The Framers Forum

I am beginning to experiment with face-mounting on Plexiglass using
Seal Optimount adhesive.

However, my local shop is having a bit of trouble with it. It's like i
have some tinny little air bubbles. It's not like they are huge
bubbles or anything, and you can't tell if you are looking straight at
the print, but when you look at it from an angle you can see a silvery
area.

There is light silvering throughout the print. "Silvering" is very
thin air pockets, maybe 1/8" wide that appear as shiny spots when you
view the print at an angle. They are especially noticeable in dark
areas.

I tried to print on different sufaces like matt or glossy. Nothing
helps.

Do i need more pressure, i'm now on 80%?
Do i need to heat my rollers a little bit? How much?

My workflow:
I first mount my photo with the adhesive and then i mount it on the acrylic.

Thanks for your help.

Usual problems with silvering:

- To little pressure when laminating but 80% should be enough
- Paper surface is not smooth ... this is why it is best with gloss media or polyester
- Bad quality adhesive ... usually it doesn't have enough glue so it does not spread evenly. If you have a good quality adhesive it should work with cold laminator without problems

Sometimes silvering is gone next day but if not you need to experiment with different media. Try contact Drytac ... they can point you in right direction.

You should find that you're using enough pressure. What's the quality of your adhesive like? I find that it can cause issues if you choose price over quality, so maybe take a look at that and let us know.