Dry mounting vs. laminating
Russell
c._downs
wrote:
As you have seen in previous post the opinions of many are definitely
against spray or standard vacuum mounting techniques - That said I
will say that I have not had any of the troubles that have occurred to
others.
I have been actively displaying large prints for 30 years and have
tried many types of mounting techniques - even glues that are spread
by rolling on with a paint roller. { some of the glues are holding as
well as my best drymounts - well 30 years anyway }
The important thing to decide is what the final purpose will be for
the prints.
Often museums and archivist will not accept mounted prints - period.
The prints can be held by a linen hinge and glue by the top and
allowed to "hang" in the mat. Cheap, archival and completely home
do-able! Ciba/Ilfo prints work great this way { as most non fiber
prints will } Almost all collectors prefer this way of treating
prints. Check at any art shops for the linen tape or material and
glue. Fiber prints will work well too but must be FLAT!!!!!!!
Now the problem!!!!!!! ...............
1.You have to leave a large border around the print to allow for the
movement caused by humidity and temp variables. This border is hidden
behind the overmatch but robbs you of up to an inch in print size.
2. Large fiber prints often are hard to get flattened out. For years
folks have used drymounting presses to flatten prints and often say
that they like the look of drymounted prints. Usually the look is just
their imagination as I have dome many shows that had hinged prints
along side of drymounted prints and nobody ever noticed the
difference. Some papers similar to the old Agfa#6 single weight were
just not easy to get or keep flat. As you make larger and larger
prints the problem is harder to deal with. The sooner that you have to
mount the print after it is finished the more problem you have. Prints
that are held under flatting presses for a long time { days or in my
case weeks - a flattening press is a great way to store prints} tend
to flatten very well. Some times you may be able to work a deal, as I
have several times, to have a company with a large drymounting press
to flatten you fiber prints for very cheap prices { $1.00 apiece for
30x40's was my deal } if you do a little word of mouth advertizing for
them!! They invest little time and literally no real expense for this
due to having the press on all day anyway. Just a thought!
VACUUM materials include Scotch Vacua U Mount spray, Sure Mount
adhesive, Seal VacuGlue, Umsco Mounting Adhesive, and at least 7 spray
photo mount types from Scotch .
These work well for me but as I said others will strongly disagree.
ADHESIVE MOUNTING - Large mounting boards from several sources such
as Cressent have peal off and stick surfaces - foam core as well as
traditional rag and paper boards are available in I think up to 96
inch sizes. These require no other equipment and if done carefully can
work well - and are cheap as the board comes with the adhesive.
SCOTCH and other mounting adhesives - These come in rolls up to 24"
wide and 100' long and only have to be pressure bonded - This can be
done in many ways -Vacuum , hand rolled, etc. BUT BE AWARE that this
was meant for the large roller mounting devices that you saw and may
not work if not done very carefully - You can get 15 lbs pressure in a
vacuum press - only about 4-5 in a dry mounting press and some of the
roller presses have much higher "point of contact" pressures when
rolling through press - I have seen people use this in much less
expensive home made or old etching presses but can't recommend this
due to problems that could occur. Depends how inventive you are!
Try United Supplies 1-800-645-7260 and ask for their catalogs - very
complete
The cost of the mounting done professionally is not that much if you
do your own mat-cutting and other work -- Also the laminating type
mounts can have a plastic overcover applied inexpensively and the
print hung borderless with no mat or frame - Had a 40 incher hung for
over 10 years in the living room and my wife wipes it off with a damp
cloth and it still looks great .
One tip - Air bubbles can often be flattened by using a needle or
exacto knife FROM THE BACK to allow the air to escape - Be careful and
do not break the surface of the print! { total sacrilege here- I would
rather have a tiny pinhole in the front of a print than a air bubble -
Ansel A often used an exacto knife to remove a black dot from a print
and a pin hole is no worse}
OKAY, OKAY let the flames begin , but please remember the $7000, to
$12000 dollar price for some of the mounting devices.
Do think about the fact that the frame is more expensive than the
pro mounting job - and often the mat or the glass .
Sad but the price of the photo paper and processing and mounting is
often the cheapest part of a display -
Good Luck and enjoy your prints - once addicted to them the 11x14's
look small - I just got back from looking at the Eastman collection
and the large AA print of Moonrise sure looked good - but so did the
Edward Weston 4x5 contacts.
Russell
was thinking of. Is it archival? As in does the print last? Or does it
degenerate as with some varnish-like covers?
It would create an entirely different look to hang a plastic-covered
laminated print on the wall. Can the print be laminated onto a colored
mount board, or does the print need to be laminated to a substrate first
then mounted on a mount board? And is there a more economical way to do it
yourself than the 7-12K machines?
The hot version of the Vacuseal press is a supposedly more efficient method
of drymounting, with regular drymount tissue; it applies even pressure and
removes the moisture in one operation. But I don't think you can laminate
with it. Does anyone have experience with these? As in are they worth it?
Thanks again,
--Russell
<C. Downs> wrote in message news:37f5b340...@news.mindspring.com...
. . . .
> VACUUM materials include Scotch Vacua U Mount spray, Sure Mount
> adhesive, Seal VacuGlue, Umsco Mounting Adhesive, and at least 7 spray
> photo mount types from Scotch .
> These work well for me but as I said others will strongly disagree.
. . . .
> The cost of the mounting done professionally is not that much if you
> do your own mat-cutting and other work -- Also the laminating type
> mounts can have a plastic overcover applied inexpensively and the
> print hung borderless with no mat or frame - Had a 40 incher hung for
> over 10 years in the living room and my wife wipes it off with a damp
> cloth and it still looks great .
. . . .
c._downs
>Thank you for the response. The laminating with the plastic cover is what I
>was thinking of. Is it archival? As in does the print last? Or does it
>degenerate as with some varnish-like covers?
>It would create an entirely different look to hang a plastic-covered
>laminated print on the wall. Can the print be laminated onto a colored
>mount board, or does the print need to be laminated to a substrate first
>then mounted on a mount board? And is there a more economical way to do it
>yourself than the 7-12K machines?
I doubt that It could be called archival. I have only seem them around
for the last ten years and they seem good so far. Don't know who to
honestly ask about permanence as manufacturers are all I know of to
ask and would not really trust someone with vested interest in the
product.
I get mine laminated to 3/4" to 1" black foam core { $10. sq/ft -
I think for foam and mounting and a little more for plastic overlay.
It looks like a glossy print and you don't really notice plastic
overlay.
Have never tried to put on plastic overlay myself and would imagine
that you need good equipment. There is a manual machine on the market
somewhere that can do the trick up to about 24 inch but don't remember
the maker.
If you can, try to find the nearest Graphic Arts Show and attend. We
go to the national ones in Charlotte N.C. and they have a bunch of
machines set up for view. If you are into large prints you need to
start looking at the graphics world as they are light years ahead of
the photo industry in mounting and presentation of large images.
They had a digital enlarger with self contained processor for 24 inch
by whatever you want machine that would do any process you wanted {
hey, 24 x 40 ilfochromes dry to dry in a daylight environment was nice
even though this was 10 grand. - have to run out and get a couple when
Ed McM. comes by with my millions} and a printer that was putting out
high quality 60 inch prints of the space shuttle for about 25 dollars
a piece from 4x5 originals. Hummmm .......60 x 200's yeah!
Check out the trade shows like this and you will find every thing from
silver recovery to mounting machines. In Charlotte you get great
prints for free! Makes the trip worth it just for a couple dozen 20 to
40 inch freebies!