How to Store Posters and Prints

October 19, 2026

Sooner or later you have more prints than wall. You are between homes, or you swap pictures with the seasons, or you bought a gift months early, or you have simply collected more than you can hang. A poster left under the bed or behind a wardrobe will be creased, faded or mouldy when you find it again.

Stored properly, a print will keep for decades. It doesn't take special equipment.

What damages paper

Damp. Paper absorbs moisture. It ripples, and mould grows on it.
Heat and swings in temperature. They make paper brittle and speed up fading.
Light. It fades ink and yellows paper. See sun fading.
Acid. Ordinary cardboard, newspaper and cheap paper contain acid, which stains and weakens whatever touches them over years.
Pressure and bending. Creases in paper are permanent.
Hands. Oils from skin leave marks that show up later.
Tape, rubber bands and paper clips. They stain, dent and stick.
Insects and mice.

Flat or rolled?

Flat is best, if you have the space. Paper stored flat stays flat, and it is ready to frame or hang.

Rolled is fine for large posters and when space is short. A print that has been rolled for a long time takes on a curl and has to be flattened before use.

Never fold.

Storing prints flat

Put a sheet between each print. Acid-free tissue or glassine paper, from an art supplier. It stops inks rubbing against each other. Plain, uncoated, acid-free paper will do.
Use a rigid container. An artist's portfolio, an archival box, or a plan chest with shallow drawers if you have many. For a few prints, two sheets of acid-free board or foam board, larger than the prints, with the prints between them, works well.
Lay it flat, on a shelf or under a bed, or stand a rigid portfolio upright on its long edge. Don't lean a loose stack, which will bow.
Keep sizes together, largest at the bottom.
Don't pile too high or put anything heavy on top.

Clear polypropylene or polyester sleeves are good for individual prints. Avoid soft PVC sleeves, which can stick to ink in time.

Storing prints rolled

Roll loosely. The wider the roll, the better. A tube 3 or 4 inches across is kinder to a print than a narrow one.
Image side out or in? For long storage, most framers roll with the image facing outward. The ink layer is then stretched slightly, not squeezed, and the print flattens more easily. For post and for short periods, image inward protects the surface. Either way, keep the roll loose.
Wrap the print in acid-free tissue or plain clean paper before rolling, so that the surface is covered.
Keep it in a tube. The tube your poster came in will do for a few months. For years, an acid-free tube is better, or line the tube with acid-free paper.
No rubber bands. They dent the paper, and they perish and stick. If the roll needs holding, wrap a strip of paper round it and tape the strip to itself.
Roll several together if they are the same size, with tissue between them.
Store tubes lying down, or upright in a bin where they can't be crushed. Cap both ends against dust.
Label the outside, so that you don't have to unroll each one to find a print.

Where to keep them

The best place is one where you would be comfortable yourself: dry, cool, steady and dark.

Good: a cupboard inside the house, a shelf in a wardrobe, a drawer, the space under a bed in a room that is lived in.
Bad: attics, which are hot. Basements and garages, which are damp. Against an outside wall. Near a radiator, a boiler or a water pipe. On the floor.

Aim for ordinary room temperature and a relative humidity of about 40 to 55 percent. If you must use a basement, raise the box off the floor, keep it away from the walls, and put a few packets of silica gel in it. Check them now and then.

Handling

Wash and dry your hands first.
Hold a print by its edges, with two hands. Support large sheets from beneath.
Work on a clean, dry table.
Keep drinks out of the way.

Taking a rolled print out of storage

Let it come to room temperature in its tube. Unroll it gently on a clean surface, cover it with clean paper and weight the corners and edges with books. Leave it for a day or two. Don't roll it backwards hard, which can crack the ink. See how to hang posters for more on flattening.

Storing other formats

Canvas

Stand canvases upright, on edge, not flat in a pile.
Store them face to face and back to back, with a sheet of clean paper or card between faces. Nothing should press into the fabric.
Protect the corners with card.
Cover with a cotton sheet. Don't seal a canvas in plastic for long periods, which can trap moisture.
Keep them off the floor and away from damp.

See canvas care.

Framed prints

Stand upright, face to face, with card between them.
Wrap each in paper or a blanket. Bubble wrap pressed against a frame's finish can leave marks over time.
Protect the corners.

Tapestries

Wash and dry fully before storing. See how to wash a tapestry.
Roll round a cardboard tube to avoid creases, or fold loosely with tissue in the folds.
Keep in a cotton bag or a pillowcase, somewhere dry.

Desk mats

Clean and dry, then roll loosely with the printed side out, or store flat. Don't fold a mat. A sharp fold in the rubber base can become permanent.

Frost Owl poster print by Kiyo Arts — Frost Owl as a matte poster. Store prints flat, with a sheet between each.

If you rotate your art

Swapping pictures by season keeps a room fresh and gives each piece a rest from the light. A flat portfolio under the bed is ideal for this. Keep a list in the lid of what is inside.

Check on them

Look through stored prints once or twice a year. You are looking for ripples, spots, a musty smell, insects or yellowing. Caught early, most problems can be stopped by moving the prints somewhere drier.