Aardenburg Adhesive-Free Picture Framing

[Tin Can]

Good to know Sal

I like Smithsonian acknowledged experts

Show and Tell

Works

Let's see, to whom ought one pay attention on the subject of framing inkjet prints. Drew (who knows everything about everything and regularly denigrates inkjet prints on forums) or Mark McCormick-Goodhart, who spent ten years as a Senior Research Photographic Scientist at the Smithsonian Institution and has dedicated the last 23 years to digital imaging, printmaking and color management, photographic conservation, museum display and storage environments. Decisions, decisions.

[bob carnie]

I just finished the Article.. I am very suspect of having prints touching any glazing, lots of good info, PE foam is it Inert? is coraplast inert?, does acid free foam board Out gas?. What kind of paper for backing? How does one paper the inside rabit of the wood frame as this article suggest ? if it is just the back wood of the frame then whats the Point? Lots of un answered questions.

My method is AR70 Glass, Petoboro museum Rag 4ply matt, 2ply Petoboro museum rag where the images are corner mounted, then Acid free foam , then paper backing.
We use to use framers tape(inert) to provide a seal around the glass and 2ply backing board.


I quite like corner mounts as they do not damage the print IMO.

Bob

[Sal Santamaura]

...RC photo materials will be quite limited in size as well with an adhesive-free method...

I've only used it in 8x10 and haven't framed any of those prints, but suspect that the new Multigrade RC Portfolio paper might be able to go a bit larger than other RC products. It's a very beautiful paper base, quite flat and rigid.

[MHMG]

As far as this particular method of mounting is concerned, it's been known about for decades, but generally in a somewhat more sophisticated form. And there are certain do's and don'ts... The problem in this case is the suggestion it's a new idea from a specific provider.

Excuse me Drew, I clearly touched a nerve with you. But to be clear, I didn't claim to have invented anything new or novel in this article. I know full well that borderless prints in particular have been put directly into picture frames for decades if not centuries, and I even showed an example of one done 45 years ago by a professional photography studio. I simply referred to the methods I shared in this article as the Aardenburg technique because they are methods I evolved over time for my own personal use here in my studio. Various friends and colleagues now associate the method with Aardenburg Imaging, and to my surprise (which got me thinking about writing this article) they have been intrigued by my use of PE foam and by the wide margin printing I do when framing with an overmat because they haven't seen this approach before. And some are professional picture framers. But that doesn't mean I can claim no one anywhere ever before hasn't approached a picture framing project from a similar if not identical approach. So, please forgive me if you felt I was making some grandiose claim of novel invention.

That said, while borderless framed prints are done all the time, with and without spacers, I don't believe the wide margin print-to-frame size approach is so common that it wasn't worth writing about. because as I said in the article, professional framers basically have to frame what the client brings to them, after the print has been made, so few if any are likely to say, "hey, you could have printed it this way, and then I could have framed it like this".

Again, my goal was just to share some picture framing ideas with my audience and justify my reasoning, knowing that others might still disagree. No good deed goes unpunished.

cheers,
Mark

[Sal Santamaura]

My inkjet printer is capable of a maximum 13 inch paper width. For display in a 14 x 18-inch frame, I made a vertical print on paper 13 inches wide and 18 inches high. Then, near the top of the paper I used a strip of this tape

https://www.hollingermetaledge.com/3...ided-415-tape/

for securing it centered in the overmat. So far, so good.

[Tin Can]

Just skimmed that catalog, they have a lot of great stuff

My inkjet printer is capable of a maximum 13 inch paper width. For display in a 14 x 18-inch frame, I made a vertical print on paper 13 inches wide and 18 inches high. Then, near the top of the paper I used a strip of this tape

https://www.hollingermetaledge.com/3...ided-415-tape/

for securing it centered in the overmat. So far, so good.

[Drew Wiley]

Good call ! I've been using it for many years in narrow 1/4 inch rolls when I want suspension of small prints from one point. I won't go into the more advanced uses of it here. What one wants to do is center the tape near along the top edge, preferably outside the image area along the margin. An 11X14 print, for example, if intended for horizontal display, should have only about a 4 inch strip of the tape involved. That allows each side to expand and contract somewhat like the wings of an eagle without as much risk of wrinkling as multi-spot tacking. But it's better to attach the print to a more dimensionally stable backer board than the unstable overmat. Inert types of board are readily available, with no need for a plastic slip sheet behind. This kind of tape is also available from bookbinder supply companies and even B&H. It's a very dependable product. Helps to have a little brayer roller to pressure it down. If the print needs to be removed later, just slip a razor blade behind it and clean off any adhesive residue with a film cleaner like PEC.

Another essential tool to this kind of methodology is a burnishing bone. As the print itself inevitable expands and contracts many many times due to humidity and temperature cycles, the sharp edges of a window cutout mat are going to cut into the surface of the print coating or emulsion, creating either visible edge scuffing or a polishing effect, depending. So that sharp beveled mat edge needs to be gently relieved just a tiny bit by carefully running the burnishing bone over it. These are available from any decent picture framing or bookbinder supplier, as well as all serious art stores.

Hi Bob- I can specifically answer all your questions in private one of these days. I have zero interest in posting advanced information here on the general forum. I basically made a career out of sorting out who was worth seriously discussing technical details with, versus who was a waste of time. We both know how to handle big color prints anyway. Direct mounting under plastic always involves what kind of specific climate, HVAC issues, and wall insulation are involved. Generic answers just don't work. Hermetic sealing is in another league; but I've done it.