E.L.. Shapiro wrote:
This may seem a bit out of the box but you might want to consider DRY MOUNTING. If you intend to do lots of mounting, going forward, you may be able to pick up a used 14x17 or 16x20 dry mounting press at a reasonable price. OR...you can, with a bit of ingenuity, improvisation, and practice, be able to dry mount with an ordinary household flat iron set at a lower heat. Dry mounting tissue is sandwiched between the print and the mounting board and heat are applied to the surface with a buffer sheet atop the print.
All of this may be worth the initial expense for the equipment and materials. Frankly, I HATE all those spray adhesives, pre-treated adhesive boards, glue, etc. They are messy, some are far from permanent and usually not even remotely archival. Dry mounting is extremely clean, permanent, and once you get the technique down pat- you can always expect consistent and repeatable results.
If you use a press, you can mount prints that are larger than the presse's platten, in sections. The tissue comes in standard sizes in sheets and rolls. I use the "Seal" products. I have had my Seal press and tacking iron for nearly 50 years.
You can dry mount on all kinds of matte boards, Foam-Cor, Masonite, Gator-Foam and more. You can mount photographs on conventional photographic papers, all kinds of paper commonly used in digital ink printing. posters, all kinds of printed matter, etc. Although there are "archival" quality tissues available, dry mounting is NOT considered pure archival methodology, nor is any kind of adhesive that can harm or devalue artworks.
In true archival picture framing, the artwork is hinged and suspended, with special spacers between archival mounting boards, and special conservatory glass.
For genera mounting, display, and print competition purposes, dry mounting is quite acceptable. I have dry-mounted prints that are 50 years old with no staining, peeling, discoloration, or deterioration issues.
This may seem a bit out of the box but you might w... (
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I also prefer dry mounting and have equipment similar to yours. One of the reasons I like dry mounting is that the print takes on some of the texture of the mat board which I find very attractive.