Hi,

I have been searching for advice on what are the best techniques for mounting prints (12 x 18 in or greater) onto a mat board with an over mat - spray adhesives, glues, taping to over mat, dry mounting (what exactly is this) or others ? - which minimises the chance of damage to prints and maximizes the longevity of the print - pros / cons.

I am new to this list and this topic may have been discussed before so I apologise but my browsing through the previous messages didn't show any definitive opinions.

Thanx Anthony

-- Anthony Roach (roacht@bank1.epa.nsw.au), March 04, 1998

Answers

Dry mounting is the best way to go. Using glues it is very hard not get some glue on the print or mat board and taping corners to larger prints will create waves in the print suface over time. Drymounting is using a tissue paper cut to the same size as the print, this done by tacking the tissue to the back of the print in a couple of spots and the trimming the print and tissue at the same time to the exact size you want the print to be. Then you place the print on the mount board and center however you like and then tack the tissue to the mount board. Next the whole works go into a heat press for a minute or two then remove it from the press and place some weight on the photo using books or the like and when it has cooled you should have a mounted print. It takes practice to do this well as there are alot of things that go wrong but it is well worth the time and effort.

-- Jeff White (zonie@computer-concepts.com), March 05, 1998.

Drymounting tissue is specially made by Kodak and other manufacturers in standard print sizes (8x10, 11x14, etc.) for use in drymounting presses.. There are two types: low heat for RC paper and higher temperature tissue for fibre based paper.

-- John R. Fowler (cpci@fox.nstn.ca), March 05, 1998.

Dry mounting is really the only way to go (maybe it should be called heat mounting). Anyhow avoid the sprays and adhesives except for small prints when you are in a hurry and speed is more important than quality or longevity. I respectfully disagree about the difficulty. I hvae never screwed up a print, and I was taught in five minutes.

-- Peter Thoshinsky (camerabug1@msn.com), March 28, 1998.

I am probably the world's greatest fan of the dry-mounting process, but you mentioned 'longevity' and you mentioned 'pros and cons'. In fairness, you ought to know that for 'Fine Art' or otherwise valuable photographs there is quite a controversy about the long-term consequences of dry-mounting. Can I refer you to two sources of information? The first is an article by a respected photographic archivist. You can find this at http://www.nlg.dk/preservtext.html The second, if I may be excused, is a pragmatic section on on my own (dare I say it - 'commercial')site - dealing with conservation issues. You can find this at http://www.parkphoto.co.uk/technical notes.htm.

At the end of the day, I have to say that my personal work (unless it is for sale) is conventionally dry-mounted!

Regards

Joe R.

-- Joe Rooney (postmaster@parkphoto.co.uk), June 16, 1998.