Dry mount tissues???

William Levitt · Oct 26, 2002

I've finally purchased a Seal Commercial 210 mounting press, and am now in need of advice concerning the type of mounting tissue to use. I will be mounting Azo 8X10" prints (single weight) as well as double weight 11X14" prints, also baryt paper.

I would welcome advice concerning the type of tissue, manufacturers and any economical sources (european as well as American) for the products. I was just at LightImpressions web site and see that they have their own lable of tissues which are substancially less expensive than the origional Seal. Anybody have experience with these tissues?

A last question which may sound silly but here goes. Are there any substitutions for a tacking iron? Can you use a soldering iron? And if I bought an origional tacking iron in the US, for about $50, (110 V) would it be possible to use in Germany (220V) (where the same item costs almost $150!!!) by merely changing the plug? I mean, it's only a piece of metal that heats up when electric current runs through it. No motors or electronics to worry about, right? (I told you it would sound dumb...)

Thanks for any and all advice!

Jorge · Oct 26, 2002

William congratulations, I have had one for many years and I love it. So here goes. I used Kodak mounting tissue type II but unfortunatelly it is not very common so it is hard to find. I changed to the Seal archival mounting tissue and it works great. I liked the Kodak because it is a little bit thicker base and it would be great for Azo. The Seal will work great and you can remove the print if you mess up the board. Since I have not used the Light impressions tissue I am unable to tell you if it is good.

If you go to the photo techniques web site look under their "new products" file and you will see a tacking iron made by Vermark International. It seems these are the same people who make the Zone VI tacking iron, it is great, it slips just under the print and it is very simple to regulate the temperature. I would recommend this over the Seal tacking iron a 100 times. I have both and I love the little one. Since this is only a heating element it might work as you say and not give you too high a temperature. Which is what would worry me if the voltage was higher.

BTW you owe me a review of the Bergger contact paper.....

William Levitt · Oct 26, 2002

Thanks Jorge.
Do you have the URL for photo techniques (Vermark International)?
I hadn't though about the fact that the higher voltage might result in a higher temperature.

As far as the Bergger paper is concerned, I was mistaken. I was not given a sample of the contact paper, but rather a package of VC paper and 2 packs of graded paper, numbers 2 and 3.

This much I can say about the Bergger paper. I was not impressed enough to make the change from my "standard" baryt paper, which is Kodak Polycontrast Fine Art, and now that I'm getting into Azo for my contact prints, which are about 85% of my work anyways, the kodak paper will be seeing less and less use in my darkroom. But as I always say, choosing a B/W paper is like choosing a mate....there is a right one out there for everyone.

Thanks Jorge!

Hey, how about hooking up an American tacking iron to a soldering iron voltage regulator??? That would still be a lot cheaper than springing for a european (220V) one.

Jorge · Oct 26, 2002

Thank William....
Ah heck, the have removed the September/October magazine so you wont be able to see it. Tell you what go to the Calumet site and they have the Zone VI iron which is identical. Since they have an Eurpoean store they might have it in 220V.

I think the URL is http://www.calumet.com

Ah hell, how do you go from Calumet to Kraft?? anyways I got you the correct URL now.....

http://www.calumetphoto.com/syrinx/ctl?PAG...atTree.detail=y

William Levitt · Oct 26, 2002

Thanks Jorge, I found it.

Strangly enough, they do not specify it's voltage, but that's probably because they assume that if you're buying from the UK store, you'll be wanting a 220V item.
It does look like a modified soldering iron at that. But the price of 34,95 pounds which is about 55 Euros is quite acceptable. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

Jorge · Oct 26, 2002

Sorry for the wrong URL....by the time I corrected it you had found it. Anyways I think you will be very happy with the iron.

Sean · Oct 26, 2002

It should be the right voltage because a shop here sells many Zone VI products that are 220v. If it's not you can pick up a regulator from an electronics shop. The regulators here are around 20US dollars.

William Levitt · Oct 28, 2002

Hi Ross,

I just got an Email from Calumet saying that the tacking iron was 110V and not 220V as I had hoped and or assumed. I always thought Englands standard was 220V.

If anybody out there has a source for a 220V, reasonably priced tacking iron, please let me know.

Thanks!

William Levitt · Oct 30, 2002

Just to wrap things up. Calumet never returned my emails asking about the voltage of their tacking iron, so I moved on to Silver Print in the UK. They too have a similar unit, and it's 240V and is the same price as the Calumet unit. So the order has been placed.

Thanks for the assisitance!

William Levitt · Nov 4, 2002

I received the tacking iron today. K, it's just what I ordered, and the shape of the "foot" will make it easy to get under the corners of the print in order to tack it to the board. But I have to say, this "tacking iron" is really nothing more than a glorified soldering iron

(exactly what I had thought it might be) and as such, the Euro 50,00 seems to be more than it's worth.

Had I known this in the first place, I would have gone to the hardware store and bought a regular soldering iron for under Euro 10.00.

Live and learn...But I must say, the service from Silver Print in the UK was excellent. Fast and well packed.

baronfoxx · Nov 13, 2002

I have been offline for several weeks due to a major computer failure and will now add my two cents worth.
1, the 110v 60hz USA tacking iron will NOT work on the european 220v 50 hz system, it will get extremely hot and fail totally within 20 seconds.

2, The uk system is 230 v but most of the rest of europe is 220v both use 50hz.

3, A soldering iron will not substitute for a tacking iron as the tip temerature on a soldering iron is around 140 / 170 degrees Celsius and mounting tissue melts at 80 to 90 degrees Celsius. (Americans will have to convert to Farenheight , or join the real world?)

4, using a soldering iron to tack the tissue to the back of a print will heat damage the emulsion of the print, I speak from bitter experience.

William Levitt · Nov 13, 2002

Hi Baronfoxx,

I bought a tacking iron from silverprint in the UK with a scepter tip. It is labeled as being 25 watts. The manufacturer Litesold and the instructions both refer to this "tacking iron" as a soldering iron. The manufacturers Homepage also shows this identical "tacking iron" and called it a soldering iron with a "melting tip" (sceptre tip). No way does it reach the temperature of a normal soldering iron (400°C) though.

Who knows. It is labled as 240V, I had to replace the UK plug with a German plug and it works like a charm.

baronfoxx · Nov 13, 2002

Hi to you william
My estimate of the soldering iron temperature is based on the melting point of soft multi-core solder, if the iron is left on unused I can see that it may well reach 400deg "c".

I now use the wifes domestic iron for tacking the tissue to the back of the prints, both RC and FB. and it works fine.
I am thinking of buying her a new one for xmas!!!

fineart · Nov 28, 2002

Hi William,

I think a 220 converter should work well for any stuff made for American 110V current. There may be a problem with a tacking iron if the thermostat is electronic. Our Tacking Iron has a mechanical thermostat that should not be affected. Don't use a soldering iron! One tacking iron we looked at is actually a woodburning tool with a teflon tip on it. When I tested it, the tissue and the print melted and smoked! Beware - another supplier we all know and love is selling that tacking iron!

Fine Art Photo Supply now sells dry mount tissue and mount board - both will be on the website in a few days in an expanded workroom section of products. The mount board is high quality, and less than the stuff I used to buy at Light Impressions.

Our tissue is the same as everyone else's. At 170 degrees, one minute should give you a good bond. I pre-heat 2 pieces of mount board, and sandwich the print/tissue/board between them. Bend two opposite corners outward after removing the mounted print. If the print corners stay down tight, you're okay. I place the mounted print between two pieces of plate glass while it cools.

Prints fixed in hardening fixer are much more difficult to mount than those fixed in non-hardening fixers. Alkaline pH fixer is best of course...

Anthony Guidice
www.fineartphotosupply.com

William Levitt · Nov 28, 2002

Hi Anthony,
thanks for the information.

Finally, I've got my darkroom and mounting room set up just the way I want it, from film loading to mounting, matting and framing. And of course everything is set up for the German 220V /50Hz. So I should be jumping for joy, right?! It should be hovering somewhere a top the list of things for which to be thankful on the Thanksgiving day, right??? So what do I go and do??? I sell my house and will be moving back to the land of 110V (yep, the USA) in the Spring.

Can you say "starting from scratch"???

baronfoxx · Dec 14, 2002

further to my post in november regarding tacking irons, I was lucky to win last week on e-bay an Ademco 230v iron for £15.00 with a cetified mercury thermometer thrown in for good value.
I always keep a watch on the photo auctions and things I am looking for usually turn up.

Dry mount tissues???

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