[Dave]

After visiting a proffesional Framing company today to get my Prints mounted , I was intrigued by the way they "hang" the print by 3-4 small pieces of non acidic tape from the top of the print, in the mount & then add a back to mount to keep things all together. They explained they "hang" the shots , as applying tape all the way round doesn't allow for any expansion of the print vs mount, which usely ends up in buckling of the print/mount.

I raised the query about the mount sprays, but they felt these were messy vs their method , plus if you wanted to re-use mounts, they found with this method the bottom layer of the mount around the bevels often got damaged.

Just wondered what others thought re above ?

[Whipspeed]

Dave, saw this done the other week, I went to a local pro togs studio/shop to show him how to cut mounts as he's not done it before & he mounted his shot that way with the same explaination. I usually tape mine all round, but won't in future due to the expansion problem.

[Rob Barron]

Yup, the point about taping is spot on and worth pointing out.

I tend to make reuseable mounts by leaving one end open with a tiny bevel to make it easier to put the prints in. I keep the frames fairly tight though so as to stop prints moving around.

I rarely mount using spray adhesive unless I am certain it is going to be a permanent mounting. If you do use spray mounts, try this method as it really does give you a much smoother mounting:

Work as though using a contact adhesive. Spray from a reasonable distance (this gets the droplets finer) and leave it for about a minute. Spray the mounting board, already marked with points to aid alignment (NB this method does not allow for repositioning very easily so you need to get it right!) and leave this board for about a minute. Now, take up the print and breath gently all over the mounting board. The moisture in your breath reactivates the adhesive. Hold the print carefully and square to your marking points. Law from top left corner > left side > across the page to bottom right.

IMPORTANT: DO NOT SQUEEZE THE PRINT DOWN YET!.

If you are comfortable that the print is in the right position, take a lint free pad and press gently in the middle of the print. Gently work out from the centre to the edges. You do NOT need to press firmly, it doesn't take a lot to press a piece of paper against a board!

This will leave you with a lovely flat print, correctly mounted, no surface defects, bubbles, etc.

I finish my ink-jet printed pictures by giving them a single spray with 'Ghiant' Satin ink-jet fixative. This gives a superb finish to the picture which also protects the inks from fading as it acts as a UV barrier.

Cheers,
Rob

[Dave Canon]

Dave, there is no easy answer. I use spray glue onto a thin white card. One advantage of this is that it brightens the light areas of the print and is neutral. The card is then taped to the mounting card. I also produce individually sized prints so re-use of mounting cards is not usually possible. This works fine but is wasteful and I have recently started re-using some of my mounting cards. I think I should also consider some of these other mounting methods.

One important point is that, if a picture is displayed in an exhibition for a wekk or two, it dries out in that time. We have found that some materials do not survive. For instance cheap masking tape and celluloid tape deteriorates in less than 1 week and we have had to remove such pictures when they fall to pieces. Spray glue is fine and good quality branded celluloid tape is fine.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by Dave Canon

One important point is that, if a picture is displayed in an exhibition for a wekk or two, it dries out in that time. We have found that some materials do not survive. For instance cheap masking tape and celluloid tape deteriorates in less than 1 week and we have had to remove such pictures when they fall to pieces. Spray glue is fine and good quality branded celluloid tape is fine.

Worth noting by anyone looking to display some shots Tx DC

[mattheww]

With the hanging method, what degree of overlap between the mount and picture do you think? After seen a demonstration I started using the same method, but found that pictures have tended to 'bow' forward. I suspect that this is due to the mount not sufficiently holding the picture in place?

Last year I had 10 prints done from PhotoBox, but got the wrong ones by accident. I was thinking of mounting them up with various different methods. Leave them in various humidity environments and see how they behaviour.

Cheers,
Matthew

[Steve]

I think the spray method will work the best if you are attaching the print to a backing first then placing the mount over the top. That way the print will not expand or contract at different amount to the backing and therefore will not ripple at all. The mount will send sit over the top giving you a professional quality finish that should not deliberate.

If you are attaching the print just to the mount and then displaying that or placing both of them into a frame then the hanging method is probably a much better route to take and should give you better results over a longer period than attaching it with tape all the way around the mount.

I guess which method you chose will depend on how you want to display the shots and if you wish them to be permanently framed/mounted or not.

[Dave]

Well after visiting the Cheltenham Camera club last night, I was told the "professionally" mounted photo's I put in for an exhibition, basically all fell apart Some even started to come apart at the seams shilst being judged

I have to say a huge thankyou to "Dave Canon" who understood this was my 1st time at entering prints for a comp/exhibition & worked with other guys from the club to repair my mounts

So the Pro's don't always know best !!!

[Dave Canon]

Dave, I guess it is worth just saying that the external appearance of the mounts (and of course the pictures) was very good. It was just that some buckled and fell apart. The minor repairs used small pieces of double sided tape which seemed to be very sticky so I hope you will still be able to re-use the mounts.

[Dave]

Yep agreed. I noticed in last nights presentation by Graham Hodgkiss, that looking at the back of his white mounts, there was a grey card outline, then wide tape, followed by what looked like the back of the print ? Couldn't quite figure it out

[Dave Canon]

Dave, from time to time we provide mounting demos at the club; I think that we are overdue for another. However, there are some variations in how various members mount their pictures. I think that once you have a consistent method that works for you, it must be right.

[Dave]

I'll be there