Keeping a Luis Dourdil Print Looking New

Dust, daylight and damp do most of the damage to a reproduction. A short routine, applied a few times a year, prevents nearly all of it.

Auvrique Editorial · Fine Art Editions

The short answer

Caring for Luis Dourdil prints comes down to three habits. Dust gently with a dry microfibre cloth every few months. Hang the print away from direct sunlight and radiators, ideally on an interior wall. Never use water, glass cleaner or solvents, since they can lift inks and damage coatings.

Dusting Without Damaging the Surface

Dust is the main enemy of any reproduction, and it is the easiest to manage. A soft, dry microfibre cloth is all that is needed. Work in light strokes rather than pressing hard, and lift the cloth at the end of each pass instead of scrubbing back and forth. Once every two or three months is enough in an ordinary room. A home with pets or a fireplace may need it monthly.

The surface matters more than the schedule. A framed poster behind glass can be cleaned like any framed picture, cloth on the glass only, never on exposed paper edges. A canvas edition has no glass, so the cloth touches the printed surface directly. Go lighter there. If a mark resists dry dusting, leave it. Water and household cleaners can permanently shift the inks, and a stubborn smudge is cheaper to live with than a damaged print. This applies whether the piece is a quiet harbour scene or something with denser colour elsewhere in the house.

Light, Heat and Where to Hang It

Fading is cumulative and irreversible, so placement does more for a print's lifespan than any cleaning routine. Direct afternoon sun through a south facing window is the worst case. A few years of it will visibly bleach most inks. An interior wall, or an exterior wall that never takes direct sun, will keep colours stable for decades.

Heat and humidity run second. Radiators, air vents and bathrooms with poor ventilation all shorten a print's life, because paper cockles and canvas tension shifts as the air swings between damp and dry. A stable room at normal living temperatures is fine. If you are still deciding between formats, the choice between canvas and a framed poster affects care more than people expect, since one sits behind glass and one does not. Either way, keep the print out of the kitchen's steam path and off the wall above a working fireplace.

Placement rules that matter

Hang on an interior wall that receives no direct sunlight.
Keep at least a metre of clearance from radiators and heat vents.
Avoid bathrooms and kitchens where humidity swings daily.
Leave a small gap behind the frame so air can circulate.

Handling, Moving and Long Term Storage

Most damage happens in transit, not on the wall. When moving a framed print, carry it by the frame on both sides rather than by the hanging wire or a single corner. Keep it vertical. Laying a framed piece flat puts its full weight on the glass, which is the part most likely to crack. For canvas, hold the stretcher bars, not the printed face, and never stack anything against the surface.

If a print comes down for longer than a move, wrap it in plain paper or a clean sheet, never plastic, which traps moisture against the surface. Store it upright in a dry, temperature stable room. Check on it once or twice a year. These habits cost nothing and cover almost every failure mode a reproduction has. If a piece does arrive with a flaw, the refund process exists for exactly that, and it is worth using rather than living with a defect from day one.

A print rarely fails on the wall. It fails in the move, or in the sun, in slow motion.

Task	Frequency	What to use
Dry dusting	Every 2 to 3 months	Dry microfibre cloth, light strokes
Glass cleaning, framed prints	As needed	Cloth on glass only, no spray near edges
Placement check	Once a year	Confirm no direct sun or heat source nearby
Storage inspection	Every 6 to 12 months	Eyes only, look for cockling or fading

Care schedule at a glance

Key takeaways

Dust with a dry microfibre cloth every two to three months and never introduce water.
Keep prints off walls that take direct sun, since fading cannot be reversed.
Heat sources and humid rooms shorten a print's life more than most people expect.
Carry framed prints upright by both sides of the frame and store them wrapped in paper, not plastic.

Related questions

Can I use a damp cloth on a canvas print?

No. A barely damp cloth is sometimes suggested for glass, but on a printed canvas surface moisture can lift or shift inks and disturb any coating. Dry dusting handles routine dirt. If a canvas is genuinely soiled, professional cleaning is the only safe route, and even then results are not guaranteed.

Will a print fade even without direct sunlight?

Very slowly, yes. All inks fade over long periods, but indirect daylight causes far less damage than direct sun. A print on an interior wall away from windows should hold its colour for decades. If a bright room cannot be avoided, drawing blinds during the strongest hours makes a real difference.

How do I remove a fingerprint from the printed surface?

Try a dry microfibre cloth with very light pressure first. If the print is behind glass, clean the glass instead and leave the paper alone. On bare canvas, resist solvents and water. A permanent mark on an exposed surface is usually best left, since cleaning attempts cause more visible damage than the smudge itself.

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