On Tue, Aug 16, 2016 at 2:39 PM, Timo Puhakka tpuhakka@ymail.com [MF3D-group] <MF3D-group@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

 

I have a collection of most mount sizes but may need more landscape mounts, but what I would be most interested in would be round aperture mounts say 50mm dia. for portraits, wide angle lens adapters, or fisheye images. Or perhaps oval for portraits. You think there would be enough demand? 

Timo

On 27-Jul-16, at 1:43 AM, iandvaag@gmail.com [MF3D-group] wrote:

 

I'm pleased to announce that I have the means to produce all 4 of the MF3D cardstock mounts previously offered by RMM. These are:

Square aperture 50mm x 50mm

645 vertical aperture 40mm x 50mm (length x height)

645 horizontal aperture 50mm x 40mm (length x height)

35mm panoramic aperture 52mm x 23mm (length x height)

As far as I can tell, my new mounts have essentially identical dimensions as the mounts offered by RMM. All of the apertures are spaced 62mm apart making them suitable for viewers with approximately 65mm (or more).

There was almost no interest in the lighter weight mounts, so I am now standardizing and offering all mounts in the heavy weight 110lbs black acid and lignin free cardstock. I will have a "custom request" button on the website, so anyone can feel free to ask me to produce mounts using other materials (thinner cardstock, different colours, maybe even craft metal or some plastic material).

It seems like the community has gotten along quite well so far using these four mounts (and the 3d world plastic ones), however, if there is sufficient interest, I am willing to consider producing other ones at some time in the future. 

I haven't spent the full amount I am willing to spend on free samples, so if anyone is interested in looking at some of these new mounts, just send me an email and I'll send some your way. Just bear in mind that they are essentially the same as the RMM ones.

If anyone finds the paypal button on my store confusing, feel free to send me an email with your order and I will be happy to send you an invoice.

Keep shooting! Yours in MF3D,

Ian Andvaag

https://sites.google.com/site/ ianmf3d/purchase-mf3d- cardboard-mounts

John A. Rupkalvis

stereoscope3d@gmail.com

On Tue, Aug 16, 2016 at 2:06 PM, iandvaag@gmail.com [MF3D-group] <MF3D-group@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

 

Hi Timo, Linda, and Bob, 

There is no technical difficulty in producing a round, oval or any other shaped die. The rear aperture could be made square, with alignment notches, or both. The difficulty is simply the cost.

It costs me about US $200 to get a new custom die made which can have two different mount designs on it. To produce 50 mounts and ship them costs me about $26.50 in consumable parts on the die cutting machine, paper, and shipping container. (Not including postage, which I charge for based on the number of mounts ordered).

So selling a pack of 50 at $30.00 makes me $3.50 which I was hopeful would slowly pay back at least part of the initial cost of the die cutting machine and dies (about $1000 all said and done). Note that these calculations also involve me working for free (it takes about 20 minutes to make 50 mounts). I'm trying to give back to this community, which introduced me to the most fascinating artistic medium I've ever known (and have been able to participate in!). As you can tell by my margins, 1) I'm not a business person, and 2) I plan to be in it for the long haul. Even if Fuji quits slide film and Ferrania doesn't make it, I think I'll be shooting B&W film (reversal processed) in my Sputnik well into the future (or at least until someone sells me a 3D World camera :P).

When I first found out about MF3D, I started cutting mounts with an exacto knife and ruler, and it took me a really long time to cut mounts, so I began to research more efficient ways of producing mounts. I discovered that electronic cutting machines (such as the Cricut), hand cranked die machines (such as the Sizzix Big Shot) and outsourcing the cutting to someone else were the 3 viable options. I thought that while the electronic cutting machine offers the most versatility, it also involves a fair bit of labour, and while fine for my own needs, I learned on the list that other MF3Ders were needing a new supply of mounts as well. I thought if I was going to the bother of making mounts, I might as well make a few extras to offer to the list. Outsourcing the cutting to someone else had the lowest per unit cost, but the minimums were unreasonably high (like 50 000 mounts). So I decided to get a quote on a custom die and hand cranked die cutting machine. I ended up going with the Accucut GrandeMark 2 machine and custom dies from Custom Shape Pros.

All this to say that I feel like I've spent about as much as I'm willing to for the time being, unless I have good reason to believe that I can recoup the cost of a new die within a reasonable time frame. This means selling 57 packs of 50 mounts. However, as I said above, one custom die can fit two unique designs on it (I can produce two mounts out of one sheet of 8.5 x 11" paper). So this way I'd need to sell 28 packs of 50 mounts of two different styles.

For small volumes of mounts for a single person, I imagine the electronic cutting machine would be the cheapest and easiest way to go. Alternatively, if there really is a lot of interest, I could put together a Kickstarter/Indiegogo campaign, and if we get 20 people to pitch in $10, I would buy the die and make mounts. Make that 19 people, since you can count me in for $10.

There was also another member of the group who was interested in 52.0mm wide x 32.3mm high apertures (The Golden Ratio, 1.618:1), so that could also be a possibility. Whatever it is that people want to use, I will try to offer. I wish I had the capability of offering you the same pledge regarding E6 film.

Cheers,

Ian

On Tue, Aug 16, 2016 at 5:06 PM, Timo Puhakka tpuhakka@ymail.com [MF3D-group] <MF3D-group@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

 

I think that $1 USD per mount would be a fair price to ask since most commercial mounts have recently cost about that. I would commit to buying 100 round front mounts at that cost, but I would understand why you would be reluctant to continue with this project. If somebody makes a round paper punch, 50mm diameter, I suppose a loose round mat could be fit between the front and back of a square mount.

Timo

On 16-Aug-16, at 5:06 PM, iandvaag@gmail.com [MF3D-group] wrote:

 

Hi Timo, Linda, and Bob, 

There is no technical difficulty in producing a round, oval or any other shaped die. The rear aperture could be made square, with alignment notches, or both. The difficulty is simply the cost.

It costs me about US $200 to get a new custom die made which can have two different mount designs on it. To produce 50 mounts and ship them costs me about $26.50 in consumable parts on the die cutting machine, paper, and shipping container. (Not including postage, which I charge for based on the number of mounts ordered).

So selling a pack of 50 at $30.00 makes me $3.50 which I was hopeful would slowly pay back at least part of the initial cost of the die cutting machine and dies (about $1000 all said and done). Note that these calculations also involve me working for free (it takes about 20 minutes to make 50 mounts). I'm trying to give back to this community, which introduced me to the most fascinating artistic medium I've ever known (and have been able to participate in!). As you can tell by my margins, 1) I'm not a business person, and 2) I plan to be in it for the long haul. Even if Fuji quits slide film and Ferrania doesn't make it, I think I'll be shooting B&W film (reversal processed) in my Sputnik well into the future (or at least until someone sells me a 3D World camera :P).

When I first found out about MF3D, I started cutting mounts with an exacto knife and ruler, and it took me a really long time to cut mounts, so I began to research more efficient ways of producing mounts. I discovered that electronic cutting machines (such as the Cricut), hand cranked die machines (such as the Sizzix Big Shot) and outsourcing the cutting to someone else were the 3 viable options. I thought that while the electronic cutting machine offers the most versatility, it also involves a fair bit of labour, and while fine for my own needs, I learned on the list that other MF3Ders were needing a new supply of mounts as well. I thought if I was going to the bother of making mounts, I might as well make a few extras to offer to the list. Outsourcing the cutting to someone else had the lowest per unit cost, but the minimums were unreasonably high (like 50 000 mounts). So I decided to get a quote on a custom die and hand cranked die cutting machine. I ended up going with the Accucut GrandeMark 2 machine and custom dies from Custom Shape Pros.

All this to say that I feel like I've spent about as much as I'm willing to for the time being, unless I have good reason to believe that I can recoup the cost of a new die within a reasonable time frame. This means selling 57 packs of 50 mounts. However, as I said above, one custom die can fit two unique designs on it (I can produce two mounts out of one sheet of 8.5 x 11" paper). So this way I'd need to sell 28 packs of 50 mounts of two different styles.

For small volumes of mounts for a single person, I imagine the electronic cutting machine would be the cheapest and easiest way to go. Alternatively, if there really is a lot of interest, I could put together a Kickstarter/Indiegogo campaign, and if we get 20 people to pitch in $10, I would buy the die and make mounts. Make that 19 people, since you can count me in for $10.

There was also another member of the group who was interested in 52.0mm wide x 32.3mm high apertures (The Golden Ratio, 1.618:1), so that could also be a possibility. Whatever it is that people want to use, I will try to offer. I wish I had the capability of offering you the same pledge regarding E6 film.

Cheers,

Ian

John A. Rupkalvis

stereoscope3d@gmail.com

On Tue, Aug 16, 2016 at 3:50 PM, iandvaag@gmail.com [MF3D-group] <MF3D-group@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

 

Timo, I kinda like my pricing at $0.60 per mount. A brief search through the list archives shows me that there are others who won't want to spend any more than this.

If it is preferable to sell the first few mounts at a higher cost, I am willing to do so. I have been reluctant to propose this strategy since I can imagine somebody will end up feeling ripped off. If I got a preorder of 400 mounts at $1 per mount, I would buy the die, make the mounts to those who preordered them @ $1 each, and subsequently offer the new mounts to everyone for $0.60. Is this a good method to "get'r done"?

So far we have:

Design #1: Mount with circle aperture of radius 50mm:

-Timo: 100 mounts

-

Design #2: ???

-

With Timo's preorder, we are 25% of the way to producing two new mount designs. Any other takers? Any other propositions for the 2nd design?

I hope this isn't too complicated.

Regarding the punch, they may work well for a bit, but they don't last long, and the edges are not cut very cleanly (frayed/burred). When I was initially researching my options for making mounts, I bought one but I was very unimpressed with the quality.

JR, if there is interest in heavier weight mounts, I will gladly offer them. Neither my local Staples nor Michael's offer black archival cardstock of a heavier weight, I'll have to see what I can find online.

Ian

John A. Rupkalvis

stereoscope3d@gmail.com

On Tue, Aug 16, 2016 at 4:06 PM, John Thurston juneau3d@thurstons.us [MF3D-group] <MF3D-group@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

 

On 8/16/2016 3:00 PM, JR stereoscope3d@gmail.com
[MF3D-group] wrote:
> Another possibility would be black plastic, such as thin
> ABS sheet, or thick sheet Vinyl.

I've always wanted to try mylar. I got far enough to learn
that the product was available with different thicknesses,
strength, and opacity. The next step would be to actually
walk in and see samples to learn what weight and opacity we
needed. But I live in a place with no plastic suppliers :(

--
John Thurston
Juneau Alaska
http://stereo.thurstons.us

John A. Rupkalvis

stereoscope3d@gmail.com

On Tue, Aug 16, 2016 at 4:21 PM, Timo Puhakka tpuhakka@ymail.com [MF3D-group] <MF3D-group@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

 

I am thinking to use unexposed film. I have made masks this way before, but only to mask a straight line, essentially making a custom sized landscape mount. Unexposed film leaves no paper feathers and blocks the backlight effectively. Now I am not so sure I would need the circular mounts. I will save my accidentally unexposed frames, and if necessary, deliberately  process some unexposed long expired film.

Timo

On 16-Aug-16, at 6:25 PM, Linda N ljnygren@gmail.com [MF3D-group] wrote:

 

Fiskars and other "craft" tool companies make circular and oval and other shaped punches in various sizes.

http://www2.fiskars.com/ Products/Crafting-and-Sewing/ Punches

They have a couple of 2" round models, and it looks like the oval would be the right size:

http://www2.fiskars.com/ Products/Crafting-and-Sewing/ Punches/Oval-n-Oval-Again- Squeeze-Punch-Extra-Large

I am not sure how precise the measurements are, i.e. if the if the US 2 inch models are exactly the same as the UK 5cm model:

​https://www.amazon.co.uk/ Fiskars-Extra-Large-Circle- Squeeze-Punch/dp/B000VPNXVC

Any thoughts as to what type of paper or thin cardstock would be best for such masks? -Linda

On Tue, Aug 16, 2016 at 5:06 PM, Timo Puhakka tpuhakka@ymail.com [MF3D-group] <MF3D-group@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

 

I think that $1 USD per mount would be a fair price to ask since most commercial mounts have recently cost about that. I would commit to buying 100 round front mounts at that cost, but I would understand why you would be reluctant to continue with this project. If somebody makes a round paper punch, 50mm diameter, I suppose a loose round mat could be fit between the front and back of a square mount.

Timo

On 16-Aug-16, at 5:06 PM, iandvaag@gmail.com [MF3D-group] wrote:

 

Hi Timo, Linda, and Bob, 

There is no technical difficulty in producing a round, oval or any other shaped die. The rear aperture could be made square, with alignment notches, or both. The difficulty is simply the cost.

It costs me about US $200 to get a new custom die made which can have two different mount designs on it. To produce 50 mounts and ship them costs me about $26.50 in consumable parts on the die cutting machine, paper, and shipping container. (Not including postage, which I charge for based on the number of mounts ordered).

So selling a pack of 50 at $30.00 makes me $3.50 which I was hopeful would slowly pay back at least part of the initial cost of the die cutting machine and dies (about $1000 all said and done). Note that these calculations also involve me working for free (it takes about 20 minutes to make 50 mounts). I'm trying to give back to this community, which introduced me to the most fascinating artistic medium I've ever known (and have been able to participate in!). As you can tell by my margins, 1) I'm not a business person, and 2) I plan to be in it for the long haul. Even if Fuji quits slide film and Ferrania doesn't make it, I think I'll be shooting B&W film (reversal processed) in my Sputnik well into the future (or at least until someone sells me a 3D World camera :P).

When I first found out about MF3D, I started cutting mounts with an exacto knife and ruler, and it took me a really long time to cut mounts, so I began to research more efficient ways of producing mounts. I discovered that electronic cutting machines (such as the Cricut), hand cranked die machines (such as the Sizzix Big Shot) and outsourcing the cutting to someone else were the 3 viable options. I thought that while the electronic cutting machine offers the most versatility, it also involves a fair bit of labour, and while fine for my own needs, I learned on the list that other MF3Ders were needing a new supply of mounts as well. I thought if I was going to the bother of making mounts, I might as well make a few extras to offer to the list. Outsourcing the cutting to someone else had the lowest per unit cost, but the minimums were unreasonably high (like 50 000 mounts). So I decided to get a quote on a custom die and hand cranked die cutting machine. I ended up going with the Accucut GrandeMark 2 machine and custom dies from Custom Shape Pros.

All this to say that I feel like I've spent about as much as I'm willing to for the time being, unless I have good reason to believe that I can recoup the cost of a new die within a reasonable time frame. This means selling 57 packs of 50 mounts. However, as I said above, one custom die can fit two unique designs on it (I can produce two mounts out of one sheet of 8.5 x 11" paper). So this way I'd need to sell 28 packs of 50 mounts of two different styles.

For small volumes of mounts for a single person, I imagine the electronic cutting machine would be the cheapest and easiest way to go. Alternatively, if there really is a lot of interest, I could put together a Kickstarter/Indiegogo campaign, and if we get 20 people to pitch in $10, I would buy the die and make mounts. Make that 19 people, since you can count me in for $10.

There was also another member of the group who was interested in 52.0mm wide x 32.3mm high apertures (The Golden Ratio, 1.618:1), so that could also be a possibility. Whatever it is that people want to use, I will try to offer. I wish I had the capability of offering you the same pledge regarding E6 film.

Cheers,

Ian