Float mounting RC print

[Dawid]

Hi

I have finally reached the point where I have several RC prints ( 16 x 20 ) that I would like to frame. I quite like the look of a floating print. Is there any reasonably stable, if not archival method of doing this without dry mounting. I see people mentioning all sorts of tape and adhesives, even using a clothes iron ! From what I read using hinges is considered archival but I assume then one needs a mat window over it, thus not for floating prints ?!

P.S. I'm in the UK and would esp. appreciate replies from here as I am struggeling to find information on suppliers of materials / mount board etc.

Thanks

[robc]

two main suppliers are:

http://www.lionpic.co.uk/ for anything mount and framing related.

http://www.arqadia.co.uk for mountboard and high quality frame mouldings.

both only sell business 2 busisness but you are a self employed photographer aren't you, so that won't be a problem.

get them to send latest catalogues and price lists before ordering.

there are self adhesive mount boards available and also those which require rolling in( cheapish) pressure rollers to activate the adhesive.

hinges may work for a floating mount but any print curl is likely to show if you do not have an overmat holding the print flat.

sprays are ususally very NON archival and will release after not very long. Besides, the spray usually gets everywhere including the wrong side of the print.

There are archival eva adhesives to be had from:

http://www.conservation-by-design.co.uk/sundries/sundries16.html

[Scott Kathe]

Dawid.

I just tried Scotch Positional Mounting Adhesive (PMA) on an 8x12 and it seems to have worked very well. I plan on using it for 16x20 as well. There are two drawbacks as far as I can tell: 1-it's expensive; 2-not archival. But like I said I just tried it and only time will tell but it was designed to work on RC paper.

[Scott Davis]

If you know of a good frame shop in your area that does high-end archival framing, and you want to do a floating mount, ask them about "japanese hinges". I don't know if they will work on RC paper, but "japanese hinges" are used to float-mount a wide variety of traditional artwork. See if the frame shop will sell you some, or can point you to their supplier.

[jnantz]

hi dawid

i'd be careful float mounting rc prints ...

i have had 3 or 4 of them ( all 8x10 and smaller ) stick to the glass.
we don't live in a very hot place and we don 't have the photos in direct sunlight,
but just the same, the print are attached to the glass, unable to be removed without
tearing the photos. never had this happen with fiber prints, only rc ( all machine prints ).

if you float mount, have a space between your image and the glass - do japanese hinges or whatever you have to do so the image isn't in contact with glass

or there is the possibility that your prints could adhere too ...

[M. Batista]

Hi Dawid,
I worked for 7+ years in an archival only frame shop in the U.S. It really isn't appropriate to float mount any photographs, though I've done it. Fiber prints will accept japanese and linen tape hinges, but will always show some curl due to fluctuations in humidity. When floating any type of work on paper one must accept the work as an object. A little curl is acceptable for most works on paper, but it tends to be distracting for photographs. RC prints present an even greater challenge in that they always pucker from the moisture in the hinge. I believe that a hinge with very little moisture applied to it won't pucker the print, but will likely fail in a short time-- sometime a "dry" hinge will be okay, but not if the frame is subjected to any shock. Many galleries are going for the face mounted look, where the work is actually applied to the plexiglass. Perhaps the adhesives are archival (I doubt it) but we never did it because plexi scratches so easily. One option would be to leave a suitable border around the print, have the print (border and all) drymounted to an acid free mount (ragboard) and fit into a frame with spacers to keep the glass away from the surface of the artwork (floating.) Or a qualified frameshop can trim and mount the work with a border around it and then mat or float it. That takes a bit more skill as some modern dry mount tissues completely liquify under heat and can squeeze out from under the print a bit. All that said drymounting is not technically "archival" as it is not reversible. And "archival" tissues are basically very low tack and eventually fail and are not worth the trouble (in my experience.) I hope this helps.
-Matt

[robert_4927]

Matt, I curious...How did your frame shop mount Platinum prints if hinge or corner mounting was not recommended for any photographs?