Fuji Crystal Archive Supergloss (Fuji flex)

[dumber]

Hello everyone.
This is my first post and I am hoping someone out there can help
Regular customers of mine went off to Australia for their happy hols and came back with 20" x 24" fine art print on the above material
It is sooo glossy! It has a black boarder, which they want to keep as much of as possible
I have been searching for the best way to frame this.
I have tried a couple of ways, but it ends up cockeled.
I have never come across a print like this before and do not want to try a method that I cannot reverse
Thank you
Dumber

[framejunkie]

Its impossible to get these supergloss prints to look good and stay looking good without bonding them down. Its not reversible, but I'd get it mounted onto aluminium or Dibond.

[Bill Henry]

With a black border, it sounds like it may be a Ciba/Ilfochrome print. If so, be very careful about dry mounting it! Using heat on a Cibachrome or Ilfochrome print will turn the surface into the much discussed and dreaded “orange peel” which cannot be reversed. A Ciba/Ilfochrome will feel more like a thin sheet of plastic rather than paper, and the edges of the print may chip and flake fairly easily.

When faced with mounting those prints, we use (PMA) Positionable Mounting Adhesive (a 3M product). It is a bit messier and takes longer, but the results are much more satisfactory.

[dumber]

Dear Bill
Thank you for you suggestion.

Yes the print feels like plastic/polyester

This is the first ever job we have had in that we have been uncertain about after many years.

Thank you again. Will now read up on your suggestion

Dumber

[Roboframer]

PMA is available from Lion

http://www.lionpic.co.uk/Catalog/Produc ... search=pma

Still one of those nightmare jobs though and PMA is hardly reversible once final pressure is applied - and you'd be best with rollers for this; not the plastic spatula that comes with each roll. I'd actually sub this type of photo out to someone who specialises in display, or better still, recommend someone like that to the customer, and not much scares me!

[Not your average framer]

Yes, I'm with John (Roboframer) on this. I've recently bought a 36" secondhand Hot Press roller machine and it's one of the best investments I've made. If there's ever any doubt about dry mounting something then PMA is the way to go.

I'm also assuming that PMA probably would be o.k. with acrylic or aluminium, hopefully someone who knows what's what will chip in and tell us.

With the recession upon us, there's bound to be a few more secondhand roller machines going cheap, so if you keep your eyes and ears open, you might get one. Mine's a manual one, on which you have to wind the handle. It's been well used and is a bit beaten up, but for £50 who's complaining. It works just fine!

[dumber]

Thank you all very much for the information
It may end with the customer taking it away, lucily smahsing couple and they are realising the problem we have

This is a great site. Will be looking for used machinery and reading other people's problems

Thank you all again

Will let you know how we go

Dumber

[Bill Henry]

Although many others have used it with success, we are reluctant to use aluminum as a substrate since it tends to be fairly thin and the slightest “ding” may distort the metal and the image.

We generally use GatorBoard™, a very dense, smooth graphic arts material. It is somewhat difficult to work with (it is very hard to cut) when mounting very smooth, glossy images. I don’t know what it is called on your side of the planet, though.

I haven’t tried acrylic, but it would probably work well with PMA. I would suggest that if you use acrylic that you “scuff” the surface lightly with sandpaper to give the plastic a little more “tooth” so the PMA has more to grab on to. Needless to say you need to remove every fleck of dust before you apply the PMA to it.

If you are using acrylic, be careful of the static charge it will likely generate. The slightest speck of dust will show through a glossy image.

[Not your average framer]

If you are using acrylic, be careful of the static charge it will likely generate. The slightest speck of dust will show through a glossy image.

Mmmm, that sounds like a good reason to use something else.

My local photo labs use Fomex and can get good results, but are very secretive about what the process is. I presume that the secret is how to avoid seeing the slight surface texture of the Fomex on the glossy photo.

[dumber]

Hello

I'm back!

OK we have practice runs at laying this flat - we are not achieving the absolute flat finish we think we should have.

It is now becoming a nightmare

Does anyone know of any framer that has actually mounted one of these successfully?

Does anyone know of a firm that would mount this?

This is the bit we are really concerned about

Many thanks

Dumber

[Steven Yip]

Yes, definitley Hot Mounting it in a Hot Press is a definite no no. There is really no way of presenting the image flat and nice without mounting. I would go for roller mounting it on an Aluminum DiBond or Forex sheet. Both products are manufactured by Alcan Composites.

Steven Yip
Singapore

[ross]

When you say you haven't done one of these, then don't even contemplate doing it

We mount from time to time high gloss photographic images onto 10mm Gatorboard for a photographer - no real problems to date, but he can replace the image if there is a mounting problem

However, it is when a customer brings in one of these beasts and you know they have paid A$1,000+++ that one hestitates - the only real option then is to mount them onto aluminium - we use to outsource this work and even then encounted problems with the finished product. These days, can not find anyone in Brisbane who will mount them for us - if it is their print, no problems as they can reprint the item - if not their print, they will not touch it

So, if a superchrome (or by whatever other name) print is brought in, we go through all options in framing the item but advise we are unable to mount the piece

In the Michael Wilder Photgraphy attachment referred to earlier in this post it is interesting to note he believes loose hanging is best - in our humidity and heat it is not as the print will cockle badly and there isn't a customer who would be happy with such a result. These high gloss prints are best mounted to gain maximum benefit from the brilliant colours in the high gloss finish - where one gets it mounted is the question, but it would not be by me if I was responsible for it's replacement if things go wrong with the mounting

Ross

[MITREMAN]

Mounting of a Cibachorme onto foam centred board is easily accomplished by using dry mount film.

The Procedure is as follows.

• Cut a piece of Hot Press Dry Mounting Film (Not Tissue) slightly larger than the print to be mounted.
• Peel off the release paper from one side of the film.
• If the film you have is not pre-pierced, Lay the film on a piece of card and pierce the film With a multiiwheel piercing tool.
• Lay the print onto the film and using a rubber roller, squeeze all the air from between the film and the back of the print.
• Trim the film to the same size as print.
• Remove the other piece of the release paper from the film.
• Position the print onto the foam centred board and press down
• Cover the print with a piece of silicone release film and then lay a piece of plastic laminate, such as formica and place in the press at 85 degrees centigrade for 1 minute.