Mounting Photos

Do any of you here who sell prints mount them on Gator or anything like that before selling them? Do you do it yourself or outsource it? Are there any drawbacks to mounting inkjet prints done with pibment inks like Ultrachrome? I've heard that mounting a photo instantly kills its collectible value, but I'm not planning to do limited edition prints anyway.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

Todd, when i have Slide Printer do my prints, I have them go ahead and have them mount the smaller ones and all the larger ones i either Hing mount them myself or take them to a framing specialty shop that knows how to handle the Super glossy polyester Film i have my images printed on.

Scott at Timeframe is very knowledgeable - he does all my stuff and they always turn out beautifully. His shop is in the industrial neighborhood just north of LoDo on Market. I would definitely ask him. If you do call, tell him I sent you.

Thanks, James. When you say hinge-mount, are you referring to taping the top side of a photo and letting gravity do the rest? That's what I've been doing, but I see a little waviness on some of the smaller ones. Perhaps the mass vs. gravity ratio isn't what it needs to be.

I use a center-top hinge mount plus photo corners. For conservation framing, loose mounting like that is supposedly the way to go, and I've had one response from a pro framer who re-matted a print I gave to someone that what I did was "just right".

As to the wavyness, I find that the print "settles in" to the mat after a couple of days. You should also give your UltraChromes a couple of days to "cure" before putting them in a mat; that might make the difference...

I only hinge tape images 16 x 24 and larger,so I have Slide Printer mount the rest. I also use Aarron Brothers for mounting & framing on North Academy Blvd. too!

Todd,
From my brief experience so far, I would recommend mounting on gatorboard for large prints if that is the route you take. This had been recommended to me, but I went ahead and mounted some 30x40's on regular foam core anyway, and I already have a little warping in one of them. so, in the future, i will use the gator for the larger prints. if you don't want to dry mount, then never mind!
chris

Todd, I can't really speak from experience regarding gator mounting, and inkjets. I simply haven't tried it on my own inkjet prints. But I recommend staying away from heat based mounting - which can alter color and paper finish on inkjet prints (esp. gloss), not too mention take decades of life from the print (from what I read recently, while researching the same issue). And I've heard stories of prints buckling/bubbling after only a few years using gator mounting ... again second hand stories (friends and in forums). Maybe others who actually use this method can confirm/deny. I'm sure this varies depending on type of mount/adhesive. Everything I read says to avoid dry mounting for ink jets - at least if you're selling archival prints or in any other way promote the conservation quality of your prints.

I also use hinge mounting, on archival foam board, on all sizes I sell (currently 7x10 to 16x22). My matted/framed prints usually sit for a day or two before I ship and I also notice that they settle a bit. I also stopped trimming the white space around my prints, which helps just a bit as well. Still, I usually see a little bit of waviness - which is acceptable to me. Paper choice is also a big factor. I use Micro Ceramic Luster from inkjetart.com - which shows less waviness than other luster type papers I've used. If you like the lusters, give it a try. I've read that heavier papers like Arches Infinity show little to no waviness.

I happen to think that gator mounted prints look beautiful by the way. They are great for corporate displays too, where longevity usually isn't an issue. I also don't care about collectible value when it comes to mounting (I just don't want them to look bad in 10 years). Adams, Rowell, Weston are a few names that come to mind who relied on dry mounting.

I might have a misconception of what hinge-mounting is. Is it simply running a piece of tape (cloth tape, conservation tape, etc.) along the top side of a print, then attaching it to the back of the mat? Where does this "archival foam board" you speak of come into play, Jesse. I am totally new at developing a matting/framing workflow, so any info helps.

BTW, thanks for the answers so far. I had heard heat might be a problem for inkjet prints, so I guess I'd rather stay away from that except when absolutely needed.

Unfortunately, I don't know if I have much to offer, but I'm interested in the various methods being used.

I've used doublesided mounting tape to attach Hahnemuhle 308 gsm paper to foam core with good results. I've noticed no warping or waviness so far. I've sold maybe half a dozen prints this way, and have another dozen or so hanging up in my house (for about 6 months now).

Hinging prints is a bit different from hinging mats; you don't generally run the tape across the entire surface of the print, but rather in a couple of strategic locations. You can buy 4" hinging strips pre-cut. If your print doesn't have a border, you can create a kind of 'T' with a piece of tape crossed with a reversed piece of tape (tape the "top" to the back of the print, and the base of the T then attaches to the backing...).For me, a single center hinge and the photo corners does the trick . (This allows the print to expand and shrink a bit for sale to different climes; my early experiences at mounting involved attaching the print via the full edge, and when the prints travelled to higher humidities, they wrinkled severely.)

Archival foam core board is available from many suppliers. In small quantities, I get mine from Aaron Brothers; in larger quantities, try redimat.com ($100 minimum purchase...). FoamCor (Crescent Cardboard's tradename) consists of foam-centered, laminated board that has decent stiffness but is quite light; the archival version is 100% acid-free to match conservation mats. Some people don't like it; they say it warps. I've found it to be pretty stable personally.

Visual reference:
http://academic.evergreen.edu/curricular/portfolio/framing.html

Todd, my mount/backing board is archival foam board. Just like traditional foam board (1/4" or 1/8") but made with archival material. Most mat/frame suppliers will sell this stuff.

For adhering my photo to the backing board, I use just a simple line of tape across the top of the print. Another popular tape hinging method is "t-hinging", which you can Google. (Filmoplast white linen tape)

Like Rick, I used double sided tape (Scotch adhesive transfer tape 924) previously to mount my prints, sometimes going so far as to run a strip every inch along the entire back of the print. It eliminated all warping completely, but then I read something once about such adhesive leaching through porous inkjet papers - so I stopped doing that. A single strip of this stuff at the top also does the job, and makes for a neater appearance when the top mat is lifted. But I found the linen tape easier to work with in terms of repositioning, or removing at a later date (i.e. the customer wants a bigger mat/back in the future). This double sided stuff I mentioned is like super glue once it has set.

EDIT: ooops, Les beat me to it ...

Thanks, everyone for all great info in this thread. Is it possible to hinge mount when not using a matte? Sometimes I frame large prints, like 24x30 and above, with no matting so that there's no border between the print edge and the frame. Normally I would use some spacers to seperate the print from the glass and dry mount the print to gaterboard.

Thanks, everyone for all great info in this thread. Is it possible to hinge mount when not using a matte? Sometimes I frame large prints, like 24x30 and above, with no matting so that there's no border between the print edge and the frame. Normally I would use some spacers to seperate the print from the glass and dry mount the print to gaterboard.

Tony - Jesse's framing link covers T-hinging for use without mats.

Les - thanks. I've been farily happy with dry mounting for smaller print size but for the large ones I haven't been very happy with it. I think I'll give hinging a try.

Hey Todd,

I mount my photos to black Gator quite a bit. I primarily started doing this with the lightjet prints and orginally had this done at Reed Photo. Unfortunately it gets a little expensive in the long run, especially if you have them nicely spot mount it in the center of the board. I think they use some sort of adhesive backing sheet to do theirs.

I have also been doing some mounting of my own with 3M Photo spray mount on black gator. It does a nice job and I have seen no ill affects from the adhesive over the course of approx 18 -24 months. 3M states that it is a "pH neutral adhesive" - so I am not sure what I can expect long term. Around the first of the year, I spray mounted a test inkjet print that was from an Epson R2400 (new ultrachromes) on Ilford paper. So far it is holding up nicely. I also like the black gator over the acid free foam core as it has a much more rigid surface. Acid free foam core seems to warp a little easier and the surface gets dinged up very easily.

I sometimes will use a T hinge for images as well - and use Artist's Tape (see below) which is supposedly acid free. This stuff has pretty good adhesion and can be removed later. Don't use the ATG tape as Jesse mentions!

One last note - John Fielder (take him or leave him ) mounts just about all of his work to black gator. Even on his signed, limited edition prints. Some people would say that destroys the value I suppose, so not sure... The way I look at it, it keeps the print in excellent condition for framing/presentation.

http://www.misterart.com/store/view/001/group_id/1225/Pro-Tapes-White-Artist-s-Tape.htm

Hi All,
Having been in the framing business for about seven years, I have tried all methods for mounting photos. Dry mounting is probably the most common and accepted. I don't think that a dry mount will affect the value of photos as it does in other mediums. I switched to having my prints done in matt finsh so I don't get the orange peel look that you get with glossy prints in the dry mount press. Slide printer now has a roller press (they bought it from Pro Lab when they closed) that does a better job mounting glossy than a dry mount press.

I will not put a digital print in a heat press because I've heard horror stories about the results.
There are a couple of cold mounting options. Some shops have vacuum presses that do not use heat to mount prints. Crescent also has a product called Perfect Mount. It is a foam board with a tacky adhesive on one side. I have used this with mixed results. It can be difficult to get a mount without air bubbles. I've seen this product at Guirys.

Hinging or photo corners is always the safest and most archival way to mount. I quite often use artists tape for hinging and put photo corners on the bottom of larger prints in case the
hinging gives.

The most unusual mounting I've done is on Cibachrome ( or whatever it's called now) that has a plastic feel to the paper. Other than hinging, the only other method to use is a static mount. This is done using a 1/4 inch thick piece of acrylic (plexi) and peeling a section of brown protective paper off the size of the print. This creates a static charge and the print sticks to it and flattens out. This method is totally archival. I researched this method when I had a 48 inch pano (by photog Peter Lic - insert Beavis and Butthead laugh here) a customer brought back rolled up from Austrailia I put photo corners on the bottom just in case the static discharges. I've only done this a couple of times, but I didn't have them come back to be remounted.

Anyway, getting back to Todd's original question about mounting prints for for sale. I would recommend hinging with mats in sleeves, or without mats on foam board larger than the print using photo corners in sleeves. Then let the buyer and their framer make the decision.

Check out these folk http://www.picturethissuperior.com/

great to work with

Mike