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#1
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mounting prints ...?
As I learned black and white darkroom photography I was shown how to
mount a finished print using mounting tissue, archival matt board, and a heat press. So the print is permanently mounted to the board. Then the overmatt is set away from the print rather than overlap it. A frame shop guy said that any artwork should NEVER be permanently attached to anything. A friend who does digital color prints said the same thing, plus while it may be possible to heat press a color print on color paper, it "can't" be done with plastic "paper". Can't? So I took one of her throw-away prints on plastic and mounted it on a piece of matt board, no problem (I did learn not to touch the print with anything other than white gloves due to fingerprints). Is there a standard acceptable way to mount prints, and does it depend on whether it's b/w or color? Or is it just personal preference? I'm staying with my method regardless, but we're doing a demo on print mounting at my photo club and I'd like to present alternative methods along with current opinion on each. Art |
#2
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mounting prints ...?
"Art Reitsch" wrote in message
... As I learned black and white darkroom photography I was shown how to mount a finished print using mounting tissue, archival matt board, and a heat press. So the print is permanently mounted to the board. Then the overmatt is set away from the print rather than overlap it. A frame shop guy said that any artwork should NEVER be permanently attached to anything. A friend who does digital color prints said the same thing, plus while it may be possible to heat press a color print on color paper, it "can't" be done with plastic "paper". Can't? So I took one of her throw-away prints on plastic and mounted it on a piece of matt board, no problem (I did learn not to touch the print with anything other than white gloves due to fingerprints). Is there a standard acceptable way to mount prints, and does it depend on whether it's b/w or color? Or is it just personal preference? I'm staying with my method regardless, but we're doing a demo on print mounting at my photo club and I'd like to present alternative methods along with current opinion on each. Art Museums and collectors, who have large number of prints that are mostly stored unframed in vaults, and are frequently shipped to other museums, started the wave against dry mounting. Pretentious photographers who think their work may end up in a museum have been abandoning dry mounting in droves. At this point, mounting is now considered a sign that your work is not collectable as art. I mount my own prints that I make for myself (that are displayed). If someone wants a print unmounted, then I provide it that way, but since I don't deal with museum or pretentious art galleries, I don't really care what they think. Color is admittedly somewhat different since the paper lies quite flat even when not mounted. |
#3
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mounting prints ...?
There are 63 million Fine Art photographers whom no one has ever heard of,
myself included, who think that their work is so important it should only be displayed in the most museum quality mounting imaginable so that posterity will never miss out on their anonymity. I real life the best way to mount a print is dependent upon the usage. The rest of us should have our work placed in cryogenic dark storage and the map to the site destroyed. GRIN Old museum pieces should never be mounted in such a way that they may be damaged in an attempt to remount them. A print of which you have the negative? What difference does it make. -- Art Reitsch wrote: As I learned black and white darkroom photography I was shown how to mount a finished print using mounting tissue, archival matt board, and a heat press. So the print is permanently mounted to the board. Then the overmatt is set away from the print rather than overlap it. A frame shop guy said that any artwork should NEVER be permanently attached to anything. A friend who does digital color prints said the same thing, plus while it may be possible to heat press a color print on color paper, it "can't" be done with plastic "paper". Can't? So I took one of her throw-away prints on plastic and mounted it on a piece of matt board, no problem (I did learn not to touch the print with anything other than white gloves due to fingerprints). Is there a standard acceptable way to mount prints, and does it depend on whether it's b/w or color? Or is it just personal preference? I'm staying with my method regardless, but we're doing a demo on print mounting at my photo club and I'd like to present alternative methods along with current opinion on each. Art |
#4
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mounting prints ...?
Art
I was taught the same as you, but that was B&W. When color became more popular I had to re-think the process because the heat used for dry mounting was apt to cause the color dyes to shift color. Then Seal came out with low temp mounting tissue, specifically to help with the temp problem. Then Kodak raised the temp of the color prossing baths 75 degrees to 100 degrees, implying higher heat stability. Now I do digital inkjet prints and the temperature problems surfaced again. Most of the Glossy surfaced papers I have tried have their gloss ruined by the dry mount process. The gelatin they use to get the gloss doesn't like the temperature. So I have gone to wet mounting. Matte surfaces are more stable and seem to hold up to the heat. However, the latest research at Wilheim group is concerned with longevity. That seems to be the buz word these days. So I wet mount all my inkjet prints. I've tried several wet mount materials. The Museum crowd prefer "hinge mounting" with archival adhesive strips so that the print can be removed and re-mounted with little fuss. If you must solid mount the print, they prefer rice or wheat based water soluable pastes. Those pastes are an absolute mess to work with. You must boil them up from a powder- yech !! When putting a print in a mat behind glass I hinge mount the print using a Lineco archive tape. The frame holds it reasonably flat. If you are not concerned with museum "archival" methods there are several alternatives. Currently (I change my mind occassionally) I favor using Yes! paste. That is a brand name. You can get it from www.dickblick.com or other art supply outlets. It is acid free and is a thick library type paste that can be applied with a squeege. I apply it to the back of the print and then position the print on the mounting board and roll it out. The biggest problem is keeping the adhesive from the surface of the print. The print is ruined if you get any on the face. The thinner adhesives run and get on the face very easily. I mount some prints this way on GatorFoam board and then trim them thru my table saw and mount them borderless and frameless. I glue (epoxy usually) four small wooden blocks on the back of the GatorFoam Board & use eyelets and wire to hang. This causes the borderless picture to "float" about 3/4 inch away from the wall so that the room light creates a naturel "drop shadow" on the wall. Everyone who has seen these really like them. It allows the matte surfaces of some of the inkjet art papers to really be seen, much better than behind glass. James www.ImagesByJamesDunn.com |
#5
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mounting prints ...?
The rest of us should have our work placed in
cryogenic dark storage and the map to the site destroyed. GRIN Well, well! That explains why my wife insists on "filing" my prints herself, guaranteeing they're in a dark place, and won't tell me where it is. You broke the code! Mike C program run. C program crash. C programmer quit. |
#6
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mounting prints ...?
"Tom" tom@localhost wrote
Art Reitsch wrote: As I learned black and white darkroom photography I was shown how to mount a finished print using mounting tissue, archival matt board, and a heat press. So the print is permanently mounted to the board. Then the overmatt is set away from the print rather than overlap it. A frame shop guy said that any artwork should NEVER be permanently attached to anything. A friend who does digital color prints said the same thing, There are 63 million Fine Art photographers whom no one has ever heard of, myself included, who think that their work is so important it should only be displayed in the most museum quality mounting imaginable so that posterity will never miss out on their anonymity. There is such a 'Archival Fetish' going on that I often feel like a rebellion is called for. It makes me wish to stamp a recycle symbol on the back of my prints; pulling them from the fix and drying them directly without wasting the water to wash them. Though, if someone has paid me a good sum for a print then I confess I process it as best I can so that it will last a long time if treated well. I dry mount the print because I think photos look a whole lot better when they are flat and I want them to stay flat - and that's my artistic prerogative. I view the mount board as an integral part of the finished print, just as the emulsion is an integral part of the photographic paper. If the mount board is damaged beyond all hope then I believe the chances are the print is ruined too. I lose no sleep over the issue of separating ruined prints from ruined mount boards. If the mount is damaged through handling, too bad, it was never meant to be handled. Dust to dust. Ashes to ashes. -- Nicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio Consulting Engineer: Electronics; Informatics; Photonics. |
#7
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mounting prints ...?
"Art Reitsch" wrote in message ... As I learned black and white darkroom photography I was shown how to mount a finished print using mounting tissue, archival matt board, and a heat press. So the print is permanently mounted to the board. Then the overmatt is set away from the print rather than overlap it. A frame shop guy said that any artwork should NEVER be permanently attached to anything. A friend who does digital color prints said the same thing, plus while it may be possible to heat press a color print on color paper, it "can't" be done with plastic "paper". Can't? So I took one of her throw-away prints on plastic and mounted it on a piece of matt board, no problem (I did learn not to touch the print with anything other than white gloves due to fingerprints). Is there a standard acceptable way to mount prints, and does it depend on whether it's b/w or color? Or is it just personal preference? I'm staying with my method regardless, but we're doing a demo on print mounting at my photo club and I'd like to present alternative methods along with current opinion on each. Art As others have pointed out the trend away from dry mounting is from gallery owners. There are both low temperature mounting tissues quite suitable for RC and color prints and tissue which allows relatively easy removal of the print if necessary. Dry mounting is archival in the sense that the mounting tissue does not damage the print. For fiber paper it probably provides some protection to the back of the print. I think there is nothing else as satisfactory for _display_ prints as dry mounting. If the print is going to spend its life in dark storage in a refrigerated vault so that it will still be here in 500 years, it really doesn't need any mounting at all. Currently, dry mounting materials are made by: Light Impressions (the old Seal line) http://www.lightimpressionsdirect.com And Hunt-Bienfang: http://www.hunt-corp.com/main.html -- --- Richard Knoppow Los Angeles, CA, USA |
#8
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mounting prints ...?
Art Reitsch wrote in news:4012AEDF.4010005
@olympus.net: Is there a standard acceptable way to mount prints, and does it depend on whether it's b/w or color? Or is it just personal preference? I'm staying with my method regardless, but we're doing a demo on print mounting at my photo club and I'd like to present alternative methods along with current opinion on each. Art Art - This is an emotional issue with a lot of people. Those who are hyper about archival treatment typically will insist on "floating" the print between the mount and mat, using either corners or linen tape to hold the print in position on the mount, and with the mat hinged to the mount. The reasons for this include: 1. The print can be removed from the mount if the mount is ever damaged. 2. It is theoretically possible that the mount could, over time, release chemicals that would attack the print. This form of mounting makes it possible to separate the print from the mount to prevent this problem. 3. An unmounted print, stored in a polyethelene sleeve, requires much less storage space than a mounted/matted print. The opposing point of view is that dry mounting is the preferred approach. Dry mounting can be accomplished either with a heat press and mounting tissue, or with pressure-sensitive tissues such as those manufactured by 3M. In this approach, there is also a mat that is hinged to the mount. There is a strong tradition in favor of drymounting - many of the "great" photographers of the past dry mounted their work and I certainly wouldn't refuse a gift of an original Ansel Adams print just because it's dry mounting. The arguments for this approach include: 1. Dry mounting eliminates buckling and wrinkling - and flatter prints are more visually appealing. 2. The dry mounting tissue provides an archival barrier between the print and the mount that is not present with float mounting. 3. The mat covers both the mount and the print, and if either the mount or mat are damaged, the appearance can be restored simply by replacing the mat. My experience is that it is possible to dry mount "plastic" prints - either RC prints or Infochrome. The 3M products do not require heating and are very easy to use. And there are thermal dry-mount tissues that are designed for use with RC papers and that fuse at lower temperatures. It is true that for all practical purposes, dry mounting is permanent. In theory, you can disolve dry mounting adhesives by soaking the mounted print in acetone. I don' think I would want to be bothered. Bottom line: consider the options, and make a choice. There really are no hard rules. Louie |
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