Spray Adhesive & Fibre Based Paper

[andrewmoodie]

I'm going to be putting together a temporary portfolio of pictures (all around the size 9.5 x 12 inches) going onto A3 card that will go into plastic sleeves. The prints I've got were all dried on a flat dryer and are a bit warped but nothing serious. Will a thorough blast of spray adhesive on the back and a couple of telephone books pressing it down give a print a good good flat mount? Or should I loosen the prints up first with a mild go of a steam iron? Any hints will be welcome.

 

[geraldatwork]

My first suggestion would be to try to get access to a dry mount press. You said temporary portfolio so I assume you know the spray mounting method is not archival. That said, the spray process should work for you. If I recall correctly I used the spray adhesive process about 35 years ago when I was a student and wanted to flat mount my fiber prints for school projects. Just read the directions and experiment with a print you don't care about first. Experiment with spraying the print then mounting and the board then mounting see which works best. Always start with one edge and work to wards the opposite side so you have less chance of air bubbles It should work fine and hold flat for a reasonable amount of time. I think mine held for at least a few years.

 

[John McCallum]

Do you find the dry mount press gives a flat FB print? (haven't seen a dmp in action).

 

[geraldatwork]

I think flat is a relative word. I dry my prints after final wash in a canvas dryer and the result is a basically flat print with sometimes a slight curl at the edges. Not sure if people would consider this flat or not. Certainly not as flat as RC prints. Since I dry mount my prints to archival board there is no need for me to flatten the prints further before final mounting.

 

[John McCallum]

I think flat is a relative word. I dry my prints after final wash in a canvas dryer and the result is a basically flat print with sometimes a slight curl at the edges. Not sure if people would consider this flat or not. Certainly not as flat as RC prints. Since I dry mount my prints to archival board there is no need for me to flatten the prints further before final mounting.

Thanks Gerald. I think I know the result you get drying your FB prints. Pardon the ignorance, but does the dry mount actually adhere the print to the archival board? Wondering if you lose the slight undulating surface of the print in the process. regards, John.

 

[glbeas]

If you be sure and cook the mount board a while in the press to dry it out you will usually get very good flatness, thicker board is more prone to be flatter too.

You have to be sure the print and mount have no particles adhering or risk having some uniqueness in the topography of your print.

The drymount uses a hotglue impregnated tissue to adhere the print to the mount surface. It's a nice clean process unlike spraymount, which has a tendency to go places you'd rather it not be.

 

[geraldatwork]

John, I think Gary answered your question perfectly. I was patient and looked for a DMP for a while on ebay. I picked up a lower end Seal unit for around $150 or so and the shipping was only another $30. My best darkroom investment. Without getting into a discussion if dry mounting is totally archival, as opinions differ, I don't think many will argue that a dry mounted print looks best.

The next day after a printing session I find it easy to just trim the better prints and dry mount them in the optical center of a larger board. They make a great simple presentation that way. If later on I want to make a more formal presentation I just cut a mat over the previously mounted print.

 

[John McCallum]

Sounds really good. Does it give an archival result as well?

edit: oops think you got in before me Gerald and answered the question