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larger single weight paper - need to dry-mount?

grain elevator

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Hello all,
I've never used single weight papers but am thinking about buying some old ones for lith printing. Aside form some difficulty working with it, I wonder how it can be displayed in larger sizes (12x16 and 16x20) if not mounted to something stiffer. Will it sag forward in the middle if just matted? Getting a dry mount press, especially a large one, is out of the question. Is it at all practical then?
 
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I've never been able to present non-dry mounted prints without them sagging/waving. You're probably going to hear all the arguments about archival / not archival.
 
1. Single weight papers tend to curl quite a bit unless dried in a heated dryer.

2. Dry mounting is quite easy to do with an ordinary household laundry iron--just use a sheet of paper over the print when dry mounting it.
 
voceumana said:
2. Dry mounting is quite easy to do with an ordinary household laundry iron--just use a sheet of paper over the print when dry mounting it.
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Interesting one! I'll try to keep that in mind.

Is there still no "wet" (glue) mounting method that is deemed archival? Hard to imagine in this day and age...

Still hoping for more replies on the original question, has anyone had success just matting single weight paper?
 
16x20 single weight will present a problem in a traditional window mat. The 12x16 *might* be passable, if you printed say an 8x10 image on the sheet. That would leave a 2" border for the window mat to hold onto, if that makes sense to you. You can always do a few mock ups, and see what looks acceptable to you. Humidity, obviously, plays a big roll in how single weight paper behaves.

I framed an exhibition of lumen prints - full bleed! - on 18" x 22" single weight paper. We opted to hinge float the work, so that the entire sheet of paper was shown. It was in a deep enough shadow box (maybe 1.5") so that any curl that took place did not touch the glass. The idea was to showcase the single weight paper as a unique material. Here is an image of the exhibition that might give an idea of what I'm talking about:



You can find tutorials on how to do this sort of framing on youtube:


For "traditional" exhibition, with a window mat, etc... the best option would be dry mounting and then window matting.

There are spray adhesives, like Super 77, although I don't think it would play nice with single weight. I've never tried. There are also options like Crescent Perfect Mount Board, or the like. These are pressure sensitive mounting board. I don't have any experience with those products, as I've always had a dry mount press.

Good luck!
 


Yes" paste is probably more "archival" than mount board or mat board. Used for decades by museum and other graphic arts exhibitors.

Lots of Youtubes.

https://www.staples.com/Yes-Paste-3...clid=ADL-239d0f92-68ce-41ab-8c8c-2bf81ae426d4
 
I only use double weight paper and even that in our high humidity climate will wave. I have a dry mounting press and used to frequently dry mount my prints always on acid free or cotton board. I have pretty much stopped dry mounting because storage can be an issue as well as if something happens to the board such as climate stains you might end up with a worthless print. I sign on the back and use archival corner mounts. If you decide to dry mount consider buying a package of archival mounting tissue and your choice of mat board and prepare the image for mounting and find a framer or photo finisher who has a press and have them do the mounting. It is a heating process and has to be done correctly as well as cooling under weight.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

http://www.sculptureandphotography.com/
 
gorbas said:
It looks great Marco! Well done!
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Hello Goran! I should have been more clear - the work in the exhibition I showed above was done by my colleague Kate Schneider (https://www.kateschneider.net/#/poaceae/) . I only helped with the framing. I had never framed single weight paper that size, and thought it was relevant to the original poster of this thread. It was genuinely beautiful work.
 
Thanks for all the replies.
Yes paste doesn't seem to be sold in Europe, but maybe there's something similar. In fact traditional bone/hide glue as well as starch pastes are chemically very stable and could probably be used to mount, too, however they are real treats for some bacteria, animals and fungi. I'll investigate sprays.
Marco, the floating presentation is great with these prints! But not for everything of course.
I haven't bought the paper, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.
 

If one is anxious about "bacteria, animals and fungi" one should avoid all mount boards etc... aluminum mounts would make sense.

Sprays can be problems because they create rubber cement fogs on prints, very hard to avoid. I did however mount dozens of large Ciba transparencies on rear-illuminated lucite by spraying adhesive directly on their backs. When I was a little sloppy I found it reasonably easy to remove with solvent. Exceptionally beautiful...huge rear-lit transparencies.
 
A linen tape hinge mount with enough T's will keep it from sagging. I've used it on 24x30 and 16x20 super gloss prints. There is a little bit of waviness but it's not distracting.
 
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