The week my print portfolio got wet on the bus was a disaster

Last Tuesday I was heading to an interview at Studio Rye in Denver and my portfolio binder fell into a puddle right as I got off the bus at 14th and Champa. The water warped about a third of my print samples, especially that double-page spread I spent 12 hours perfecting. I had to show them from my phone instead, which felt super unprofessional. Has anyone else had luck rebinding those clear sleeves after water damage?

2 comments

2 Comments

gavin_mason319d ago

I heard someone say hair dryer on low heat can fix those binder sleeves without wrecking the prints.

derekwalker9d ago

Did they get totally soaked or just the edges? I've had luck sliding the wet prints out of those sleeves and pressing them between paper towels under a stack of heavy books for a couple days. For the binder itself, sometimes you can just replace the sleeves and keep the cover if the cardboard isn't warped too bad. But if the water got into the spine glue, it's pretty much toast and you're better off getting a new one. The phone thing sucks but honestly most designers have done that at some point, it's not the end of the world.