Mount Press work area tips

[PKM-25]

Hi,

I now have use of my Seal 500T-X mount press and want to outfit the work area with the usual needed equipment. I am not planning on making the over mats yet, but want to mount prints.

Besides a mount press and tacking iron, what are some needed materials and tools for this?

Tips?

 

[cliveh]

Mount press and tacking iron, isn't this a bit old technology? what's wrong with self adhesive foam board?

 

[Konical]

Good Evening PKM,

Release paper is a virtual necessity. For small prints, you can use the backing material from address label sheets such as Avery. A flat, heavy weight can also come in handy to keep mounted material flat. For mounting RC prints, some Seal test strips help with temperature adjustment, although small snippets of RC material can also be used; just keep the temperature hot enough to do the job without causing damage (easy to see) to the material.

Konical

 

[Rafal Lukawiecki]

Air for dusting prints, or a gentle brush. Timer. Good trimmer. Shot bags/drafting weights for holding a positioned print on the board while you tack it. Rulers/t-square or a jig for positioning and centering. Something flat and heavy for pressing down on the mounted print as it cools down. Maybe a stamp. Have a read of the mounting section in "The Print" by AA.

I don't use release paper. I use two mats above and one below, prints never stick to the above boards, as long as they've been predried, and so has to be the mat board.

Enjoy the perfect look.

 

[rorye]

As Rafal says, pre dry the boards.
Lately I've been using the Bienfang tissue which seals upon cooling and must say I'm not getting great results with it, corners are lifting. I'm still troubleshooting that tissue issue.

 

[Rafal Lukawiecki]

I assume you used Buffermount. I use Colormount tissue, and this problem is rare, Rorye, but if it happens, I cool down the press to about 80C, put the print back in for about 4 mins. Helps with "edge-long dimple" issue, too, which I mentioned here a while ago.

Are you letting your mounted prints cool down under some pressure? Should help.

 

[rorye]

Hi Rafal, thanks for the tip. I used to use Colormount and never had the issue, it only came up when I switched to Buffermount so I was planning to switch back. It sounds like I don't let the press cool down enough before I put the print back in.

 

[wildbill]

release paper is fine but you need to keep it clean. I use parchment paper (under a sheet of mat board) in sheets which is dirt cheap and can be tossed if it gets dirty or wrinkled. I also do not own a tacking iron. I just never got around to buying one but the regular iron I use works pretty well, just a little large for the task. I use shot bags for weight on top of something flat, Having a piece (or two) of 3/4"mdf to put on top of the mounted print is handy too since it will remain pretty flat over time. It's also the heaviest thing around. 3/4" gator board works well too if you have enough weights.

 

[Erik L]

You'll want a paper trimmer to trim print to final mount size once the tissue is tacked to the back of the print. I use a cheap iron bought from a hobby shop. I buy tissue in rolls to have any size available I need. Like Wildbill I use parchment paper from the local grocery store for a release paper and put mount under a 2 ply Matt board while in the press. If I have many prints to mount at a time I take each print out of hot press and put between two sheets of 1/4 inch plate glass (it's the flattest stuff I have, other flat surface should work fine) with a 20 lb barbell on it. If I'm only doing a single print, I'll just turn the press off and let the mount cool in the press which always give flawless mounts with no edge lifting which can sometimes happen. In our climate I don't find it necessary to pre dry the mounts unless you have bought the Matt board recently from a source that has a humid climate and it is still sealed up in plastic not allowing it to dry out.
I find it easier to tack the print to the mount board by eye. Just line up the over Matt on the mount and stick the print where it needs to be and tack it down. Much less time than measuring out lines and such. I don't mind cutting my own over matts, it's pretty simple once you do it a few times but if all your prints are uniform in size a pre cut overmatt makes sense because you don't really save much except you can often use the cut out from the overmatt to use a mounts for smaller prints when you do it yourself.
I'm sure after you do the whole mounting thing, you'll pick it up pretty quickly - it really is simple. Here's a pic of the parchment and tack iron I use if it might be useful.
Good luck...

 

[wildbill]

what brand/model is that tacking iron?

 

[Erik L]

what brand/model is that tacking iron?

Here's a link. http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/WTI0001P?I=LXHZ28&P=8

I think it's used for making model planes?

 

[PKM-25]

Thanks everyone. The 500T is a pretty big press so I might be inclined to gang mounting together and then let it cool. I am looking at a Rotatrim but above 24" they start to get pretty expensive so I think for now to both save space and money I will get a Mastercut 24", the biggest print size I plan to deal with for now is 20x24".

I fired up the press yesterday and flattened some prints, it worked great, temp setting matched the temp gauge so all is good. Pretty excited about this new office / finish area / retail space right in town...now it just has to pay off...

 

[Erik L]

Thanks everyone. The 500T is a pretty big press so I might be inclined to gang mounting together and then let it cool. I am looking at a Rotatrim but above 24" they start to get pretty expensive so I think for now to both save space and money I will get a Mastercut 24", the biggest print size I plan to deal with for now is 20x24".

I fired up the press yesterday and flattened some prints, it worked great, temp setting matched the temp gauge so all is good. Pretty excited about this new office / finish area / retail space right in town...now it just has to pay off...

Are you opening up a gallery?

 

[Bob Carnie]

Humidity control is good for fibre prints . Helps big time.

 

[PKM-25]

Are you opening up a gallery?

Not really a gallery as much as a office for my business that will have some point of sale. The monthly rent is cheap as I am splitting it with a friend. But I do work with local galleries and have a few business ideas in mind that could fit under the umbrella of this one....

Now I am looking at Logan mat cutter prices, any recomendations on which one? lol!

 

[Erik L]

Mount Press work area tips…

Good luck with that... I can't imagine what rents are like up there. Here's a link to a simple Logan cutter, it's not what a professional framer would use but is perfectly adequate for lower volume Matt cutting as well as allowing you to cut down full sheets of board. You could go smaller if you don't need to cut down full sheets. Of course you could spend a whole lot more and get better quality construction from other manufacturers, but the matts will look the samehttp://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004V...dxNvZMtwDmd5e8caVrJQlCcJSAPAUqVAI7Uw0qVAf/9k=

 

[Erik L]

Forgive the long link, I just cut and pasted

 

[PKM-25]

Good luck with that... I can't imagine what rents are like up there.

I am looking at the 32" Logan at B&H for $99, will max out with my 20x24" prints, which will not be very many at first. The space is killer, right on Main St. & got a year lease with my buddy who runs a marketing company, $350 a head per month, I can deal with that....

Still in the layout stages, the Tom Benton original on the back wall matches his business logo..

 

[Erik L]

Good for you, you'd pay quadruple that price for a space on Main Street down here

I use that cutter myself but I don't mat anything larger than 16x20 with my equipment. If you need borders larger than 4 1/2 inches you either need a different cutter or improvise a solution. That cutter stores in a box a couple inches thick by 30 some inches - easy to store behind a door out of the way.

Gotta love the black canyon! One of my favorite and most successful prints is of the painted wall...

 

[Rafal Lukawiecki]

Now I am looking at Logan mat cutter prices, any recomendations on which one? lol!

PKM-25, unless you are experienced or gifted when it comes to sizing board and cutting mats, I'd suggest you steer clear of the simpler, hobby-style cutters, and get a professional one, just as you have done going for a pro press. If your eyes are set on a Logan, the only one I'd consider is 850 Platinum Edge Pro. I know it, but I don't use it. My preferred and current cutter is Fletcher F 2200, and I'd happily recommend it. If you keep your eye on the second-hand market, occasionally those can be had for about half their new price. Generally they hold their value. I'd also consider F-2100, an older C&H, or if you are in EU, a good Valliani. A pro cutter not only means saved frustration, but also saving of a ton of pricey board.

While browsing cutters, may I suggest you have a look at the APUG of framing: http://www.thegrumble.com

PS. A 40" cutter will let you buy bigger board sizes which you could size down yourself, saving a lot, and improving quality. A 32" will limit you, especially as some of the nicer board comes as 33x46, in EU, which lets you get 4 of 16x20" with a margin for off-cuts, vital when squaring never-square-to-start-with material, or cutting off crumpled edges. Of course, if you plan to only buy pre-cut board, or large sheets which are precisely 32x40, which can be wasteful if you aim for 16x20, this point is moot.

PPS. F2200 is a larger machine, but you could hang it on a door for storage, as I've seen others do. Bear in mind, that if you size board down, you need to square it, and that takes time and some material, avoidable if you didn't have to detach the squaring arm while putting it away. If you have a ton of cash, a wall-mounted CMC would do the trick, too.

 

[PKM-25]

I hear you Rafal but my point of sale prints will generally be matted to 8x10 and 11x14 precut 4 ply in bins so the smaller and far less expensive Logan will easily take care of that. For larger pieces matted to 16x20 and above I will tend towards 8 ply mats and have the frame shop two blocks away do that, far more economical in the bigger picture sense.

Once I have a permanent space at home for a proper finishing area, I can put the money into an expensive mat cutter. I only paid $100 for the press by the way, it was during the worst part of the Great Recession when an entire framing chain was going out of business...

 

[Mr Bill]

If you're fairly new to mounting, you can learn a lot from Henry Wilhelm's 1993 book, The Permanence and Care of Color Photographs: Traditional and Digital Color Prints, Color Negatives, Slides, and Motion Pictures.

See especially Chapter 11: "Print Mounting Adhesives and Techniques...", starting from page 377. It's available here: Dead Link Removed

From your photo, I think some of the first things you're going to want are better work lights and some sort of bins to hold your mount board and the like. Good lighting is important to make sure there is no loose debris under the print; even small particles can make your print unsaleable.

 

[Rafal Lukawiecki]

PKM-25, let's hope the Great Recession would send a $100 professional cutter your way.

+1 Mr Bill. A strong, positionable task light, plus good ambient lighting, are a must in my space when I am mounting. I use a Luxo-style lamp with two types of bulb in the head, incandescent/halogen and a CFL.

 

[MattKing]

From out in left field: Dead Link Removed

I have a used one that I paid almost nothing for, that works very well. It has the same size limitations as the inexpensive Logan model you linked to.

The model 4590 is much more heavy duty and professional, but it costs $400.00 from the (Central Washington state) manufacturer.

If you can find a model 4505 used or new-old stock somewhere, it can handle larger borders and sheets of mat board.

 

[PKM-25]

Additional ighting is a given for my work area but in the day natural light is super plentiful so it all depends on what time I am in there.

I have a signed copy of Wilhelm's book from when I had dinner with him the day Dwayne's shut down the Kodachrome line, will take a look at it...