Dry Mounting 40 x 50 Prints

[neillat]

Hi all,

Can someone give me an idea of how to go about dry mounting 40 x 50 inch prints. I have been looking around and come across a "VacuSeal 4468H" (http://www.pictureframingequipment.com/mounting.htm)

What equipment can be used to accomplish this goal?

I should be very clear on what I'm trying to accomplish :) putting the print in a hot press to flatten it out, I've been doing it on a seal for my 16x20's for years, but now I'm printing 40x50...



Cheers, Neil.

[frotog]

I have a Seal 500T dry mount press. Platten size is 24x32. I've done 40x50 fb and rc prints successfully with multiple passes.

[neillat]

How do you get short side (40") through the platen?

[bob carnie]

If you are interested in doing a lot of mural work the big vacumn press is the item you should buy. You need the heat and the pressure from the vacumn.

I have a 40 x60 inch hydraulic press which can provide varied tempature and pressure.

It is over 40 - 50 years old and is leaking a bit , and the platen has some dead spots which force us to move the mount around to get even pressure.

I am looking into the type you have shown on your link , the vacumn one.
I think this is your answer.

[Drew Wiley]

Wet mounting is certainly an affordable option, at least for fiber-based prints, but has its own distinct learning curve . .. and it's a nice way to ruin a print if you take shortcuts or use the wrong glue. Not a lot different than hanging wallpaper the old-fashioned way, except you also have to countermount the back of the boardto keep it from warping. Vacuum presses are fairly easy to make, and even easier to buy, but you'll want to be careful about the condition of any old used one. You
can use cold vac presses in conjunction with wet mounting (though it's not essential to have a press), but will obviously need a heated press for drymounting.
You can subscribe to pro picture framing forums to access a lot of practical information on this subject, or probably download it from Seal/Bienfang.

[frotog]

How do you get short side (40") through the platen?

Again, multiple passes. Two passes per side will get the job done. You run the print lengthwise and then rotate 180 degrees and run the other side.

[Drew Wiley]

And if you do the multiple-pass method, it's important to evenly distribute the pressure and heat through an intermediate board, so you don't get crease marks.
This might require a bit longer "dwell" times per pass.