Dry Mounting????

[George in Georgia]

I've printed a few 13 x 19 images with my Canon PRO - 100. Gorgeous! Time to mount and frame. Back in the day I used a dry mount press for fiber silver-gelatin prints with great success.

I discovered a local source for a used Seal press at a very good price. It has a thermostat allowing settings from 180F up. Of course I'd have to get a taking iron, etc.

What's the current thought on dry mounting RC paper and or ink jet paper? Is it still a viable method? I realize that such mounting wouldn't satisfy conservation standards, but I doubt many museums would covet my work!

 

[fotofreek]

I asked about this some time ago and was assured that dry mounting works fine on inkjet coated papers. I don't know about RC coating, however. Here in SF we have an available community darkroom. Check it out in your community and do a few test prints. You might be able ask the seller of the unit you are looking at to run a small test print for you.

 

[costadinos]

I'd advice against using heat mounting with RC inkjet paper, the heat not only will probably deform the coating but can also release gases that will affect the longevity of the print.

Depending on which substrate you will be mounting the prints on, I'd suggest using pressure activated double sided adhesive film. This comes in sheets and rolls, you can get it from sign-making supplies distributors. There are permanent and removable adhesives.

 

[turbguy]

I regularly dry-mount my prints with no obvious issue. HOWEVER, I have only dry mounted matte paper. Still, I consider my dry-mount press really handy. If you do dry-mount, don't forget to dry the mount, and the print, FIRST, in the press, for about 30 seconds or so, to drive out moisture in the media (which causes bubbles) just prior to mounting.

 

[fotofreek]

I have done a lot of photo mounting on foam core board and mat board with spray adhesives. Some stick to any surface but some don't work with the slick surface of foam core board. 3M and others make these products and they are available in most art stores. Using adhesives, however, gets very tricky when dealing with large prints.

You certainly wouldn't use these products with fine-art prints.

 

[turbguy]

I have done a lot of photo mounting on foam core board and mat board with spray adhesives. Some stick to any surface but some don't work with the slick surface of foam core board. 3M and others make these products and they are available in most art stores. Using adhesives, however, gets very tricky when dealing with large prints.

You certainly wouldn't use these products with fine-art prints.

And those 3M spray adhesives are both HIGHLY flammable, and quite hazardous to your health...

 

[fotofreek]

And those 3M spray adhesives are both HIGHLY flammable, and quite hazardous to your health...

I use them outdoors almost always . When used indoors i use them only in well ventilated areas that have no appliances with open flames. My use of these products is very limited as I don't do this on a production basis. I usually do only a few prints at any time.