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Archive 2012 · Dry mounting matte papers

  
 
jinsonphoto1
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Dry mounting matte papers



I live in the Midwest & because of the humidity here its very common to dry mount large prints. If not I end up getting big waves in the print. Now the bulk of my work has been on e-surface & fiber papers. Recently I have discovered the new Epson Hot press papers & I absolutely love them. I'm curious before I buy a big roll & commit to keeping my 9800 set to matte if the matte papers will get waves like the e-surface & fiber papers if not dry mounted.

Does anybody here have experience with this topic. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

All the best~
Tony



Aug 27, 2012 at 10:47 AM
hugowolf
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Dry mounting matte papers


jinsonphoto1 wrote:
I live in the Midwest & because of the humidity here its very common to dry mount large prints. If not I end up getting big waves in the print. Now the bulk of my work has been on e-surface & fiber papers. Recently I have discovered the new Epson Hot press papers & I absolutely love them. I'm curious before I buy a big roll & commit to keeping my 9800 set to matte if the matte papers will get waves like the e-surface & fiber papers if not dry mounted.
Does anybody here have experience with this topic. Any
...Show more
I have little experience with Epson hot pressed papers. The white was too white for me and the natural too non-white.

I live in Virginia and the summers are very humid. I use a lot of mat fine art paper: Hahnemühle German Etching (cold pressed), Canson Rag Photographique (hot pressed), and Arches Aquarelle (water colour), all stay flat.

Some papers do better than others as far as staying flat. Hahnemühle Photo Rag 308, for example, has a tendency to recurl.

I actually buy sheets up to 24 x 36 inches, which I find stay flat better. Larger than that, the sheets are too big to handle and store, so I use roll paper for larger sizes.

How are you mounting them when you get ‘big waves’?

Brian A



Aug 27, 2012 at 05:25 PM
jinsonphoto1
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Dry mounting matte papers


Brian,

Thank you for the response. You are the first!

When i get the 'waves' I was referring to is only when I do not dry mount them to foam core. For example this would only happen if I were to frame the print by only taping the print at the to to the matte & just put the frame board behind it.

Now If i could use these matte papers for large prints & not have to dry mount them it would save on cost. Also i know that some people argue that mounting a print permanently to a board potentially causes problems with archivability & decrease the value.



Aug 28, 2012 at 09:03 AM
jinsonphoto1
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Dry mounting matte papers


Im just curious what others do. Because when I see the 'waves' in a beautifully framed print I personally think it looks very unprofessional. So as a practice I have always dry mounted any prints larger than 13x19. However as I said, if these matte papers lay flat nicely I would love to stop dry mounting.


Aug 28, 2012 at 09:08 AM
hugowolf
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Dry mounting matte papers


I hinge prints as wide as 25.5 inches, hinged to the mat not the backing, with sometimes as little as 1/4 inch of overlay; under glass with Tyvek backing material used to seal the whole thing. I haven’t had a problem deformation.

I have had problems when using metal frames with spring clips to hold the backing foam board, but not with wooden frames where the pressure on the backing board is more evenly spread by the framing points.

Brian A



Aug 28, 2012 at 05:59 PM
redcrown
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Dry mounting matte papers


I started trying to do "floating" mounts a couple years ago, simply because I wanted to be able to periodically replace the print, and reuse both the mat and frame. My method was like yours. I would tape the corner edges of the print to the back mat and hinge on a window mat.

No matter how tight I tried to "stretch" the print, noticable "waves" could be seen in the finished product. Even with very flat sheet prints. So I tried a 3M "postit" double sided tape that I had used years ago to hold paper flat on a darkroom easel.

The tape works great. However, my oldest mounts with the tape are only about 1.5 years old, so time will tell if they continue to hold. My biggest was 16 X 20.

The 3M tapes come in a variety of forms and sizes. Just look (or Google) for "double sided" and "removable". The tack is strong enough to old things flat, but easy to remove. Once removed, any residue left behind comes off easily with a little light rubbing.

My method is to put down 3 or 4 large "X" patterns with the tape, lay down and position the print, then press lightly to secure. I still use corner mounts. A small roll of the tape is only $3 to $5, so it's cheap to experiment with.

Here's one source: http://www.amazon.com/3M-Removable-Double-Sided-Tape/dp/B001390CK0



Aug 28, 2012 at 10:24 PM
hugowolf
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Dry mounting matte papers


I rarely float mount: that would be where all the edges of the print are free of the mat with the print hanging from the hinging tape and the mat merely surrounding the print but having no contact. Float mounting works, but only with the best papers. I usually have the mat covering the edge of the print by at least 1/4 inch.

The following is a good précis of the procedure I use, although I often hinge from the mat rather than the back board. I find the rag mat to be a better match for the expansion and contraction of the cotton paper. And I never use tape near the corners of the paper – that would restrict movement.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1003&message=37107364

But there are many methods and variations that should work well.

Brian A



Aug 28, 2012 at 11:48 PM





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