mounting platinum prints

Chris Fraser · Jul 27, 2005

I am wondering about mounting platinum prints? I do drymount all of my FB silver gelatin work and wouldnt have it any other way. I use Techmount TM4 Drymount Tissue. It is acid free, buffered and removable (and I have removed prints after mounting. Can Platinum prints take the heat from drymounting, 75°C - 90°C range? The prints are small 4x5 so they could probably get away with just flattening (again in the heated press?) and hinge mounting. But I do prefer drymounting as the humidity around here will likely cause them to ripple if they are not. Regards - Chris

Joe Symchyshyn · Jul 27, 2005

Chris Fraser said:
Can Platinum prints take the heat from drymounting, 75°C - 90°C range?... ...But I do prefer drymounting as the humidity around here will likely cause them to ripple if they are not. Regards - Chris

Can they take the heat? Sure... Assuming they're made on paper.

As for your preference, It's your work... go for it. Traditionally, I think many people don't mount them, but to each his own...

joe

matt miller · Jul 27, 2005

in my limited experience I find that the paper used for pt/pd printing does not suffer rippling & waving from humidity like silver gelatin papers do. It stays pretty flat. I understand that hinge mounting is the way to go with pt/pd prints.

Peter Schrager · Jul 27, 2005

Plat print

Press the print at around 200 degrees. No need to mount Platinum-Matt is right it will stay flat with the hinge.
Peter

Joe Lipka · Jul 27, 2005

I have always used hinges made with a dimensionally stable substrate and pH neutral adhesive. Scotch magic mending tape! I usually have a significan border around the image, so those of you out there having an archival conniption fit can rest easy.

Learned this from Rob Steinberg way back when I first started platinum printing.

User Removed · Jul 28, 2005

Just yesterday, I was drymounting a few of my platinum prints. There is not many people who drymount platinums, but I took a workshop from Kim Weston (grandson of Edward Weston) and he drymounts his prints. He likes to trim the print like you would a normal silver print. By doing this, you can cut an overmat window AROUND the prints edge, instead of the window going into the image. I think when a print has a 1/4"-1/2" border around it, it looks very nice.

I also drymount my platinums because then you dont have to worry of your print ever becoming separated from the overmat which has your signature. Sure, I sign the print also...but I prefer to sign the mount between the prints edge and the window mat.

I drymount them for about 2 minutes, at 200degrees.

The only think you have to be careful of is when you trim the print, the edges of the print are easily chipped. Also keep a peice of buffered tissue over the print surface when it is not framed.

Ryan McIntosh

Chris Fraser · Jul 28, 2005

McPhotoX Are you saying Kim trims the print to the edge of the image, removing any Platinum border (resulting from puddle pushing or brushing)? The cuts the mat so it is ¼ away from the edge of the print?

User Removed · Jul 28, 2005

Chris,

Exactly. When I took a nude/platinum workshop from him last year, that is how they were presented. I own a few of his prints also, and they are presented in this manor as well.

I was still learning how to platinum print, so I asked him if it is proper to mat around the brushmarks. I dont remember his exact works, but he said that the brush marks are just part of the process and not really part of the image, and that they look messy and should be removed.

With my personal photography, I drymount all prints, and leave a 1/2" border around the prints edge. It makes for a nice window and holds your eye inside the image. It also gives a place to sign, rather then the overmatt which is completly separate from the actual photograph! I also dont like to window mat INTO the image, because sometimes the presure of being in a frame have left an indent or line in the print surface.

Give it a try with one of your platinum prints and see how you like it!

Ryan McIntosh

Chris Fraser · Jul 29, 2005

Interesting I will likely give this method a try this weekend and I think it will look quite nice. I am however a fan of the platinum border as I feel it adds to the atmosphere to the image (when done correctly). My biggest concern with trimming up to the edge of the image is that (as with silver gelatin) it is good practice to leave a border beyond the image for archival purposes. Thus allowing the edge to be trimmed, without cutting into the image, in the event it were ever damaged or degraded from pollutants. It also slows pollutants from getting to the image (from the edge). Do you ever have a problem with messing looking prints from a not so perfect trim or the small pieces of drymount tissue pulling out? Regards - Chris

User Removed · Jul 29, 2005

Chris, I mount all my prints on Alpharag Artcare board, so I have no worries about any degrading of the image over time. Take a look at http://www.superiorarchivalmats.com/ for more information and a test done with Alpharag board. I think you will find it quite interesting.

I have a several Adams and Westons prints that date back to the 30's, and they are drymounted in this manor as well. The prints mounted on quality, acidfree, archival board...are still in perfect condition. However, one of my Weston print that is drymounted on non-archival board has started to "silver" around the edges of the print, giving the surface a metallic looking finish.

I was told by photographer Randy Efros (former Brett Weston assistant) that the paper that I platinum print is made on...will degrade BEFORE the platinum coating! I have never seen a platinum print change colors, fade, silver ect. Platinum prints are one of the most archival prints made!

Anyways, I tack the drymount tissue to the back of the print BEFORE trimming it, so I have never had a problem of tissue showing. Just make sure you use quality mount board (preferably AlphaRag Artcare board). The only problem that I can think of with drymount a platinum print, is that the paper is VERY thick and when someone is handling the print they must be careful not to catch their fingernail on the prints edge.

Ryan McIntosh

User Removed · Jul 29, 2005

Chris, Also...read the article by Michael Smith on the website link above.

If your ever interested in doing a print exchange for one of my platinum or silver prints, let me know.

Ryan McIntosh

Kerik · Jul 29, 2005

To each his/her own, of course. Do what makes you happy. There's no definitive right and wrong on this. But, I never dry mount pt/pd prints. A couple reasons for this. One is I like to be able to easily remove the artwork from the support (mat). Makes it much easier if you need to transport alot of prints and don't want to lug 50 lbs of matboard. But it's also an aesthetic choice for me. I like to see some evidence of the hand-made, even if it's hidden under the mat (I rarely show brush strokes in the window). And, most papers that are commonly used for pt/pd stay flat easily without having to glue them down. Some of the thinner papers and vellums can get a little wavy with temp and humidity changes. I've gotten around this with vellums by dry-mounting the vellum to a heavier sheet of paper like Arches of Fabriano or Stonehenge, trimming down to the size of the vellum, then corner mounting that to the mat board. This effectively creates a 140 lb vellum with a super-smooth surface, and it's still easily removed from the support.

Just another point of view. Definitely do whatever you prefer. No one will ever care as much about your work or how you do it as you do.

Best,
Kerik
www.kerik.com

sanking · Jul 30, 2005

Kerik said:
Some of the thinner papers and vellums can get a little wavy with temp and humidity changes. I've gotten around this with vellums by dry-mounting the vellum to a heavier sheet of paper like Arches of Fabriano or Stonehenge, trimming down to the size of the vellum, then corner mounting that to the mat board. This effectively creates a 140 lb vellum with a super-smooth surface, and it's still easily removed from the support.

Just another point of view. Definitely do whatever you prefer. No one will ever care as much about your work or how you do it as you do.

Best,
Kerik
www.kerik.com

I like Kerik's solution of dry mounting vellum to a heaver sheet of paper. Prints on these papers are otherwise very fragile and mounting to a heavier paper will almost certainly give them greater archival stability.

A fair amount of my carbon images are placed on a final suppor that is a single weight photographic paper. I dry mount the prints to a heavier art paper with full confidence that they will have a better chance of surviving in this configuration than if left just on the single weight paper, which is like vellum quite fragile.

Sandy

Chris Fraser · Aug 10, 2005

I ended up using my drymount press to flatten the prints and archival corner mounts to mount the prints... It worked very well... Thanks for all the comments and suggestions.

Ryan, I definitely interested in a print exchange! I'll email you tonight to discuss....

Thanks -

mounting platinum prints

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