On Folio Enclosures

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I am finishing up the final physical production of my most recent folio Occupy Seattle 2011. For this folio I am putting forth my highest level of craftsmanship to date to see what I can achieve in this expression of photography–the folio. That means the best printing I could do, the best paper, the best enclosure.

For the first time I decided to make my own enclosure. I made it out of heavy art paper. The local craft store is pretty limited in terms of heavy art papers, so I had to settle for this shade of grey. I employed a pretty basic wrap-up design and with a fair amount of precise measuring and cutting I managed to produce this enclosure. It’s far from perfect, but I’m pretty satisfied with the result. It was fairly labor intensive to make it, but I am considering how I could simplify the process for future folios. Something as simple as tracing the outline to make a template might work out.

I thought I would show you, Dear Readers, how the folio looks as a finished object, and how it opens up. This is all part of the experience of the folio: like unwrapping a tastefully wrapped present to see what’s inside.

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Note the velcro dots to seal the enclosure. I had originally cut a slit to use a flap/slit style closure, but the velcro is easier on the paper flap, more secure and will probably last longer.

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Note the cloth ribbon. This aids in picking up the stack of leaves, separating them from the mount board beneath.

DIY Folio Enclosure : Back Construction [1]

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I am always thinking about reuse. This design employs a cutout in the back so that you could reuse the enclosure for any kind of folio. There is simply an additional print that goes upside down in the back that shows the folio image and title information through the cutouts.

DIY Folio Enclosure : Back Construction [2]

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DIY Folio Enclosure : Back Construction [3]

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A stiff piece of mount board goes on top of the upside down print to add rigidity to the enclosure. Note the cloth ribbon attached at left.

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Voila!

Tags: DIY, enclosure, folio

4 thoughts on “On Folio Enclosures”

John - Visual Notebook on January 10, 2012 at 2:53 pm said:

Great work! I’m looking at producing my first folio this year – my inspiration originated with the folio work Brooks Jensen has done at Lenswork. You mentioned this being the first time you’ve created your own enclosure – mind if I as what you’ve used in the past? I’m not sure if I want to try to make the enclosure myself…

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- Eric Jeschke on January 10, 2012 at 7:46 pm said:
  
  Hi John. Thanks for stopping by. In the past I have bought enclosures. Dane Creek makes some nice ones. You can also sometimes find pretty decent ones at the major office supply stores–look in the area for report covers, especially the more elegant ones. They can be modified.
  
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Earl on January 13, 2012 at 9:49 am said:

This looks wonderful, Eric. Very nice job on making the enclosure yourself. I don’t know if I’d dare to try one but I see a lot of professional care and pride in this one you made. Something to be proud of for sure — perfect or not.

So what’s the number one thing you’d do differently with the next enclosure?

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- Eric Jeschke on January 13, 2012 at 9:43 pm said:
  
  Thank you, Earl. I think what I’d like to do is find a way to make a template for these, so that they could be duplicated without a lot of work. This first one took an awful lot of careful measuring and cutting with xacto knife and so forth. I’m not sure the best way to do that, but that is certainly at the top of my list of things I am thinking about for making more of them. I really like it so much better than any of the ones that I bought before. There is an aspect about making something with your own hands that is very satisfying.
  
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