Wet mounting prints

[richard ide]

Does anyone wet mount prints these days?

Thank you

 

[Dan Henderson]

What is "wet mounting?"

 

[Ian Grant]

You mount a print like you'd hang wall paper, often with wall paper paste. A major problem is the paper shrinks as it dries bowing the support so the technique has largely gone out of fashion.

It was used to mount mural paper onto walls etc and worked best with single weight papers.

Ian

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

I've been experimenting a bit with archival wheat starch paste from Lineco for albumen prints, which are on very thin paper and curl more than gelatin prints. Haven't quite gotten it down to a science yet.

If you look at Reilly's albumen book at albumen.stanford.edu, there's a method described for archival starch mounting, which involves gluing the print to a thin substrate, like an uncoated sheet of the same paper as the paper the print is printed on, then using corner or hinge mounting to attach the print to the backing board, as is the norm in conservation circles these days.

 

[rmolson]

Years ago a lab I worked in wet mounted display prints which were quite large. We would wet mount butcher paper to the back of the Masonite to counter the bending of the photos when they died.

 

[kompressor]

Im about to test wetmounting barryha paper to aluminum plates. Just looking for the right kind of glue.

 

[richard ide]

I think you may run into a problem as I do not think any waterbase adhesives will adhere to the aluminum. They might initially but there is really no good mechanical bond. You could try sanding the aluminum first which would improve the adhesion somewhat. Contact cement (solvent base) works but your print would need to be quite flat. You could also mount the print on thin card and then mount. Good luck.

 

[dancqu]

Any Comments?

Some instructions I've encountered:

In a nut shell: Wet the print then squeegee dry by
roller. Apply glue to the mat board. I suppose wheat
or rice past would do although directions indicate
a synthetic organic glue.

Position then secure the print on the mat board.
A second sheet is secured on the mat's back;
warp prevention. Dan

 

[richard ide]

I have wet mounted many prints. I just wondered if anyone still did it.

 

[BenjaminAustin]

Wet Mounting for gum printing

I'm having a small amount of luck wet mounting my paper to alu-panel (composite board made from two aluminium sheets sandwiching some kind of plastic)

I mount them to help with registration.

I soak the paper, let it drip a while, spray the back with gum arabic, then lay it on the board. I tape the edges with watercolour gum tape.

Stays put for about 3 or so layers.

B

 

[artonpaper]

I too worked in a lab where we wet mounted prints to masonite. The prints were wet fiber based, mounted with wall paper paste. There was about an inch or so extra around the edges and we would wrap the the edges around the board. This technique can't be archival. I would use heat and foam core these days.

 

[AndreasT]

Until recently I worked in a lab here in Berlin. We wet monuted prints on Aluminiun using rice starch. Firstly the aluminium board was sanded well so that the starch can grip on the board. The print was placed wet on the board and flattened with a roll. Overnight it dried and was flat as a babys bottom. For me the nicest way of mounting a print. A bit expensive though. We made prints in the size of about 140x210 cm.
I have also mounted prints on mat board. Sometimes the mat board tore itself apart because the tension of the dried print was stronger than mat glueing.
Long, long ago I mounted dry prints, using glue, on mat board. Putting the glueon the board.
The mounted prints wanted to curl up as mentioned in a post before.
I framed the prints anyway because I had an exebihition. Everthing was fine and afterward when I removed the prints out of the frames, they were perfectly flat,unto this day over ten years later.
It works but can be frustating.
I am still working on optimising it.

 

[crumpet8]

Until recently I worked in a lab here in Berlin. We wet monuted prints on Aluminiun using rice starch. Firstly the aluminium board was sanded well so that the starch can grip on the board. The print was placed wet on the board and flattened with a roll. Overnight it dried and was flat as a babys bottom. For me the nicest way of mounting a print. A bit expensive though. We made prints in the size of about 140x210 cm.
I have also mounted prints on mat board. Sometimes the mat board tore itself apart because the tension of the dried print was stronger than mat glueing.
Long, long ago I mounted dry prints, using glue, on mat board. Putting the glueon the board.
The mounted prints wanted to curl up as mentioned in a post before.
I framed the prints anyway because I had an exebihition. Everthing was fine and afterward when I removed the prints out of the frames, they were perfectly flat,unto this day over ten years later.
It works but can be frustating.
I am still working on optimising it.

Hey Andreas,

Nice site, some nice landscapes on there I was wondering if you were able to send me more details about this wet mounting technique? Was the mixture made from powder? Ratio for the mixture and how much is used?