I am entering the state fair again this year and had a couple pix matted at one of those chain stores that does mounting/matting (i had the mounting done at the same place as the printing). The employee who did the matting used nothing more than double-sided tape. My concern is the images won't hold up in the Midwest humidity. For those of you who do your own matting, what do you use to keep the mats from warping under heat/humidity? Do I need to ask the employee to use something else and if so, what? The images have to be submitted for judging by this Sunday (7/25) so I don't have time to send them somewhere else other than the chain store that did them.
The mat should float in the frame behind the glass and the photo should be either T-hinged at the upper corners or mounted with photo corners so that it can expand and contract independently of the mat. Double sided tape really isn't a good choice for this application. This should have a backing board behind of foam core or gatorboard. If the frame is wood, using kraft paper to seal the back of the frame adds to the finished look and helps keep dust out of the frame/glazing.
You might want to dry mount/pressure mount the image to the backer board and then attach the mat board to the backer as well. You could attach the matboard to the foam core with double stick. Could you display the image dry mounted to foam core or gatorboard with no mat? This might be the best option for this sort of temporary display. MPIX and myphotopipe.com can do this type of print and mounting and get it to you overnight and they do a professional job.
Here is myphotopipe's site on mounting. This would be a very suitable application for your situation. Their Kodak Endura VC Lustre isn't quite as saturated as Fuji Crystal Archive Glossy, but the finish of the Kodak paper will look very good for this application and I suspect skin tones are much better. I've just done some test prints and 30X40 final prints for a customer through them. In the end I chose the Fuji because the prints were being mounted by duraplaq behind and the final finish of the laminate would be satin. But for stand alone or framed prints, I'd go with the lustre for its reflection control.
Amy, I've drymounted my prints to foamboard for over 20 years and this seems to work fine.
The person drymounting the image should be experienced. The image and machine must be clean of dust and residue or small indentions will appear on your image. I then tape the mat to the board with double stick.
Amy, What is the substrate that the prints are mounted to, and what are the size of the prints. If they are on gator board, the double stick tape should be fine. If they are on foam core, you may get some warping of the board as humidity situations change. The larger foam boards (over 11x14) will be more prone to warping,. which may cause bubbles in the print, especially if they are exposed to heat.
Are the matted prints going to be shown naked, or in a clear bag. If naked, the mats will also expand and contract with humidity changes.
Discussion
5 repliesThanks in advance!
The mat should float in the frame behind the glass and the photo should be either T-hinged at the upper corners or mounted with photo corners so that it can expand and contract independently of the mat. Double sided tape really isn't a good choice for this application. This should have a backing board behind of foam core or gatorboard. If the frame is wood, using kraft paper to seal the back of the frame adds to the finished look and helps keep dust out of the frame/glazing.
Here is myphotopipe's site on mounting. This would be a very suitable application for your situation. Their Kodak Endura VC Lustre isn't quite as saturated as Fuji Crystal Archive Glossy, but the finish of the Kodak paper will look very good for this application and I suspect skin tones are much better. I've just done some test prints and 30X40 final prints for a customer through them. In the end I chose the Fuji because the prints were being mounted by duraplaq behind and the final finish of the laminate would be satin. But for stand alone or framed prints, I'd go with the lustre for its reflection control.
http://www.myphotopipe.com/mounting.php
I really don't like mounting larger photos with double stick tape. They buckle real easy from changes in temp or humidity.
The person drymounting the image should be experienced. The image and machine must be clean of dust and residue or small indentions will appear on your image. I then tape the mat to the board with double stick.
Are the matted prints going to be shown naked, or in a clear bag. If naked, the mats will also expand and contract with humidity changes.