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Greg McCann
4-Oct-2005, 11:12
Hi All,

I am beginning to experiment with face-mounting on Plexiglass using Seal Optimount adhesive. This has been discussed on other threads here as well.

However, my local shop is having a bit of trouble with it. First, there are small air pockets on the leading edge (the edge that goes into the laminator first). 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. The technician suggested it might help to add an inch or two of extra border to the leading edge of the photo so that this area could be trimmed off after being laminated.

Also, 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. He thought that it might help to apply some heat to the rollers during laminating. Optimount, as I understand it, is typically cold-laminated.

Someone else said that the surface finish of the print (gloss or matte) might have an effect on silvering, and they recommended a matte surface for best results, though that is what I used with the effects described above. On my next experiment, I will do the same print three different ways, with Fuji CA Matte, Fuji CA Gloss, and Fujiflex CA Supergloss.

Does anyone who has done this before have any suggestions on dealing with these issues?

Thank you.

Richard Ide
4-Oct-2005, 13:05
Hi Greg

I ran into the same problem when I was in business. The laminator I have is a 54" Dupont Cromalin laminator which does not apply very much pressure. I used the heated roller to compensate. It has worked beautifully for years. To avoid the edge bubbles, I would tape a 2" wide acrylic strip to the leading edge (tape on bottom). Keep your temperature so that vinyl laminating film just gets a little soft and use a low speed and low tension to avoid stretching (top laminating film). I never ran into any problems. If you would like any further information; let me know.

Richard

Richard Ide
4-Oct-2005, 13:11
Greg,

I have not used Optimount but many other brands with similar results. I mounted a lot of clear film to acrylic so errors would have been very prominent with back lighting.

Richard

Greg McCann
4-Oct-2005, 15:21
Thank you for the replies, Richard. It is great to hear from someone who has done this before. I love the look of this process and will be very happy if we can work out the bugs.

Does it make any difference whether you apply the Optimount to the plexi then mount the image or vice versa?

Also, I am putting an .040 aluminum backing on the photo. Does it matter whether you attach the photo to the aluminum or the plexiglas first?

Richard Ide
4-Oct-2005, 16:53
Hi Greg

Apply the adhesive to the acrylic first. Use the 2" strip when mounting the print as well. That way there is less risk of a line of bubbles. Applying aluminum looks like a bit of a challenge as well as being a 2 person job. One persons job is to keep the aluminum sheet curved up so it only makes contact when you want it to. Any bubbles behind the print may show a slight ghost after a period of time but should not detract from the end result. Expensive product to play with but a little practice wouldn't hurt. I used to remove the remains from the 2" strip to use again with the aid of a hair dryer. Mount the aluminum last.
Also, try to use a half hard aluminum sheet as some sheets are very prone to denting which will never go away.

Richard

Douvidl
1-Mar-2011, 12:16
Richard;
I am new to the process of mounting graphics to glass. Would you please lay out you workflow. I will use a TIFF image of a large intense color Oak tree.
thanks and I appreciate the effort
David Mendelow