Press Flattening: Does Matboard surface matter?

[clayne]

Besides the obvious (it shouldn't be like sandpaper) will the texture of the matboard affect the print's appearance after pressing? I.e., is it imparted on the print surface or doesn't really matter?

I bring this up because I'm wondering if a smoother surface will cut down on orange peel of pressed prints.

 

[Martin Reed]

A lot of it is down to moisture; there's an influence from the cover paper or board, which should be well dried before starting the session. During flattening I think residual moisture in the print escapes into the cover material, and the texture of this board or paper tends to offset onto the surface of the print being mounted. So the smoother the cover the better, but don't use silicon release paper, it blocks moisture escaping & can give nasty mottling.

 

[Ian Grant]

After pressing, steaming over a pan or kettle of boiling water with papers like MCC, Polywarmtone gives a nice semi gloss, but don't cook your fingers . Martin's comments make sense, I've always used matt board, well for the last 30 yeras anyway.

Ian