tips since this post to center the fabric on the frame?


----------



## RemixMark

Mr.6 said:


> Any tips since this post to center the fabric on the frame?


honestly, i'd check out a few video's on youtube and see what you think works best: 



 





I did the middle of each of the four sides and then slowly worked my way to the corners.


----------



## nickbuol

Mr.6 said:


> Any tips since this post to center the fabric on the frame?


You can also Google "How to stretch a canvas" and it will show you the good technique for stretching the material. Now a canvas doesn't usually have borders to line up.

I've heard that some people will use painter's tape or masking tape to hold things in position and allow adjustment before stapling. I know at least one person said that they lightly sprayed the front of their frame with spray adhesive and "stuck" the image in place and then flipped it over and stapled the back.

Just some other ideas.


----------



## OnEMoReTrY121

Mr.6 said:


> Any tips since this post to center the fabric on the frame?


Using binder clips and stapling one side at a time, came out perfect.


----------



## Mr.6

Thanks for the tips guys.

Much appreciated!


----------



## mstang1988

OnEMoReTrY121 said:


> Using binder clips and stapling one side at a time, came out perfect.
> View attachment 3334045


Similarly I used plastic clamps and a powered staple gun. Did top, then bottom, start stretching the sides, and it worked.


----------



## kay7711226

OnEMoReTrY121 said:


> Using binder clips and stapling one side at a time, came out perfect.
> View attachment 3334045


 How much did you stretch the fabric(image) on the wood frame to get it "perfect"?


----------



## kay7711226

kay7711226 said:


> Current pricing as of 09/04
> 
> 
> $ 7.25 per yard /$ 5.00 swatch - includes custom printing


FYI *Polyester Pongee Silk is no longer available on the website. @nickbuol are you aware?*
Got my shipment today and will be putting it together soon.


----------



## nickbuol

kay7711226 said:


> FYI *Polyester Pongee Silk is no longer available on the website. @nickbuol are you aware?*
> Got my shipment today and will be putting it together soon.


I didn't know that. I will have the master list earlier in this discussion updated to remove it.


----------



## OnEMoReTrY121

nickbuol said:


> I didn't know that. I will have the master list earlier in this discussion updated to remove it.


Dang, I was going to build 3 more panels. I just emailed MyFabricDesigns and they said they discontinued Polyester Pongee Silk and have no plans to bring it back. 

The three additional panels will be about 66% of the size. Do you think Cotton Poplin would look weird in the same room as a bunch of PPS panels?


----------



## OnEMoReTrY121

kay7711226 said:


> How much did you stretch the fabric(image) on the wood frame to get it "perfect"?


Doesn't take much stretching if your fabric is printed to the right specs for your frame size. The little bit of stretching just makes it easy to line up all the sides correctly.


----------



## kay7711226

OnEMoReTrY121 said:


> Doesn't take much stretching if your fabric is printed to the right specs for your frame size. The little bit of stretching just makes it easy to line up all the sides correctly.


Let me reword the question. If your image size is 24x36(minus boarders) with the stretch of PPS should the frame be an 1/8 or 1/4 inch larger all around to let it stretch to fit?


----------



## jon44

jon44 said:


> Thanks Nick. I think I'm on the right track now. I'll post up some photos when done.


I'd like to thank all of you for contributing here. This is an awesome thread. And especially I'd like to give a big thanks to nickbuol and RemixMark for helping me get my image file right.

I finally got everything together and finished my panel. The longer I thought about it, the more complicated it got. lol. But, I'm happy with it. The panel is actually in a bedroom recording studio. I had the print done on Polyester Pongee Silk by My Fabric Designs. They were great and cheap too.











I decided to make the panel look like a speaker with a speaker cover. So I made a thin frame from furring strips and just wrapped that.










Then I made two frames from 1x3s. The first with the same dimensions of the fabric frame. The second smaller. That allowed a channel for a light strip to be hidden.










I used 2" of Owens Corning 703 in the front and 3 1/2" of Rockwool behind it.



















Then I installed trim pieces in the channel and attached the light strips to those. And, of course, I had to go with the LEDs that move to the music.










I have an aluminum cleat to hang it. But I have decided to build a stand to slip it into and have it more mobile in order to tune my room sound. Maybe I'll hang it when not recording.










Cheers


----------



## RemixMark

jon44 said:


> I'd like to thank all of you for contributing here. This is an awesome thread. And especially I'd like to give a big thanks to nickbuol and RemixMark for helping me get my image file right.
> 
> I finally got everything together and finished my panel. The longer I thought about it, the more complicated it got. lol. But, I'm happy with it. The panel is actually in a bedroom recording studio. I had the print done on Polyester Pongee Silk by My Fabric Designs. They were great and cheap too.
> 
> View attachment 3337857
> 
> 
> 
> I decided to make the panel look like a speaker with a speaker cover. So I made a thin frame from furring strips and just wrapped that.
> 
> View attachment 3337858
> 
> 
> Then I made two frames from 1x3s. The first with the same dimensions of the fabric frame. The second smaller. That allowed a channel for a light strip to be hidden.
> 
> View attachment 3337868
> 
> 
> I used 2" of Owens Corning 703 in the front and 3 1/2" of Rockwool behind it.
> 
> View attachment 3337869
> 
> 
> View attachment 3337870
> 
> 
> Then I installed trim pieces in the channel and attached the light strips to those. And, of course, I had to go with the LEDs that move to the music.
> 
> View attachment 3337873
> 
> 
> I have an aluminum cleat to hang it. But I have decided to build a stand to slip it into and have it more mobile in order to tune my room sound. Maybe I'll hang it when not recording.
> 
> View attachment 3337877
> 
> 
> Cheers


Dude, that came out great! I'm glad I was able to help you with this.

Do you notice a difference with just the one acoustic panel in your room? If not, it may be time to build a few more now that you've got the hang of things


----------



## jon44

RemixMark said:


> Dude, that came out great! I'm glad I was able to help you with this.
> 
> Do you notice a difference with just the one acoustic panel in your room? If not, it may be time to build a few more now that you've got the hang of things


Thanks Mark. I do notice the difference in the sound depending on the location I place it. Small spaces tend to have a bass frequency build up in the corners. The corner in front of my studio monitors has had that issue. Particularly problematic for accuracy in the mixing process. Now I have the materials on hand and the know-how. I will be adding panels, one at a time and testing the results as I go. I don't want the room too "dead" either. I may do a cloud panel overhead next.


----------



## nickbuol

Just a quick note. I won't be able to help with image work for about a week. I am traveling away from this hurricane today (was a preplanned work trip) back to the midwest. Hopefully the house does OK without us here, but either way I will be with family, friends, (and work) while I am gone.

If you need help, you can still send me a PM, but responses will likely be delayed.


----------



## Mr.6

Is this similar to performance knit?


*Poly
Performance Spandex*

Our performance polyspandex is a fabric that never quits! With its high spandex content, it has excellent recovery and can be worn over and over without losing shape. The fabric naturally wicks moisture away from the body and is easy to care for. Our performance spandex is proudly made in Montreal using an ecopolyster fiber. Ecopolyester uses significantly less water and energy during production than traditional polyester.


Content88% polyester, 12% spandexPrintable width44”/112 cmBase colorOptic whiteWeight280g/m2Shrinkage1-2% in length and widthPrint throughLow, roughly 10%
All performance spandex fabrics are printed on-demand with our vibrant and permanent sublimation inks


----------



## RemixMark

nickbuol said:


> Just a quick note. I won't be able to help with image work for about a week. I am traveling away from this hurricane today (was a preplanned work trip) back to the midwest. Hopefully the house does OK without us here, but either way I will be with family, friends, (and work) while I am gone.
> 
> If you need help, you can still send me a PM, but responses will likely be delayed.


Hope your place gets through hurricane Ian without damage.


----------



## texasninja956

Would anyone mind taking a look at one of my image files for me? When I upload it to myfabric designs, my pic shows up as 27"x16". However, in gimp, it appears as the proper size (56"x34").


----------



## RemixMark

texasninja956 said:


> Would anyone mind taking a look at one of my image files for me? When I upload it to myfabric designs, my pic shows up as 27"x16". However, in gimp, it appears as the proper size (56"x34").


Sure, post a link here.


----------



## texasninja956

RemixMark said:


> Sure, post a link here.


Thank you!!



http://imgur.com/v70SLFP


----------



## texasninja956

I'm sure I inevitably screwed that up... let's try a direct upload. Original file is 11.9mb.


----------



## RemixMark

texasninja956 said:


> Thank you!!
> 
> 
> 
> http://imgur.com/v70SLFP


The one from imgur works fine 

What size (length, width, depth) do you plan on building for your frame? What size width wood do you plan on using for the frame? The width (30.22") and length (55.55") of the non-black area's of the poster are odd sizes. Not a huge deal, but want to make sure you know this. What are the dimensions (length & depth) and what type of insulation will you be using?

Great movie poster to have by the way


----------



## texasninja956

RemixMark said:


> The one from imgur works fine
> 
> What size (length, width, depth) do you plan on building for your frame? What size width wood do you plan on using for the frame? The width (30.22") and length (55.55") of the non-black area's of the poster are odd sizes. Not a huge deal, but want to make sure you know this. What are the dimensions (length & depth) and what type of insulation will you be using?
> 
> Great movie poster to have by the way


Thanks, I must have done something wrong then. My frames are 26x48. So I tried resizing the pic to that size, and then adding 8" of black border to the tops and sides. I don't understand why the dimensions are showing up as 30x55, when they should be 34x56. The 30.22 seems like it's off by a significant amount.

What's even more concerning is that it shows up with even weirder dimensions when uploaded to myfabricdesigns. If I'm not mistaken it is 31.11x18.89 on the website.


----------



## RemixMark

texasninja956 said:


> Thanks, I must have done something wrong then. My frames are 26x48. So I tried resizing the pic to that size, and then adding 8" of black border to the tops and sides. I don't understand why the dimensions are showing up as 30x55, when they should be 34x56. The 30.22 seems like it's off by a significant amount.
> 
> What's even more concerning is that it shows up with even weirder dimensions when uploaded to myfabricdesigns. If I'm not mistaken it is 31.11x18.89 on the website.
> View attachment 3342039


Shoot me the link to the image on the website and I'll create this one for ya. It'll be easier than trying to "fix" what you have.

You never answered these questions:

What are the dimensions (length & depth) and what type of insulation will you be using?
What size wood are you going to be using (1x4, 1x6, etc.)? This will tell me how much of the black border you need. 
Another cool idea some people have done is skip the black boarder and just have the movie image wrap around the frame. I can make it how ever you'd like


----------



## texasninja956

RemixMark said:


> Shoot me the link to the image on the website and I'll create this one for ya. It'll be easier than trying to "fix" what you have.
> 
> You never answered these questions:
> 
> What are the dimensions (length & depth) and what type of insulation will you be using?
> What size wood are you going to be using (1x4, 1x6, etc.)? This will tell me how much of the black border you need.
> Another cool idea some people have done is skip the black boarder and just have the movie image wrap around the frame. I can make it how ever you'd like


Ah man I appreciate the response. I built my panels over a year ago but am dressing them up so to speak. I used 1x4’s and my panels are “26”x”48”. I can’t remember exactly but I used a mineral wool product of some sort.

Is there any way you could briefly tell me what you have to do in my fabric designs…. I’m actually trying to order 8 of them so need to know how to do it on my own. I thought for sure I had resized them currently in gimp so that they would be good to go.

I’d pass along the link, but I sprained my ankle today and was working on it on my laptop downstairs.


----------



## texasninja956

Oh in terms of wrapping the images around I think that’s pretty cool… not sure it would work for me because a lot of the posters I selected have stuff on the sides that I would not want to miss out on (like parts of people’s bodies or weapons).


----------



## RemixMark

texasninja956 said:


> Ah man I appreciate the response. I built my panels over a year ago but am dressing them up so to speak. I used 1x4’s and my panels are “26”x”48”. I can’t remember exactly but I used a mineral wool product of some sort.
> 
> Is there any way you could briefly tell me what you have to do in my fabric designs…. I’m actually trying to order 8 of them so need to know how to do it on my own. I thought for sure I had resized them currently in gimp so that they would be good to go.
> 
> I’d pass along the link, but I sprained my ankle today and was working on it on my laptop downstairs.


If you want to DIY, just follow the steps here: 'DIY Custom-Printed Movie Poster Acoustic Panels -... or


----------



## nickbuol

texasninja956 said:


> Thanks, I must have done something wrong then. My frames are 26x48. So I tried resizing the pic to that size, and then adding 8" of black border to the tops and sides. I don't understand why the dimensions are showing up as 30x55, when they should be 34x56. The 30.22 seems like it's off by a significant amount.
> 
> What's even more concerning is that it shows up with even weirder dimensions when uploaded to myfabricdesigns. If I'm not mistaken it is 31.11x18.89 on the website.
> View attachment 3342039


Check DPI settings. If your DPI is something lower than the 150DPI that MyFabricDesigns is expecting, it will show smaller than you want.

In the messages you sent me, you showed at one point that you were at 72 dpi (resolution is what GIMP calls it). That should either be increased to 150 dpi, or on MyFabricDesigns, it should be reduced to 72 to match (assuming that they still have that feature). I am responding via my phone and trying to navigate a test upload to make sure is clumsy. I would up the resolution to 150 in GIMP.


----------



## texasninja956

nickbuol said:


> Check DPI settings. If your DPI is something lower than the 150DPI that MyFabricDesigns is expecting, it will show smaller than you want.
> 
> In the messages you sent me, you showed at one point that you were at 72 dpi (resolution is what GIMP calls it). That should either be increased to 150 dpi, or on MyFabricDesigns, it should be reduced to 72 to match (assuming that they still have that feature). I am responding via my phone and trying to navigate a test upload to make sure is clumsy. I would up the resolution to 150 in GIMP.


Nick! Thank you! RemixMark generously walked me through one today and I do believe the dpi settings are what were tripping me up.

I'm trying to find a good screen material that is at least 56" wide now. I've narrowed it down to the ones that can accommodate that size, just not sure which to choose.

A bunch of the ones I was considering are not viable according to the table on page 1. I'm stuck deciding between polyester french terry and organic cotton sateen, though I think the polyester will work better given that I'm going to wrap the fabric over the burlap I used previously.

Another option is chiffon. Has anyone used that? Any thoughts on it?


----------



## galonzo

galonzo said:


> I ordered the rest of my prints on the PPS during the sale, and one of them is similar to *the one with the white problem area I posted*, so we'll see how it compares (It's *this one*)...
> 
> 
> galonzo said:
> 
> 
> 
> Small update on the different materials: my PPS (Polyester Pongee Silk) prints are in, and although I haven't been able to test the whiter areas (like I said I would in my previous post above), I found that blacks are not so great on the PPS
> 
> In Photoshop, I applied a filter on these two movie scene images and added the rest of the black above, and here's the difference I'm seeing between the two (Cotton Poplin on the left):
> View attachment 3308411
> 
> 
> Off to re-order this print, but on CP...
Click to expand...

Update on my Cotton Poplin vs. Polyester Pongee Silk "saga"; to sum up, the CP is slightly more see-through in the lighter areas (upper-left corner in the poster on the left), but has better contrast (i.e., darker darks/better blacks) than the Back to the Future poster on PPS on the right:


----------



## kay7711226

nickbuol said:


> Just a quick note. I won't be able to help with image work for about a week. I am traveling away from this hurricane today (was a preplanned work trip) back to the midwest. Hopefully the house does OK without us here, but either way I will be with family, friends, (and work) while I am gone.
> 
> If you need help, you can still send me a PM, but responses will likely be delayed.


Hope all worked out well for you @nickbuol


----------



## kay7711226

Finally getting to post my update here since building, hanging and recalibrating my system. Thanks to everyone on here!

Below a few pics of the build process and poster layout. Not a particular themed layout, just some favs picked by the lady and the kiddos. I still have more printed fabric using the PPS, glad I did since it was on very good sale and now no longer available on MFD.


----------



## aras1980

Hi

Just finished my acoustic panels. Many thanks to *nickbuol *for helping me prepare this photo for MyFabricDesign. 

I am from Poland so I had to use ISOVER PT80 wool.


----------



## nickbuol

Those all look great, and yes we survived pretty well actually. I was out of town for work, but didn't sleep the night that the hurricane was coming through, but at 4:16am I saw the forecasted path take a sudden turn to the east which saved us from about 10 inches of rain in a 12 hour period. We still came home to work to do, but nothing like what it was forecasted to be... I do feel bad for those that ended up in the path instead of us.


----------



## shivaji




----------



## AudiRedDevil

Anyone come up with a solution to easily swap out the fabrics? So instead of making new panels and keeping in storage maybe some sort of Velcro system to swap out the images?


----------



## Chiefsfan42

TooManyTimeZones said:


> I bought mine at SPI Specialty Products & Insulation in Grand Prairie. They are close enough to avoid shipping charges.
> 
> Address: 1142 Avenue S, Grand Prairie, TX 75050
> Hours: Open ⋅ Closes 5PM
> Phone: (972) 602-3555


I am in Kansas City and also had luck with the SPI location here after getting quoted ridiculous prices on OC-703 from every other distributor around here. Last week I was able to buy 12 Unfaced OC-703 and 6 Roxul 60 boards for around $250, essentially spot on the list prices of the online vendors but with no shipping. 

If you are trying to find a local source like SPI, make sure you mention you don't mind waiting for their regular resupplies. I had to wait two weeks but that let me avoid shipping fees associated with special orders. 

Very excited to finally start building these!


----------



## mtbdudex

Nick .. in the busyness of “life” I missed this 2.0 thread .. yea 11+ months late to the party. 

A+ job organizing this thread . 


Sent from my iPhone 11Pro using Tapatalk


----------



## LKVelander

Just finished my first 2 panels tonight thanks for all the information and recommendations. Now that I think I know what I am doing starting to design the rest on the computer.


----------



## Chiefsfan42

LKVelander said:


> Just finished my first 2 panels tonight thanks for all the information and recommendations. Now that I think I know what I am doing starting to design the rest on the computer.
> View attachment 3347669
> View attachment 3347670
> View attachment 3347671


 Wow, that’s awesome. I never even considered combining multiple images into one print. I have some images that would be perfect for that and who knows how many more I trashed for being too low resolution that would have worked for this.


----------



## texasninja956

Man I can’t begin to thank @RemixMark enough! Fabric came in today and I got the first of nine panels done!


----------



## Navv

Dang I need to get some made myself, but haven't had any time due to work travel. If anyone in the Houston is able make some 40x40 (to cover windows) please message me!


----------



## RemixMark

texasninja956 said:


> Man I can’t begin to thank @RemixMark enough! Fabric came in today and I got the first of nine panels done!
> View attachment 3349065
> 
> View attachment 3349066


Dude, hell yes! That Dead Pool panel looks great! 

What do you think of the material and how the prints look? Sorry if you mentioned this before and it slipped my mind, but how'd you end up constructing your frames i.e. what kind of wood, how deep, did you assemble with a brad nailer or pocket screws?

Super happy I could help someone out. 

Lets all give a round of applause to @nickbuol 👏👏👏


----------



## texasninja956

RemixMark said:


> Dude, hell yes! That Dead Pool panel looks great!
> 
> What do you think of the material and how the prints look? Sorry if you mentioned this before and it slipped my mind, but how'd you end up constructing your frames i.e. what kind of wood, how deep, did you assemble with a brad nailer or pocket screws?
> 
> Super happy I could help someone out.
> 
> Lets all give a round of applause to @nickbuol 👏👏👏
> View attachment 3349200


Thanks a lot. The Deadpool poster is definitely one of the better ones I had seen on here! This whole process has been a learning experience. I definitely wish I had chosen a couple of other prints. This is also the third time I wrap these panels.

They’re nothing special. I was initially aiming for 2’x4’ but ended up closer to 26” wide because of user error. They were one of the first diy projects I tackled.

Initially, I wrapped them in burlap but wasn’t a big fan. I then wrapped them in a black material but it started to sag (can’t remember the name but it’s the type of material used commonly on the underside of furniture).

This polyester material is really nice. I don’t have any other prints to compare them to, but they look pretty decent to me. The black levels could be a little better… One concern ppl might have is that if you stretch it too hard, you can see streaks in the material.

Here are a couple of pics of how they looked initially in burlap (next to one covered in speaker grill material I used for the panels in my dedicated room). You can see in the other pic how badly they started to sag when I rewrapped them in the black material.


----------



## RemixMark

texasninja956 said:


> Thanks a lot. The Deadpool poster is definitely one of the better ones I had seen on here! This whole process has been a learning experience. I definitely wish I had chosen a couple of other prints. This is also the third time I wrap these panels.
> 
> They’re nothing special. I was initially aiming for 2’x4’ but ended up closer to 26” wide because of user error. They were one of the first diy projects I tackled.
> 
> Initially, I wrapped them in burlap but wasn’t a big fan. I then wrapped them in a black material but it started to sag (can’t remember the name but it’s the type of material used commonly on the underside of furniture).
> 
> This polyester material is really nice. I don’t have any other prints to compare them to, but they look pretty decent to me. The black levels could be a little better… One concern ppl might have is that if you stretch it too hard, you can see streaks in the material.
> 
> Here are a couple of pics of how they looked initially in burlap (next to one covered in speaker grill material I used for the panels in my dedicated room). You can see in the other pic how badly they started to sag when I rewrapped them in the black material.
> View attachment 3349241
> 
> View attachment 3349238
> 
> 
> View attachment 3349243


Yea that furniture fabric does not stretch like the suggested materials from myfabric that @nickbuol has recommended.

Your prints looks solid AF to me. I love the Batman print you did. The reds/orange tones always gave me that “pop” factor on my prints That I REALLY enjoy.
You going to rerun your room calibration now that these are re-wrapped? Couldn’t hurt, but not sure it’ll help


----------



## texasninja956

RemixMark said:


> Yea that furniture fabric does not stretch like the suggested materials from myfabric that @nickbuol has recommended.
> 
> Your prints looks solid AF to me. I love the Batman print you did. The reds/orange tones always gave me that “pop” factor on my prints That I REALLY enjoy.
> You going to rerun your room calibration now that these are re-wrapped? Couldn’t hurt, but not sure it’ll help


Thanks man! They came out a lot better than I expected really—especially after dealing with that saggy fabric.

I’ve gotta rerun audyssey. I also switched center channels so it’s an absolute must. I’m tempted to build a couple of more… there are some prints that I feel like I absolutely gotta have…


----------



## squared80

Any tips on ironing the Polyester Pongee Silk fabric, or other ways to get the folds/wrinkles out? Seems like a relatively delicate fabric.


----------



## galonzo

squared80 said:


> Any tips on ironing the Polyester Pongee Silk fabric, or other ways to get the folds/wrinkles out? Seems like a relatively delicate fabric.


My iron has a silk setting I used (appears to be about 75-80% power), and I just ironed the non-printed side.


----------



## Navv

@nickbuol Question: Trying to cover three 36x36 windows, any recommendations on what size image/panel would work best?


----------



## nickbuol

Navv said:


> @nickbuol Question: Trying to cover three 36x36 windows, any recommendations on what size image/panel would work best?


I guess you have a couple of approaches, you could make a frame that fits inside the 36x36 window (slightly smaller of course to add fabric), but most windows likely aren't 100% square when factoring in window sills and frames where drywall mud/texture start to impact the size. 

Or you could go larger than 36x36 to ensure that you overlap the window opening itself. You could do something like 38 x 38 or 38 x 46 or really whatever you want.

Either way, you will likely need some black-out fabric to block all light before it hits the panel.

The real trick, which is what you are asking about, is how do you find images that work. Likely it will require some custom image work.

Since you are looking at just 3 images, send me a PM here about it and I will get you my contact information and can help brainstorm, locate, and edit images to what you need. No charge. Happy to help.


----------



## F80Penn

Anybody know of a available discount code for myfabricdesign?


----------



## galonzo

F80Penn said:


> Anybody know of a available discount code for myfabricdesign?


Earlier this week, I used the one from @nickbuol 's excellent video on the first page of this thread (I believe it was FABRIC25) to save 25% , however, it was my 1st time trying it, so maybe everyone gets a single use 🤷‍♂️


----------



## F80Penn

I’ll give it a try thanks!


----------



## OnEMoReTrY121

F80Penn said:


> I’ll give it a try thanks!


If that doesn't work Stocking15 will work through the end of today for 15% off.


----------



## phillydude411

Hi everyone, so I've using my HT for the past couple of years, and starting to get annoyed with muffled dialog, so finally decided to add some sound panels. Been trying to go through as many posts and pics as I can, and landed on using 1x3 lumber and Roxul 2 inch insulation to build 6 (25.5x38.25) panels - 2 for each wall left/right/back.
I see that Polyester Pongee Silk (PPS) was a popular fabric that is no longer offered, what would be recommended as the next best fabric to pick?


----------



## NotShorty

phillydude411 said:


> Hi everyone, so I've using my HT for the past couple of years, and starting to get annoyed with muffled dialog, so finally decided to add some sound panels. Been trying to go through as many posts and pics as I can, and landed on using 1x3 lumber and Roxul 2 inch insulation to build 6 (25.5x38.25) panels - 2 for each wall left/right/back.
> I see that Polyester Pongee Silk (PPS) was a popular fabric that is no longer offered, what would be recommended as the next best fabric to pick?


Have you considered 1x4's instead? 1x3 lumber is actually 3/4" x 2.5" so you'd only have a 0.5" air gap behind the 2" thick insulation. 

Despite the aesthetic considerations I'm considering using 1x6's so I can use two 2" layers of OC703 and still have a 1.5" air gap.


----------



## squared80

phillydude411 said:


> Hi everyone, so I've using my HT for the past couple of years, and starting to get annoyed with muffled dialog, so finally decided to add some sound panels. Been trying to go through as many posts and pics as I can, and landed on using 1x3 lumber and Roxul 2 inch insulation to build 6 (25.5x38.25) panels - 2 for each wall left/right/back.
> I see that Polyester Pongee Silk (PPS) was a popular fabric that is no longer offered, what would be recommended as the next best fabric to pick?


Just look at the thread. The OP already went through and rated them all for you.


----------



## phillydude411

NotShorty said:


> Have you considered 1x4's instead? 1x3 lumber is actually 3/4" x 2.5" so you'd only have a 0.5" air gap behind the 2" thick insulation.
> 
> Despite the aesthetic considerations I'm considering using 1x6's so I can use two 2" layers of OC703 and still have a 1.5" air gap.


My room is not really big (about 10'x16'), so trying to minimize the depth. Was initially planning to go with 2" depth to match the insulation, but then thought better to have 1/2" air gap than none and less headache ripping wood, really don't want to go beyond that.


----------



## phillydude411

squared80 said:


> Just look at the thread. The OP already went through and rated them all for you.


I see the comparison table in post #15, but trying this as a first timer not sure which one is best for end result. Are they listed in any particular order from top to bottom?


----------



## Navv

nickbuol said:


> I guess you have a couple of approaches, you could make a frame that fits inside the 36x36 window (slightly smaller of course to add fabric), but most windows likely aren't 100% square when factoring in window sills and frames where drywall mud/texture start to impact the size.
> 
> Or you could go larger than 36x36 to ensure that you overlap the window opening itself. You could do something like 38 x 38 or 38 x 46 or really whatever you want.
> 
> Either way, you will likely need some black-out fabric to block all light before it hits the panel.
> 
> The real trick, which is what you are asking about, is how do you find images that work. Likely it will require some custom image work.
> 
> Since you are looking at just 3 images, send me a PM here about it and I will get you my contact information and can help brainstorm, locate, and edit images to what you need. No charge. Happy to help.


Just messaged you!


----------



## nickbuol

Navv said:


> Just messaged you!


Just replied.


----------



## cartman1417

nickbuol said:


> *MyFabricDesigns Fabric Choices - April 2022*
> 
> 
> From April 11, 2022. Current fabric choices from MyFabricDesigns and my initial thoughts on them.
> From Post #205:
> I am trying to provide some information timely for everyone, so I did a rough "Round - 1" examination of each of these fabrics. I want to go back and look at the best options, see if I can differentiate more between the top contenders, but at least you have my initial thoughts.... I will set up a sharable file when I have more sorted out, but for now this copy/paste of my Excel sheet that I am working on.
> 
> 
> FabricPrintable WidthThread CountOverall Image QualityImage ColorImage ClarityFabric SheenStretchyAT "Blow Test"ViableNotesBasic Combed Cotton54"100x76GoodGoodGoodMatteMinorOK-LowYesCan see the weave and is visually see through.Cotton Poplin42"144x84Good-GreatGood-GreatGreatMatteNoOKYesNice color and clarity. Looks good, slightly see-through against contrasting background.Cotton Silk42"UnknownOKGoodOKSatinNoOKMaybeCan see the weave and it impacts the clarity. Slightly see through, but not bad.Cotton Voile42"108x100Good -GreatGoodGoodMatteMinimalOKMaybeVery thin fabric making it see-through and contrast isn't the best. Due toFaux Linen Canvas54"40x50TerribleOKTerribleMatteNoMinimalNoBad weave level makes this completely unusable.Faux Linen Slub42"90x90OKGoodOKMatteNoOKLast resortWeave is visible and fabric is slightly see-through. I would choose something else.Faux Linen Slub Sheer58"72x55TerriblePoorPoorMatteNoYesNoLoose weave and very see through and this destroys the image quality.Flame Retardant Faux Linen Canvas56"40x30TerribleOKTerribleMatteNoYesNoLike Faux Linen Canvas, but a very loose knit making it just as ugly, but also very see-through. Don't use this.Heavy Cotton Twill58"136x60PoorGoodPoorSatinNoNoNoNice color, but very textured fabric reduces image clarity and fails the breathability test.Interlock Blend46"UnknownOKVibrantOKSatinSignificant in one directionGreatMaybeFabric seems to have a little color bleed which takes a little bit from the clarity. If stretched, the image starts to show white (not good).Linen Cotton Blend50"103x42PoorGoodPoorMatteNoNoNoStrong variable visible weave gives more of an "industrial" look, but hurts image quality.Nylon Lycra Blend56UnknownPoorPoorOKMatteSignificant in both directionsYesNoFabric almost looks "grey" as an base color, thus making everything else very dull. Not recommended.Organic Cotton Interlock Knit58"UnknownOKGood-GreatOKMatteSignificant in one directionGoodYesCan see the weave in one direction. Good at not being see-through.Organic Cotton Jacquard58"UnknownPoorGoodPoorSatinSignificant in one directionGreatNoFabric itself is patterned and it destroys the otherwise great image.Organic Cotton Sateen56"160x90GoodGoodGoodMatteMinimalOKYesCan see the weave and is visually see through.Polyester Crepe Jersey58"UnknownTerribleOKOKSatinSignificant in one directionYesNoThe base fabric is very inconsistent in thickness making it about 50% OK for transparency and 50% see through. This also takes away from the overall look of the quality and causes the fabric to look "blotchy."Polyester French Terry58"UnknownOK-GoodGreatGoodSatinSignificant in one directionYesYesImage is very slightly blurry from color bleed, but not bad. Thicker than most other fabrics meaning it is significantly better than the others at hiding anything behind it. You can see the weave a little bit though. Beware of stretching too much as it can make the weave a little more noticeable.Polyester Pongee Silk58"UnknownGoodGreatGoodSemi-GlossSignificant in one directionYesNO LONGER AVAILABLE MaybeGood color and clarity, better than Polyester French Terry. You can see the weave, but it isn't bad. Stretchy, but a little more forgiving than other fabrics in retaining constant color. Black levels could be better. Use only with images with limited black coloration.Polyester Slub Jersey58"UnknownTerribleOKPoorSatinSignificant in one directionYesNoThe base fabric is very inconsistent in thickness making it about 75% OK for transparency and 25% see through. This also takes away from the overall look of the quality and causes the fabric to look "blotchy." Color also seems to bleed a bit also reducing the quality.Premium Cotton54"60x60PoorGoodPoorMatteMinimalOK-LowLast resortImage has "blurry" looking, can see the weave, less see-through than Basic Combed CottonQuadri Performance Sport Knit62"UnknownTerribleGoodOKSemi-GlossSignificant in one directionYesNoDistinct weave pattern that destroys the image quality. Don't use this.Satin56"50x50Good-GreatVibrantGreatSatinNoMinimalYesOverall this looks really good. Not very AT per the "blow test." Slightly see-through, but not terrible like some of the others.Silk Crepe De Chine42"UnknownGoodVibrantGoodSatinMinimalOK-LowMaybeColors are blown out a bit, but really solid. Super thin and see through, but surprisingly not super AT. Possible color bleed.Silk Crinkle Linen52"UnknownPoorGoodPoorMatteNoGoodNoStrong visible weave, but also thin and see-through. Both hurts the image quality.Silky Faille42"200x78GoodGreatVery GoodSemi-GlossNoNoMaybeNeed measured and it 100% fails the blow-through test. Slight color bleed takes away from being spot-on for quality, but still really good.


Cotton Poplin printable area is showing 54” on their website instead of 42” stated in this table. It seems to me that makes it the best choice now. Can someone confirm or correct?


----------



## nickbuol

cartman1417 said:


> Cotton Poplin printable area is showing 54” on their website instead of 42” stated in this table. It seems to me that makes it the best choice now. Can someone confirm or correct?


Nice!

I will update the chart. I've seen them change fabric sizes before, but usually going smaller. Going bigger means more options for people.


----------



## nickbuol

New code: _Use code *WinterWear *for 30% off your order through 11/12/22_


----------



## ryanfunnels

Would using OWENS CORNING 703 and stapling directly to it be a good option for this fabric?


----------



## nickbuol

New code today: From now through 11/18/22 take 30% off your custom fabric orders with coupon code: *Photo2Canvas*


----------



## Grubar

Got my fabric yesterday and couldn't wait to finish them up. Plugged my 2 windows with the LOTR and starwars one those are 46"x46" I love the final product thank you for the thead and the tutorials on how to do it all it was easy to follow and easy to do..... well easy isn't true I found I screwed up getting the fabric on the frame perfect but its good enough for me. I also just used the basic cotton option on myfabricdesign.com


----------



## uv_halo

I love the effort that nickbuol and others have put into this thread, as well as the examples from many others.

For the image editors in this thread- have any of you tried AI upscaling techniques? (i.e. PS Super Resolution, Topaz Gigapixel AI, BigJPG, VanceAI, etc)? I get the idea that folks using Photoshop are probably more familiar with Super Resolution but, for non-photoshop subscribers, a standalone product (and paired with a tool like GIMP for contrast, saturation, etc) might be a good fit.

I was having a hard time finding actual poster images (with print) with decent quality so, I recently picked up Gigapixel AI (I can use this for a bunch of my film photos as well) and tried it out on a 2.2k x 3.3k, 96DPI Tron: Legacy (Rinzler with print) image and brought it up to 25.5 x 38.25, 150DPI (I forget the actual resolution numbers) and I could not spot any artifacts at a 1:1 ratio, with next to zero effort.


----------



## nickbuol

New code: Use code *CustomColorways *at checkout to get 30% off until Nov. 24, 2022


----------



## tw1zt3d

i've gone through this thread and downloaded GIMP to start making my own, but i have a weird question...

Has anybody that has already edited images uploaded them anywhere?


----------



## tddk

with performance knit gone, what is the preferred choice folks are using? Looking at the opening thread, it appears the fabric choices were from 11/21.


----------



## tddk

ps black friday sale is live, 50% (per email)


----------



## phillydude411

If anyone is looking for RW rockboard 60 acoustic or OC fiberglass insulation, Acoustimac has 10% off sale (BFSPECIAL10). I called a few local rockwool dealers, but could not find it, so finally ordered it online.


----------



## tddk

squared80 said:


> Just look at the thread. The OP already went through and rated them all for you.


The ratings are out dated, performance knit is also no longer available.


----------



## nickbuol

tddk said:


> The ratings are out dated, performance knit is also no longer available.


The ratings are from April of this year, so they aren't that outdated. Performance Knit hasn't been an option for a while, so it wasn't on the list. One of the fabrics, Polyester Pongee Silk, was discontinued a couple of months ago and thus it was removed. 

My comments are still valid for the others. There is no "perfect" fabric out there. Most people need a certain fabric width to fit their images on, so that is the biggest limiting factor, and from there people pick other options. Stretchy or not stretchy (both have pros and cons), text quality vs overall color, etc.

If you pick out a couple that you are trying to decide between, I can do a direct fresh comparison of those two for you as the fabric samples are sitting about 2 inches from my keyboard.

Also, feel free to order your own samples of anything that you think will work for you and check them out yourself if you would like. I don't think that it costs too much for a sample or two, but again, I am happy to help compare a couple to each other. Just pick what fits your needs (width) first, and go from there.


----------



## nickbuol

Hey all. I've got a request from one of our fellow AVSers here. They are looking for a theme for their room for some acoustic panel prints. Doesn't have to be movie poster related. In fact, they mentioned even movie items like film reels, etc. They also stated that they wanted black & white images. I told them that with the gray and black room, they might want something with a pop of color. Could still be black and white, but some single color added (or left) in each image. That is all that I have been given to far.

I feel like my creative juices get consumed during my regular job trying to solve my IT Management team's problems (from financial to human resources to client needs) every day, that a clean slate room is just a rabbit hole that I am struggling to start going down.

Any ideas for our friend? I will ask them via PM if I can mention their name, but here are some photos of their room so far...


----------



## RemixMark

nickbuol said:


> Hey all. I've got a request from one of our fellow AVSers here. They are looking for a theme for their room for some acoustic panel prints. Doesn't have to be movie poster related. In fact, they mentioned even movie items like film reels, etc. They also stated that they wanted black & white images. I told them that with the gray and black room, they might want something with a pop of color. Could still be black and white, but some single color added (or left) in each image. That is all that I have been given to far.
> 
> I feel like my creative juices get consumed during my regular job trying to solve my IT Management team's problems (from financial to human resources to client needs) every day, that a clean slate room is just a rabbit hole that I am struggling to start going down.
> 
> Any ideas for our friend? I will ask them via PM if I can mention their name, but here are some photos of their room so far...
> 
> View attachment 3365009
> 
> View attachment 3365006
> 
> View attachment 3365008
> 
> View attachment 3365005
> 
> View attachment 3365007


I'd have them look through the Home Theaters of the Month for a little inspiration: Search results for query: home theater of the month

There's some great theaters and some not so great ones IMHO, however they could flip through a few posts and see if they like what they see and that triggers something for them.

Space theme: HTotM - Home Theater of the Month: Steve’s First...
Monochrome: HTotM - October 2022 Home Theater of the Month Powered...
Patchwork: HTotM - HT of the Month: Sleight of Hand
Some diffusion panels: HTotM - HT of the Month: Sleight of Hand

I think a lot of us just make prints of what brings us joy when we see it, at least that's what my family and I did. There's no real "theme" to it. There are a lot of really great examples of that on this thread. Here's @luv2fly3 theater that I've always enjoyed.
What makes a person happy: HTotM - November 2021 AVS Forum Home Theater of the...


----------



## nickbuol

RemixMark said:


> I'd have them look through the Home Theaters of the Month for a little inspiration: Search results for query: home theater of the month
> 
> There's some great theaters and some not so great ones IMHO, however they could flip through a few posts and see if they like what they see and that triggers something for them.
> 
> Space theme: HTotM - Home Theater of the Month: Steve’s First...
> Monochrome: HTotM - October 2022 Home Theater of the Month Powered...
> Patchwork: HTotM - HT of the Month: Sleight of Hand
> Some diffusion panels: HTotM - HT of the Month: Sleight of Hand
> 
> I think a lot of us just make prints of what brings us joy when we see it, at least that's what my family and I did. There's no real "theme" to it. There are a lot of really great examples of that on this thread. Here's @luv2fly3 theater that I've always enjoyed.
> What makes a person happy: HTotM - November 2021 AVS Forum Home Theater of the...


Thanks for putting that together. Funny that you mentioned luv2fly3. He just hit me up last night for another movie poster image request (his first, and main, request goes back to 2017, and then we worked together again in 2020, and now at the tail end of 2022). It is fun seeing things evolve over time.


----------



## nickbuol

So I get asked quite often about what is the current "go to" fabric that people should use. It isn't quite that simple since some fabrics are limited in width that eliminates them from some people's images.

I have the chart from earlier this year: 'DIY Custom-Printed Movie Poster Acoustic Panels -...

And I know that a lot of people still use Basic Combed Cotton, but I wonder if people ventured out and tried other fabrics and had great success. Please share your experiences.


----------



## tddk

nickbuol said:


> The ratings are from April of this year, so they aren't that outdated. Performance Knit hasn't been an option for a while, so it wasn't on the list. One of the fabrics, Polyester Pongee Silk, was discontinued a couple of months ago and thus it was removed.
> 
> My comments are still valid for the others. There is no "perfect" fabric out there. Most people need a certain fabric width to fit their images on, so that is the biggest limiting factor, and from there people pick other options. Stretchy or not stretchy (both have pros and cons), text quality vs overall color, etc.
> 
> If you pick out a couple that you are trying to decide between, I can do a direct fresh comparison of those two for you as the fabric samples are sitting about 2 inches from my keyboard.
> 
> Also, feel free to order your own samples of anything that you think will work for you and check them out yourself if you would like. I don't think that it costs too much for a sample or two, but again, I am happy to help compare a couple to each other. Just pick what fits your needs (width) first, and go from there.


Ahh didnt see the table, I just saw in post 8 that performance knit is still there and recommended (still is btw, may want to remove...I think left over from your old thread). Thanks for linking the table, will use that.


----------



## tddk

*CustomFabric30 *through 12/09/22


----------



## nickbuol

tddk said:


> Ahh didnt see the table, I just saw in post 8 that performance knit is still there and recommended (still is btw, may want to remove...I think left over from your old thread). Thanks for linking the table, will use that.


OK. I thought that it was clear when the post starts out like this showing that it is an update, links to the post with the table, and then says that the original (outdated) post is below that.









But that was just my thoughts about it when I made that update, so I appreciate your feedback as my goal is to make this as straight-forward as possible, so I crossed out a lot of the Performance Knit wording.

In case someone comes across this post, here is a link to the fabric choice table as mentioned in the other post: *Post #15 Fabric Choices April 2022* 

Thanks.


----------



## CLfor3endsK

Hey all, I am running into an issue with images I'm getting from moviemania. They are all showing up as 72 DPI on GIMP and are often less than 1MB in size. Once I upload scaled image with black borders to myfabricdesigns the minimum DPI is 150 and cannot get the fabric the size I need. Anyone run into this or know why these images are not downloading as 300 DPI and larger file size?


----------



## Chiefsfan42

CLfor3endsK said:


> Hey all, I am running into an issue with images I'm getting from moviemania. They are all showing up as 72 DPI on GIMP and are often less than 1MB in size. Once I upload scaled image with black borders to myfabricdesigns the minimum DPI is 150 and cannot get the fabric the size I need. Anyone run into this or know why these images are not downloading as 300 DPI and larger file size?


72 DPI is the default for the 2500x4000 images on MovieMania; you have to change the DPI in GIMP as part of your editing process before you adjust the canvas size to your print dimensions. You want to change to 150 DPI (not 300) because myfabricdesigns will downscale all your uploads to that resolution and you'll lose details. I posted a GIMP editing guide on page 19 of this thread that you may want to read through. 

As for the <1MB file sizes, the best available quality is the 2500x4000 resolution; if that's what you downloaded and the file is that small then it's just a low quality upload/image.


----------



## Navv

RemixMark said:


> I'd have them look through the Home Theaters of the Month for a little inspiration: Search results for query: home theater of the month
> 
> There's some great theaters and some not so great ones IMHO, however they could flip through a few posts and see if they like what they see and that triggers something for them.
> 
> Space theme: HTotM - Home Theater of the Month: Steve’s First...
> Monochrome: HTotM - October 2022 Home Theater of the Month Powered...
> Patchwork: HTotM - HT of the Month: Sleight of Hand
> Some diffusion panels: HTotM - HT of the Month: Sleight of Hand
> 
> I think a lot of us just make prints of what brings us joy when we see it, at least that's what my family and I did. There's no real "theme" to it. There are a lot of really great examples of that on this thread. Here's @luv2fly3 theater that I've always enjoyed.
> What makes a person happy: HTotM - November 2021 AVS Forum Home Theater of the...


@nickbuol Thanks for posting it here for suggestions! 

@RemixMark I'll skim through the links to see if I can find three images that will work well with room that nick posted. Been busy with work so completely forgot to reply here lol. 

Thanks,


----------



## RemixMark

CLfor3endsK said:


> Hey all, I am running into an issue with images I'm getting from moviemania. They are all showing up as 72 DPI on GIMP and are often less than 1MB in size. Once I upload scaled image with black borders to myfabricdesigns the minimum DPI is 150 and cannot get the fabric the size I need. Anyone run into this or know why these images are not downloading as 300 DPI and larger file size?


Hey there, do you still need some help or did you figure out your issue?


----------



## jebusfreek666

I am looking for a good source for different things, other than movies/TV images. Does anyone have a source for anime? Or maybe music/album covers?


----------



## RemixMark

jebusfreek666 said:


> I am looking for a good source for different things, other than movies/TV images. Does anyone have a source for anime? Or maybe music/album covers?


@nickbuol talks about that in his post here: 'DIY Custom-Printed Movie Poster Acoustic Panels -...

The big take away's are check google images, pay attention to the file size (bigger is better), and pay attention to the DPI (myfabricdesigns.com goes up to 150DPI so shoot for that if you can).

For my LOTR's and Vader posters (the two that I didn't get from Moviemania - Textless high-resolution movie wallpapers), see all my posters here: Ready to print - Google Drive I simply used @nickbuol's method and searched on google images, used what I found there to do reverse image searches to find higher quality versions of them until I found the best and highest resolution copies of the images possible.


----------



## nickbuol

*Latest from MyFabricDesigns: All fabrics are 50% OFF* *through Dec. 15th, 2022
NO CODE NEEDED*


----------



## TooManyTimeZones

Thanks, Nick! Great discount. However, I just tried to send some Star Wars posters to MFD but couldn't find Satin on their website. I'll go back to your chart and try something else. Here's what appears to be currently available.

Yes Basic Combed Cotton
Yes Chiffon
Yes Cotton Poplin
Yes Cotton Silk
Yes Cotton Voile
Yes Faux Linen Canvas
Yes Faux Linen Slub
Yes Faux Linen Slub Sheer
Yes Flame Retardant Faux Linen Canvas
Yes Heavy Cotton Twill
Yes Interlock Blend
Yes Linen Cotton Blend
-- Nylon Lycra Blend
-- Organic Cotton Interlock Knit
Yes Organic Cotton Jacquard
Yes Organic Cotton Sateen
Yes Polyester Crepe Jersey
Yes Polyester French Terry
-- Polyester Pongee Silk
Yes Polyester Slub Jersey
Yes Premium Cotton
-- Quadri Performance Sport Knit
-- Satin
Yes Silk Crepe De Chine
-- Silk Crinkle Linen
Yes Silky Faille


----------



## Navv

TooManyTimeZones said:


> Thanks, Nick! Great discount. However, I just tried to send some Star Wars posters to MFD but couldn't find Satin on their website. I'll go back to your chart and try something else. Here's what appears to be currently available.
> 
> Yes Basic Combed Cotton
> Yes Chiffon
> Yes Cotton Poplin
> Yes Cotton Silk
> Yes Cotton Voile
> Yes Faux Linen Canvas
> Yes Faux Linen Slub
> Yes Faux Linen Slub Sheer
> Yes Flame Retardant Faux Linen Canvas
> Yes Heavy Cotton Twill
> Yes Interlock Blend
> Yes Linen Cotton Blend
> -- Nylon Lycra Blend
> -- Organic Cotton Interlock Knit
> Yes Organic Cotton Jacquard
> Yes Organic Cotton Sateen
> Yes Polyester Crepe Jersey
> Yes Polyester French Terry
> -- Polyester Pongee Silk
> Yes Polyester Slub Jersey
> Yes Premium Cotton
> -- Quadri Performance Sport Knit
> -- Satin
> Yes Silk Crepe De Chine
> -- Silk Crinkle Linen
> Yes Silky Faille
> 
> View attachment 3372065


Where did you find a 3 panel picture like that?


----------



## TooManyTimeZones

Navv said:


> Where did you find a 3 panel picture like that?


Many thanks to @nickbuol for sharing the full image. I increased the contrast a little and made the canvas ~80" wide using photoshop. I then split the canvas by inserting two 2" gaps to separate the three panels and cropped them into 3 individual files. I loaded them into my MFD account this afternoon (I'm trying Cotton Poplin this time). I'm hoping to build the frames and mount them (separated by 2") over the next couple weeks.


----------



## David-G

Hello! I just saw that My Fabric Designs's website says:
*
"My Fabric Designs thanks you for your patronage. We have closed shop and have enjoyed being able to print and deliver your fabric creations. Rest assured any order placed will be delivered. Please contact us for tracking information, if needed. Have a happy holiday and a wonderful new year." *

Does anyone have any word on if they are just closing for the holidays (for some reason I thought I saw something about that) or if they are permanently closing? If they _are_ permanently closing then is there another source? I was finally about to order our fabric tonight and looks like I may be out of luck.

Thanks!

David


----------



## nickbuol

David-G said:


> Hello! I just saw that My Fabric Designs's website says:
> 
> *"My Fabric Designs thanks you for your patronage. We have closed shop and have enjoyed being able to print and deliver your fabric creations. Rest assured any order placed will be delivered. Please contact us for tracking information, if needed. Have a happy holiday and a wonderful new year." *
> 
> Does anyone have any word on if they are just closing for the holidays (for some reason I thought I saw something about that) or if they are permanently closing? If they _are_ permanently closing then is there another source? I was finally about to order our fabric tonight and looks like I may be out of luck.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> David


Oh no! That's not good. I read that to mean that they are done and not coming back. Plus the header for the page is "MyFabricDesigns - OUT OF BUSINESS." That would also explain their 50% off sale (no coupon needed either). 

Oh boy, so now to try to find another vendor. I am at my year-end crunch with work and the holidays, so it will be a bit before I could do any research. If someone wants to start researching other companies, that would be great. It was one of you that found MyFabricDesigns when SpoonFlower stopped printing movie, music, tv related prints.


----------



## bassage

David-G said:


> Hello! I just saw that My Fabric Designs's website says:
> 
> *"My Fabric Designs thanks you for your patronage. We have closed shop and have enjoyed being able to print and deliver your fabric creations. Rest assured any order placed will be delivered. Please contact us for tracking information, if needed. Have a happy holiday and a wonderful new year." *
> 
> Does anyone have any word on if they are just closing for the holidays (for some reason I thought I saw something about that) or if they are permanently closing? If they _are_ permanently closing then is there another source? I was finally about to order our fabric tonight and looks like I may be out of luck.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> David


Man, I only learned about these custom panels a few weeks ago. I was planning on making some. Bad timing.


----------



## mathewsommers

Any one tried realfabric.com?


----------



## RemixMark

mathewsommers said:


> Any one tried realfabric.com?


Looks like this may be a great candidate! They have a lot of fabric choices: Realfabric

A swatch book is $8 for 3.5" x 2.3" samples http://realfabric.com/view.php?num=278&tb=&count=&category=10&pg=1

I could see this fabric being a total winner for our purposes, but some testing would be helpful ahead of any larger orders:


> *Jersey*
> A classy fabric with an elastic and soft texture.
> Usage: Apparel, Athleisure Apparel, Home textile











Realfabric






realfabric.com


----------



## kernelpanic1

David-G said:


> Hello! I just saw that My Fabric Designs's website says:
> 
> *"My Fabric Designs thanks you for your patronage. We have closed shop and have enjoyed being able to print and deliver your fabric creations. Rest assured any order placed will be delivered. Please contact us for tracking information, if needed. Have a happy holiday and a wonderful new year." *
> 
> Does anyone have any word on if they are just closing for the holidays (for some reason I thought I saw something about that) or if they are permanently closing? If they _are_ permanently closing then is there another source? I was finally about to order our fabric tonight and looks like I may be out of luck.
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> David


Just saw this too, very sad. I'm glad I got my order in a month ago for my panels. You would think they would be thriving from the home theater business alone...


----------



## TooManyTimeZones

I guess I have to redo my image for 200 DPI and then set my canvas size and (I assume) perform all of the post processing before sending my file to them. Here's RealFabric's response to my questions:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Our suggested minimum is 200dpi and our preview system is based on 200dpi. If you have a larger dpi, that is totally fine, but our system will automatically set the size to 200 dpi fit.
Let's say your image is 300 dpi in size 30*15. Our system on-screen auto-size your image to fit in 200 dpi, which will shrink your length and width.
What you should do is adjust your size by using the tool "Your Design Size." This allows us to use your uploaded 300dpi image in the size you want.

2. You can do a single image in two ways:

Making your image size fit in our fixed 1-yard size - our plain weave is 43*36 for one yard and you may adjust your image size to it.
Center the image. We have layout options and you may choose to center. Please adjust the size if needed using the "Your Design Size."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


----------



## Thalguy

I have two questions I was hoping to have answered. Do lighter colored panels cause any light reflection issues for those of you with projector setups? Second, I saw some abstract art available for printing on Acoustimac, but their printing costs seem extremely high to me. Is it possible to legally get an image and have someone else print it. For example, This one.


----------



## galonzo

Thalguy said:


> I have two questions I was hoping to have answered. Do lighter colored panels cause any light reflection issues for those of you with projector setups? Second, I saw some abstract art available for printing on Acoustimac, but their printing costs seem extremely high to me. Is it possible to legally get an image and have someone else print it. For example, This one.


I don't have a projector, but an OLED, and I found my mostly-dark prints up front still reflect light during bright scenes (I purposefully created these prints with the lighter part towards the bottom of these 2' x 4' posters):








I placed my brighter ones in the back:








HTH


----------



## HmGibson

TooManyTimeZones said:


> I guess I have to redo my image for 200 DPI and then set my canvas size and (I assume) perform all of the post processing before sending my file to them. Here's RealFabric's response to my questions:
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 1. Our suggested minimum is 200dpi and our preview system is based on 200dpi. If you have a larger dpi, that is totally fine, but our system will automatically set the size to 200 dpi fit.
> Let's say your image is 300 dpi in size 30*15. Our system on-screen auto-size your image to fit in 200 dpi, which will shrink your length and width.
> What you should do is adjust your size by using the tool "Your Design Size." This allows us to use your uploaded 300dpi image in the size you want.
> 
> 2. You can do a single image in two ways:
> 
> Making your image size fit in our fixed 1-yard size - our plain weave is 43*36 for one yard and you may adjust your image size to it.
> Center the image. We have layout options and you may choose to center. Please adjust the size if needed using the "Your Design Size."
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Please keep us updated on this endeavor. I would like to see how realfabric.com goes. 

Since this seems to be our only option for printing now, what would be the preferred fabric on their website? I might buy the test book to see how it goes.


----------



## TooManyTimeZones

I now understand that the RealFabric 200 dpi limitation is ONLY for the preview. It appears we can print at least 300dpi but I'm waiting for them to let me know the maximum dpi.. 

Once you actually try to order something, it gives you the capability of seeing exactly what you actually are printing.


----------



## TooManyTimeZones

Additional information from RealFabric:

"We have never been asked about the maximum dpi. We will find out, but we feel like if the images with higher dpi would exceed our file size. 
Our maximum file size is 100mb and width and height can't exceed 25,000px. "


----------



## nickbuol

Would a better question be to ask what the native dpi is of their "printers?" For MyFabricDesigns, it was 150 dpi, so anything above 150 was just downscaled anyway. I am a firm believer in sending images at the native print resolution as anything less is leaving their systems to upscale it (without us being able to see it or do it ourselves first) and if it is more then like I said it is just wasted data that gets thrown out, and not always the way that is the best either.


----------



## TooManyTimeZones

nickbuol said:


> Would a better question be to ask what the native dpi is of their "printers?" For MyFabricDesigns, it was 150 dpi, so anything above 150 was just downscaled anyway. I am a firm believer in sending images at the native print resolution as anything less is leaving their systems to upscale it (without us being able to see it or do it ourselves first) and if it is more then like I said it is just wasted data that gets thrown out, and not always the way that is the best either.


Great suggestion. I just sent that question to them.


----------



## Thalguy

galonzo said:


> I don't have a projector, but an OLED, and I found my mostly-dark prints up front still reflect light during bright scenes (I purposefully created these prints with the lighter part towards the bottom of these 2' x 4' posters):
> View attachment 3376798
> 
> 
> I placed my brighter ones in the back:
> View attachment 3376799
> 
> 
> HTH


Thanks for answering. Those posters look great!


----------



## Thalguy

I am sure this has been asked before, but is there any reason why I cannot do 4, 6, or 8 inch think bass traps? I would have to extend the printable design enough to wrap around the deeper frame but other than that it should be the same.


----------



## mtbdudex

Thalguy said:


> I am sure this has been asked before, but is there any reason why I cannot do 4, 6, or 8 inch think bass traps? I would have to extend the printable design enough to wrap around the deeper frame but other than that it should be the same.


I made this a while back to explain it.
There’s no need to manage frequency below the transition frequency Fs, 250-300hz in rooms. 










Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## RemixMark

Thalguy said:


> I am sure this has been asked before, but is there any reason why I cannot do 4, 6, or 8 inch think bass traps? I would have to extend the printable design enough to wrap around the deeper frame but other than that it should be the same.


There's no reason you can't wrap something that's 2' thick as long as you measure twice and order/cut once.

BTW, you'll need a good 2' of insulation for it to be doing anything helpful with bass (<120Hz). The panels mainly discussed here are acoustic treatment and NOT bass traps.


----------



## Thalguy

RemixMark said:


> There's no reason you can't wrap something that's 2' thick as long as you measure twice and order/cut once.
> 
> BTW, you'll need a good 2' of insulation for it to be doing anything helpful with bass (<120Hz). The panels mainly discussed here are acoustic treatment and NOT bass traps.


Sorry for the confusion. I am going to order some combination panels from GIK and they refer to the 4" panels as bass traps/diffusers. I was thinking that I could build 4" inch absorbers without the diffuser and have a similar look and good performance.


----------



## Thalguy

mtbdudex said:


> I made this a while back to explain it.
> There’s no need to manage frequency below the transition frequency Fs, 250-300hz in rooms.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks for the chart!


----------



## Loonster

Thalguy said:


> I am sure this has been asked before, but is there any reason why I cannot do 4, 6, or 8 inch think bass traps? I would have to extend the printable design enough to wrap around the deeper frame but other than that it should be the same.


Printable fabric size was a limiting factor with myfabricdesigns. The recommended fabrics for a 2x4 panel would not have a large enough print area to fully wrap thicker panels. 

With MFD closing, we will have to find a new supplier. Maybe one of the fabrics will be suitable for thicker panels.




https://www.bobgolds.com/AbsorptionCoefficients.htm


----------



## TooManyTimeZones

Loonster said:


> Printable fabric size was a limiting factor with myfabricdesigns. The recommended fabrics for a 2x4 panel would not have a large enough print area to fully wrap thicker panels.
> 
> With MFD closing, we will have to find a new supplier. Maybe one of the fabrics will be suitable for thicker panels.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> https://www.bobgolds.com/AbsorptionCoefficients.htm


Looks like RealFabric will allow a width of (43"). I'm only using 1x4 wood. But 43" should handle 1x6 panels.


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## Loonster

TooManyTimeZones said:


> Looks like RealFabric will allow a width of (43"). I'm only using 1x4 wood. But 43" should handle 1x6 panels.


The only negative that I see is you would have to orient the image the long way, so would need to use 2 yards of fabric. I guess this is the same limitation that MFD had.










They use RGB printers!? I never knew something like that existed. And supposedly it is a superior technology. <Mind Blown>


----------



## TheCMH

Can't thank everyone enough for the help in this thread. I of course waited for the holidays to finally get to this, and now that I've done the prep work, they shut down. I am willing to be a test subject. Can anyone share advice on which fabric to select?


----------



## nickbuol

Sorry all for me being unresponsive here lately. There are a couple of times a year that I am just really consumed with family, and Christmas - New Year's is one of them. We've been with extended family, out of state, for a few days and will be gone until about January 5th. The days are VERY full of just general hanging out and such and we try to stay off of "devices" when everyone is together. Well, they opted to go snow sledding and I volunteered to stay back and clean snow off of cars and such, so I have some time to myself. LOL

Yeah, the timing is really unfortunate for MFD. I was so surprised by the 50% sale, and it all makes sense now. I just wish that they would have told people in advance that they were going out of business, but it is what it is.

I did just order a fabric sample pack from RealFabric and I will compare it to our usual criteria and update the fabric selection post as well as let people know that I've done so. However, the sample set is bring sent to my house in Florida, and I won't be back there until January 5th, so it will likely be delivered before I get back home, but at least it will be there waiting for me.

I hope that you all are having a great holiday season.


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## CLfor3endsK

Does anyone have an order still pending with myfabricdesigns.com? I placed an order the first of December and have emailed customer service for an update a few times with no response. Starting to worry. Maybe the holidays are causing a further delay but would really like some communication that the order will be fulfilled since it has passed the 10-15 business day time frame. 

Does anyone have/know an active email for anyone with the company? Anyone else waiting on an order?


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## luv2fly3

CLfor3endsK said:


> Does anyone have an order still pending with myfabricdesigns.com? I placed an order the first of December and have emailed customer service for an update a few times with no response. Starting to worry. Maybe the holidays are causing a further delay but would really like some communication that the order will be fulfilled since it has passed the 10-15 business day time frame.
> 
> Does anyone have/know an active email for anyone with the company? Anyone else waiting on an order?


I do as well. Placed my order Nov 30 and have had no updates or responses from them when I’ve emailed. I sure have hope they’ll be good to their word and ship out all orders placed before their closing. But who knows.


----------



## CrispyQ

Couple of questions for the group. This was going to be one of my winter projects and over Christmas I finally got the plunge I picked posters and got them edited in Paint.net. 
1) Looks like my timing couldn't be worse with myfabricdeisgns is going out of business. Any suggestions on where else to print these printed. 
2) I used 150 pixels per inch for all my posters and each file size ended up being right around 8Mb. I used 150 after watching the twotechguys video but just curious if anybody used anything else since it looks like I have a lot of file size to spare. 
3) On the back wall I want to make thicker panels, Does using 2 2inch OC703 have the same performance was 1 4inch panel?


----------



## TooManyTimeZones

CLfor3endsK said:


> Does anyone have an order still pending with myfabricdesigns.com? I placed an order the first of December and have emailed customer service for an update a few times with no response. Starting to worry. Maybe the holidays are causing a further delay but would really like some communication that the order will be fulfilled since it has passed the 10-15 business day time frame.
> 
> Does anyone have/know an active email for anyone with the company? Anyone else waiting on an order?


I ordered on Dec 12 and have not received it yet.


----------



## RemixMark

luv2fly3 said:


> I do as well. Placed my order Nov 30 and have had no updates or responses from them when I’ve emailed. I sure have hope they’ll be good to their word and ship out all orders placed before their closing. But who knows.


What’d you order? I’m curious what more you have planned for your already fantastic space.


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## luv2fly3

RemixMark said:


> What’d you order? I’m curious what more you have planned for your already fantastic space.


I'm swapping out one of my posters for a Maverick poster. I'll put whichever one I move out into the adjoining room where I have my equipment. My family just felt we had to add a Maverick poster given how much we all loved that movie!


----------



## nickbuol

CrispyQ said:


> Couple of questions for the group. This was going to be one of my winter projects and over Christmas I finally got the plunge I picked posters and got them edited in Paint.net.
> 1) Looks like my timing couldn't be worse with myfabricdeisgns is going out of business. Any suggestions on where else to print these printed.
> 2) I used 150 pixels per inch for all my posters and each file size ended up being right around 8Mb. I used 150 after watching the twotechguys video but just curious if anybody used anything else since it looks like I have a lot of file size to spare.
> 3) On the back wall I want to make thicker panels, Does using 2 2inch OC703 have the same performance was 1 4inch panel?


We are just starting to try out RealFabric, but nobody has gotten anything from them yet. I just heard that my fabric sample from them shipped, but I won't be home when it arrives as we are gone until super late on January 3rd.

150 ppi/dpi is still a good number for working with, but it sounds like RealFabric will be able to handle a little more DPI too. 200 DPI might be the sweet-spot, but it is too early to tell. 8MB at 150 DPI isn't always unusual. Depends on the width, height, and depth of the image, and depending on the image elements, 8MB might be right. You see that a lot in animated images or ones with a lot of solid colors. I assume that you mean the Two Guyz Tech video? There were some issues with their video. I mentioned a few in the comments, but not all of them. If you are taking away 150 DPI from them, that part would have been correct at the time of the video though.

Yes, two 2-inch pieces of OC703 will perform the same as one 4-inch piece. Add a little bit of an air gap for even more performance (I was using a 4-inch piece of OC703 with a 1.5" air gap from the 1x6 frame material I was using and made a horizontal image to be above the rear headrests of my seats, and fill in a lot of space behind the main listening positions. It worked will.


----------



## RemixMark

luv2fly3 said:


> I'm swapping out one of my posters for a Maverick poster. I'll put whichever one I move out into the adjoining room where I have my equipment. My family just felt we had to add a Maverick poster given how much we all loved that movie!


Nice, what image did you go with?


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## luv2fly3

RemixMark said:


> Nice, what image did you go with?


This is the image we grabbed. Hoping it still comes from MFD!! 😕 I ordered it at the beginning of the month and have heard nothing about my order, even after a few emails inquiring about it. So I'm losing hope it will.


----------



## HmGibson

Just received my RealFabric test booklet. Very nice materials and lots to choose from! 

The two that stand out to me are Jersey and Plain Weave. Jersey is great with the air test, good colors, not very visible weave, but quite stretchy in one direction. Not sure how hard it would be to keep letters straight. If I remember correctly jersey comes in a much wider roll so much better for my photos.

Thin plain weave has mediocre air test, good colors, more of a visible weave, but no stretch at all.

If there are any questions about the booklet let me know!


----------



## CrispyQ

nickbuol said:


> We are just starting to try out RealFabric, but nobody has gotten anything from them yet. I just heard that my fabric sample from them shipped, but I won't be home when it arrives as we are gone until super late on January 3rd.
> 
> 150 ppi/dpi is still a good number for working with, but it sounds like RealFabric will be able to handle a little more DPI too. 200 DPI might be the sweet-spot, but it is too early to tell. 8MB at 150 DPI isn't always unusual. Depends on the width, height, and depth of the image, and depending on the image elements, 8MB might be right. You see that a lot in animated images or ones with a lot of solid colors. I assume that you mean the Two Guyz Tech video? There were some issues with their video. I mentioned a few in the comments, but not all of them. If you are taking away 150 DPI from them, that part would have been correct at the time of the video though.
> 
> Yes, two 2-inch pieces of OC703 will perform the same as one 4-inch piece. Add a little bit of an air gap for even more performance (I was using a 4-inch piece of OC703 with a 1.5" air gap from the 1x6 frame material I was using and made a horizontal image to be above the rear headrests of my seats, and fill in a lot of space behind the main listening positions. It worked will.


Thanks so much for the feedback! I did see your comments to their video and adjusted my dimensions from the video. I think for now im going to build the frames and get the insulation by then some people might get some results back from RealFabric. Thanks for all your help, really looking forward to this.


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## luv2fly3

So good news. I finally heard from MFD and they sent me a tracking number. My order should be delivered tomorrow according to the USPS site. So those who have outstanding orders from them, hopefully you'll get your orders soon too.


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## OnEMoReTrY121

Looking forward to seeing which fabric is the new go-to with RealFabric. I have enough OC703 to make 3 more panels for the rear of my room.


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## Loonster

Hopefully Peachskin, Oxford, or Twill are usable.


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## LKVelander

luv2fly3 said:


> So good news. I finally heard from MFD and they sent me a tracking number. My order should be delivered tomorrow according to the USPS site. So those who have outstanding orders from them, hopefully you'll get your orders soon too.


Never got a shipping notification but my fabric came in the mail today. My order was placed on the 2nd of December. Looking like the orders are starting to come in


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## luv2fly3

I received mine today too. My order was placed on Dec 1. Glad they are arriving for many of us.


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## Movie Maniac

Hello friend's! It's been a long while since I posted, but I've kept a regular eye on the events here in the thread. I was recently able to begin working on some of my posters. Though the primary subject matter at the moment is the search for a new printer, I couldn't help but want to share the progress I'm making with my unorthodox project. Below are a couple of less than stellar images of the progress I've made. These are 20/25 of the 16"x16"x1" panels I'll be placing in a full wall format on a triangular wall leading down to my theater. There will be an additional nine panels of varrying sizes and shapes which can (kind of) be seen in my sketch. I do want to make it clear that I understand a panel that is only 1 inch deep with acoustic dampening insulation will provide a lesser level of noise dampening than something of greater depth with an air gap. The majority of the noise that escapes my theater is via the staircase to the main floor and I thought this would be a fun creative way to at least lessen the amount of noise bleeding through, however minimal it may be. If you have and questions or comments please share!


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## nickbuol

Quick update on the fabric samples from RealFabric....there is no update... 

I received my shipping confirmation a week ago with tracking number, but it hasn't actually shipped yet. Hopefully they are faster with printing regular fabric requests vs a sample set (which is possible as they have to print the samples, likely in batches, cut them, turn them into little "booklets" of fabric, etc) but I was hoping for better. There were some holidays in there too that likely slowed things down a little bit, I'm sure.

Just letting you know that when we got home around 2am last night from the long drive from Iowa, they weren't here waiting for me. I will let people know when they show up.

FYI that I tried to send an email to them using their form and it just kicks back an error, so I am just doing a manual email. Just something to be aware of if you plan to use their form on their website. I will alert them to the error in my email too.


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## skyman00

Nick, et al.,

I know a guy (Dan Greene) who used to own Colorado Timberline. CT made banners, apparel, towels, blankets, pillow cases, etc. They used both DTF (Direct to Fabric) and Dye Sublimation printing processes. About 5 years ago CT closed their doors and moved their production facility to Mexico.

The company is now USMX Supply. Us Mx Supply | Supplier Chain Alternative Dan still runs it from here in Colorado.

The Mexico plant only does Dye Sublimation printing now.

USMX sublimates to plush items like towels, blankets, bed covers, etc. They also sublimate to non-plush items as well. All of these substrates are 100% polyester, as that is what the Dye-Sub process utilizes.

When thinking about our application in this thread, two of his products come to mind; Table Covers and Tapestries, both 120 gsm. The small Table Covers are 70” x 90”, $19.89 each. There are two larger sizes available (the 90” x 130”, $28.60 size would easily net 4 panels, bringing the cost to $7.15/panel). The small Tapestries are 51” X 60”, $10.61 each. One larger size is available. It looks like he requires 150 DPI, RGB on all of his products.

I asked him if these two items were made from the same fabric. His reply: “The weights are the same but the fabric is slightly different. The table cover is more like a light weight flat weave and the tapestries are more like typical bed sheeting.”

He’s sending me printed samples of both fabrics, today. I should get them in the next couple of days.

What is the optimal size for our panels? I’m thinking 34” x 46” (5” around each side).
Is this correct?

Any other Qs that you can think of that I should ask him? Landscape, Portrait, folded end product?

Also from his correspondence: “Prices are unbeatable, set up, samples, and virtuals are free”.

Just trying to come up with some other printing options now that MFD has closed its doors. -J


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## galonzo

@skyman00 , for the largest one I did (2' x 4' with a 3.75" border), we're looking at 33" x 57", but getting the border down some we could squeeze about three panels into the small table covers, provided they can print edge to edge (i.e., "full bleed"). So Q1 would be whether this is possible, and then my other question would be whether there's a file size limit if we were to combine images to print in this manner?


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## skyman00

Galonzo,
I'll ask and get back to you.

This just received in an email:
Links to table cover and tapestries templates.
TC130 Tablecloth 90"x130"
4.- TC130 Tablecloth template.jpg
TC160 Tablecloth 90"x160"
4.- TC160 Tablecloth template.jpg
WT56 Tapestry 60"x51"
10.- WT56 Tapestry 60x51.jpg
WT68 Tapestry 68"x80"
10.- WT68 Tapestry 68x80.jpg 

Also: "File types: pdf, jpg, ai, psd, pdd files, we can receive your heavy files via Dropbox, wetransfer or if you have the files on a drive, send us the link."


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## skyman00

Here's the 70x90 template
_Edit: TC90_


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## Loonster

nickbuol said:


> Quick update on the fabric samples from RealFabric....there is no update...
> 
> I received my shipping confirmation a week ago with tracking number, but it hasn't actually shipped yet. Hopefully they are faster with printing regular fabric requests vs a sample set (which is possible as they have to print the samples, likely in batches, cut them, turn them into little "booklets" of fabric, etc) but I was hoping for better. There were some holidays in there too that likely slowed things down a little bit, I'm sure.
> 
> Just letting you know that when we got home around 2am last night from the long drive from Iowa, they weren't here waiting for me. I will let people know when they show up.
> 
> FYI that I tried to send an email to them using their form and it just kicks back an error, so I am just doing a manual email. Just something to be aware of if you plan to use their form on their website. I will alert them to the error in my email too.


Good to hear that others are also waiting and that they didn't just lose mine. It said 5-10 business days to ship, and another 5 days in ship time. If the business was closed for the holidays, I might not get mine until 1/20


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## nickbuol

Fabric samples expected to be delivered this Saturday. I plan on being busy most of the day (taking down Christmas decorations inside and out, and heading to Universal Studios for a couple of hours), but will see if I can compile the analysis on Sunday or Monday.


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## nickbuol

@skyman00 Interesting idea.

To answer one of your size questions, a lot of people do 25.5" wide x 38.25" tall with a 3-4" border. This allows for a piece of 24" wide insulation and 1x3 or 1x4 material used as the frame (0.75" wide each side = 24 + 0.75 + 0.75 = 25.5" wide x 1.5 ratio = 38.25" tall)


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## skyman00

So, allowing for the max 4” border, each side, we have 33.5” x 46.25”.

The 34” x 46” that I can up with was 24” x 36” surface/image area with a black border allowance of 5” all-around.

At the 34” panel width (no problem with 35.5"), both the Table Cover-70 x 90 and Tapestry-68 x 80 (only other size, $16.85) will easily cover two panels. Either one has plenty of room height-wise, even your 57” ones, Galonzo. In fact, up to 70” on the TC90 and 68” on the WT68. With a little creative tiling, you can actually squeeze three on the TC90. See attached.

Either option, under $20 for two panels (three on the TC90).

I’ve emailed two images to Dan’s person (Araceli) at the Mexico facility. The files ended up 11 & 12 MB.
I wasn’t able to send the 12 MB file and ended up reducing its size by dropping the resolution to 140 DPI. The image quality still looked great and it went through.

That said, their site has an upload function on each product page. I’ll try this and report back.

I’m waiting to hear back from Araceli regarding his ability to tile the images on his end or if this is something that needs to be done on ours, where the upload function should accommodate.

Side note: I’ve sent them links to the Life of Bliss & Twoguyztech YT vids so that they can get an idea of what we’re after.

Now I need to figure out which fabric will work best for our purposes. Perhaps someone could help me in this area? After I get the samples, I'll report back.


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## TooManyTimeZones

TooManyTimeZones said:


> I ordered on Dec 12 and have not received it yet.


Received mine today.


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## skyman00

Galonzo, Did that answer your question?


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## galonzo

skyman00 said:


> Galonzo, Did that answer your question?


Yes, thanks for the info, be sure to let us know the difference in fabric.


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## skyman00

Update: Samples came in last night.

I received a full size Table Cover (TC90) and a smaller section (18 X 12) of Tapestry. Both items are hemmed. I took pics of both, including whole, close ups, B&W backgrounds and backlit.

Right off, I have to say I don’t think the Tapestry will work. It’s simply too sheer/see-through and a little stretchy. I didn’t spend any more time with it after pics.

The Table Cover looks very promising, at least to my eye.

One thing I noticed about both is that they wrinkle easily. I wouldn’t even call them wrinkles, more like stress lines in the print from over handling. My mistake of over handling after unfolding it for inspection.

This concerned me so I decided to cut off a portion of the TC90 and wrap a 16 x 20 picture frame that I had lying around. I didn’t iron the fabric first. I just wanted to see if I could pull out any discrepancies on my own.

I think it came out VERY well.

I would handle these as little as possible and do it all in one go. Have the frame ready, unfold the print, inspect, flip and wrap. If you have to, you could roll them back up on a tube for stress-free storage.

I have no idea of its audio properties; above my pay grade. I’d be more than happy to mail a decent size sample to anyone interested in figuring this out.

I asked them about the hem and told them it wasn’t needed, but we could make do either way. The hem is clearly sewn post sublimation.

Along with the two samples Dan included his card and a flyer. The flyer shows another one of their items: Backdrops. Here: Backdrop The Backdrops are the same fabric as the TC90. The size that looks optimal is the 6’ x 8’ (72” x 96”). It’s $17.15 each. Four panels might fit on these; there’s a 2” pole pocket that’s sewn in, taking up some of the 72” side. Need to see the template.

I’m fairly certain we’re going to have to do the image tiling on our end, but haven’t received confirmation on this.

Also waiting to hear if there is a size limit uploading to their site.


----------



## skyman00

Wrapped sample piece TC90.

_Edit: Corrected pics_


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## luv2fly3

Finally got my Maverick poster up! Sad this is the last one from MFD, but thankful for their years of service to us as a group of HT enthusiasts. And again, huge shout out to @nickbuol for his help preparing the image for me. 

Turned out great and is a nice addition to our room. Definitely one of our new favorite movies!


----------



## luv2fly3

As a follow up to my prior post, I actually purchased two copies of the Maverick poster from MFD. One is basic combed cotton and one is cotton poplin. I just wanted to see how different cotton poplin is. Honestly I didn't notice much difference at all, and am not sure which one I ended up using as they both looked great.

Anyway, I have the second print and would be happy to offer it to someone for basically what I paid for it + shipping if anyone is interested. Both were printed for a 24" x 36" x 2.5" frame, although the black border is 4” so a 3.5” frame would work too. I used premium pine 1x3 boards to build my frames but again a 1x4 frame would work. So, it's all folded up and ready to go, so just PM me if you are interested.


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## RemixMark

luv2fly3 said:


> As a follow up to my prior post, I actually purchased two copies of the Maverick poster from MFD. One is basic combed cotton and one is cotton poplin. I just wanted to see how different cotton poplin is. Honestly I didn't notice much difference at all, and am not sure which one I ended up using as they both looked great. Anyway, I have the second print and would be happy to offer it to someone for basically what I paid for it + shipping if anyone is interested. Both were printed for a 24" x 36" x 2.5" frame. I used premium pine 1x3 boards to build my frames. So, it's all folded up and ready to go, so just PM me if you are interested.
> 
> View attachment 3385282


That's a pretty cool picture and one of our new favorites as far as movies go in our theater. I'd totally go for it, but all my frames are 3.5" not 2.5" (for the depth)


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## luv2fly3

RemixMark said:


> That's a pretty cool picture and one of our new favorites as far as movies go in our theater. I'd totally go for it, but all my frames are 3.5" not 2.5" (for the depth)


PM Sent...


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