Spotting before or after drymounting?

[rjas]

quick question:

Is it best to spot before or after drymounting fiber prints? Does it matter?

 

[Roger Hicks]

quick question:

Is it best to spot before or after drymounting fiber prints? Does it matter?

Not a lot, though there's always the slight risk of dyes 'cooking'. I'd favour after. Frances (who does all the spotting) spots first, then checks again afterwards. Or did, in the days we still drymounted.

 

[GeorgesGiralt]

Hi !
I`m terrible at spotting, so consider my comments accordingly....
I will favor spotting before, as it can ruin the print when not done wisely. So ruining an unmounted print is easier to accept than ruining a "finished and mounted" one .........

 

[Scott Peters]

I spot after I drymount fwiw.

 

[john_s]

.............., in the days we still drymounted.

When I discovered dry mounting (in a heated drymount press), I thought it was the greatest thing ever. My press cost me 2x the cost of my camera. I still dry mount, but it is time consuming to get right. And the press is rammed into my wardrobe when not in use, and that is a nuisance.

May I ask, Roger, what you do now that you don't dry mount?

 

[Bob Carnie]

It is always better to spot before drymounting or for that matter before hot pressing. The emulsion is more receptive to the dyes before heat is applied.

 

[MurrayMinchin]

YIKES-EEE-MOMMA!

It is always better to spot before drymounting or for that matter before hot pressing. The emulsion is more receptive to the dyes before heat is applied.

Bob, you and Roger just rocked my world! This what I get for existing in a vacuum and learning from books I guess. You can bet your life I'll be spotting first (after testing to satisfy any niggling doubts of course) from now on.

Murray

 

[Monophoto]

I spot first. I think read somewhere (many years ago) that because matt board costs almost as much, if not more, than the prime cost of the materials used to make the print, it makes sense to do the spotting first before committing to the additional cost of mounting. But for me, the reason is that a mounted print is physically larger than an unmounted print. When spotting, I want to have the ability to rotate the print at will, and that's easier to do when the unmounted print is smaller.

 

[raucousimages]

After. I like a flat firm print to work on and I am not to worried about messing up a print.

 

[Pinholemaster]

I spot first. If I make a mistake, I can rewash the print, and start over. Can't do that once it's drymounted.

 

[rjas]

Thanks.

I thought the heat after drymounting would react with the spotting dyes but from your experiences it seems thats not a problem.

 

[Jim Jones]

I spot before. A mat board can be inconveniently large. The print can be protected with a mask except for a small area where one spots, but I rarely bother with this.

 

[Tom Duffy]

Spotting is very time consuming; I was taught to drymount first. If you screw up a drymount on a print that you've spent hours spotting, that would be a bummer.

 

[Roger Hicks]

May I ask, Roger, what you do now that you don't dry mount?

Window mounts; the prints are flattened in a book press. BROAD top border; inert tape across top of print (outside image area -- belt and braces) so it 'hangs' in the window; second board behind window.

In all fairness, most of my prints are for publication, so I don't often need to mount, but that's what I do for display.

Cheers,

Roger