Framing Photographs

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cebrooker
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Framing Photographs

Post by cebrooker »

I have been T-hinging photographs and keep hearing of dry mounting etc. Should I be changing my technique and is it going to cost me a fortune?! What are the benefits of the different methods?

Thanks,
Charles
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prospero
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Re: Framing Photographs

Post by prospero »

All dry mounting means is sticking the photos to something more rigid, usually thick card.
The process uses glue-impregnated paper or sometimes sticky plastic which works with heat
and pressure to bond the board/photo together permanently. This is opposed to wet mounting
which utilises liquid glue.

It's generally a sound enough practice, but it's a one-way process. Depending on the photo it
may not be desirable to mount it, e.g. if it has historical significance or is a thing of intrinsic
value. A general rule of thumb is not to dry mount anything you can't replace.

To do dry mounting properly you would need a certain amount of quite expensive kit. :?
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Re: Framing Photographs

Post by David McCormack »

Hi Charles,

for the photos that are printed on the glossy or lustre type resin coated paper (from the likes of Photobox etc.) I've always T-hinged them in the past but much prefer the platform mount now (search the FF). I think some photographers still like the idea of their prints being mounted on card as this is how it was always done, you do get a very flat looking print.

The simplest way of mounting to card is to use self adhesive board and a hand roller which requires no fortune or investment!! For small prints this will be ok but for larger prints and larger quantities of work you would do well to invest in a roller press such as the Jetmounter... they often come up for sale on the FF.

The platform mount is totally reversible and the T-hinge method is to a degree but once a print is mounted to card with sticky film then that's that! But then again, photos can be reprinted unless we are talking about vintage photographer's prints etc.
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Jamesnkr

Re: Framing Photographs

Post by Jamesnkr »

It's a different look. It takes the life out of a picture to stick it down, IMO.
Glimpse

Re: Framing Photographs

Post by Glimpse »

It takes the life out of a picture to stick it down, IMO.
What???? This is a joke, right? :Slap:
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prospero
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Re: Framing Photographs

Post by prospero »

Depends if you stick it face-down or not. :lol:
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Re: Framing Photographs

Post by David McCormack »

:lol: :lol: spilt tea :lol: :coffee:
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Re: Framing Photographs

Post by Jamesnkr »

Glimpse wrote:
What???? This is a joke, right? :Slap:
What??? You're joking, right? :Slap:

I am deadly serious. Few items of visual art are improved by being made dead flat and lifeless. You might as well just use a computer screen if you want it to be dead flat.
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Re: Framing Photographs

Post by David McCormack »

I do understand what James is saying. Having spent many years printing monochrome photographs in a traditional wet darkroom, I got to appreciate how the different types of paper and their surfaces can affect the feel or ‘life’ of an image.

Fibre based paper would absorb chemicals and swell up and then shrink again as they dried. This produced the characteristic curl you get with these papers. When handling these prints, compared to resin coated papers, they had a much more tactile feel to them. They had a handmade feel to them compared the resin coated paper which dried perfectly flat.

In a portfolio box, fibre based papers indeed had a life to them. Once you put them behind a windowmount, the curl seemed out of place and so they looked better dry mounted flat. Framed and behind glass it was difficult to tell them apart from a resin coated print, unless you were familiar with the surface characteristics.

If you have ever ‘pulled’ an intaglio print off an etching press, then you know those prints are indeed full of life. It seems a shame sometimes to mount them in a frame!

Modern colour prints from digital files are, more often than not, printed on resin coated wet process paper and look and feel the same mounted or un-mounted. I much prefer colour photos on a nice matt cotton rag inkjet paper.
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Re: Framing Photographs

Post by kartoffelngeist »

Are there advantages to dry mounting over wet mounting? I've always either hinged or used self-adhesive board/spray.
Thanks,

andrew
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Re: Framing Photographs

Post by Glimpse »

I must like lifeless photos then! Nothing worse that reflections on the surface of a window mounted photo showing that 'cushion' effect where it's bowed/curled.

One of the few times I've ever had a frame back from a dissatisfied customer was to correct this.

I think you might be overthinking it a bit James! :lol:
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Re: Framing Photographs

Post by David McCormack »

kartoffelngeist wrote:Are there advantages to dry mounting over wet mounting?
Applying wet paste/glue to mountboard can be messy, and will require weighting and waiting while the glue forms a bond.

Dry mounting, whether heat or roller, is far less messy and the bond is fairly instant.
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Re: Framing Photographs

Post by Trinity »

It could be just a case of what you don't know you don't know.
Right wrong or indifferent, and set to one side disasters, I put large photos onto white display board and into the hot press just for that flat look and the knowledge that it won't shift.
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Re: Framing Photographs

Post by Whitewater Gallery »

I had no end of problems T hinging my own photos. I don't know if it was me or if it is the changing humidity being by the sea, and big changes in temperature being in a sunny position with lots of windows, but the photos would 50% of the time end up with a slight wavy effect. Although I have a Hotpress I found the process a fiddle trying to avoid particles causing dents in the photos so I invested in a Jetmount laminator which is a more reliable process (for me anyway).

I am not sure that I would call the resulting photo lifeless but I would agree that it is not quite as good as when they are hinged due to the very slight orange peel effect. I use a satin photo paper which I guess will show this less than a gloss might. That said I have had to reframe photos where they have rippled and have never had one back that has been dry mounted.

Before going down this route I did try platform mounting and although fewer wobbles than when T hinging I did still have some go and hence the move to dry mounting.

....... On the rare occasions that I frame other peoples photos I don't dry mount as I cannot reprint it if it all goes wrong!
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Re: Framing Photographs

Post by David McCormack »

Colour photos that I have seen in exhibitions that I think are mounted on aluminium or Dibond? always seem very smart.
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Re: Framing Photographs

Post by Chris_h »

I had no end of problems T hinging my own photos. I don't know if it was me or if it is the changing humidity being by the sea, and big changes in temperature being in a sunny position with lots of windows, but the photos would 50% of the time end up with a slight wavy effect.
Did you have problems with certain papers? I never have any problems with the heavy 300+gsm cotton rag papers, even really large sizes. The only issue I have with T-hinges is with slightly thinner gloss or lustre papers.
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Re: Framing Photographs

Post by baughen »

It's probably worth trying to go along to an exhibition such as the Art and Framing Roadshow (starts April 2017) where they will have demos etc and you can talk to the experts.
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Re: Framing Photographs

Post by Whitewater Gallery »

Did you have problems with certain papers? I never have any problems with the heavy 300+gsm cotton rag papers, even really large sizes. The only issue I have with T-hinges is with slightly thinner gloss or lustre papers.[/quote]

I was using Canson Baryta 310gsm paper, I thought that the weight would be an advantage but they buckled beautifully. The main reason I stopped using it was they had a batch problem and tiny dots would fall off the print once printed. I now use the PHOTOSATIN PREMIUM RC 270 GSM, though I am toying with the idea of trying a heavier weight paper to see if the orange peel effect, though minimal, would be even less noticeable. I also keep meaning to get the roll of cotton rag from off the far corner of the shelf and try and few using this as the mat finish I guess would hide any wobbles as the finish would be similar to the limited edition prints where you only notice wobbles if there is a slight gap by the mount.
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