Dry Mount Tissue

[Peter Lewin]

Peter, BufferMount is available in rolls if you don't mind cutting your own sheets. That's what I do now. Just Google search; I found several.
Trimount should be similar to ColorMount, if I'm not mistaken. Doremus

Thanks, roll of Buffermount ordered, per your suggestion I will use my rotary cutter to cut slightly oversize 11x14 sheets, which is my usual print & dry mount size. Last question: what are people using for silicone release sheets? They look like another dry amount supply no longer available, my google search only came up with rolls which are way more than I will ever need.

[Tin Can]

Release paper is Silicone Baking paper i

At every supermarket

[neil poulsen]

Just a guess, but how about Jerry's Art O Rama?

[Drew Wiley]

I still prefer the "official" Seal silicone release paper. Might as well; I still have a big roll of it. I do use lesser kinds of release papers for laying down Formica, etc.

The bookbinding supplier, Talas, even sells rolls of premium siliconized polyester, which is especially resistant to silicone transfer. You might try them for smaller sizes of cut-sheet regular release paper, which they also stock.

Any picture framing supplier will carry release paper. B&H carries a selection of both D&K (formerly Seal) and Drytac release paper. There's no shortage of it.

[Peter Lewin]

Any picture framing supplier will carry release paper. B&H carries a selection of both D&K (formerly Seal) and Drytac release paper. There's no shortage of it.

B&H only sells release paper in rolls, and the smallest roll is $245. Googling “silicone release paper” doesn’t come up with anything economical. Following Tin Can’s suggestion I found unbleached parchment baking paper in our pantry (my wife likes to bake ) and used it for the 3 prints I mounted earlier today, works fine. Even the “silicone baking paper” (Tin Can’s exact suggestion) is not carried in our local supermarket chains. It sounds so easy, but it isn’t.

[Drew Wiley]

Talas sells it for only $3.50 per individual 24" X 36" sheet (considerably less in volume). Plus shipping of course. They're in Brooklyn. That is easy.

[Mark J]

I have an unused roll bought c.2012 upstairs.
Would you like me to check if I can find the brand ?
It was probably bought from Firstcall Photographic in the UK.

[Peter Lewin]

Everyone, I'm set for now but quick notes for anyone else restocking. Talas, mentioned by Drew, is a good source. When I went there for release paper a few days back, the 24x36 sheets were out of stock but I think they are back now. There is a minimum order size of 10 sheets, $35.00 plus shipping. As mentioned, I recently started using unbleached parchment (super market baking paper) as a replacement release paper, and so far it works fine, it is non-stick for baking and seems to be the same for dry mount tissue.

[Doremus Scudder]

Everyone, I'm set for now but quick notes for anyone else restocking. Talas, mentioned by Drew, is a good source. When I went there for release paper a few days back, the 24x36 sheets were out of stock but I think they are back now. There is a minimum order size of 10 sheets, $35.00 plus shipping. As mentioned, I recently started using unbleached parchment (super market baking paper) as a replacement release paper, and so far it works fine, it is non-stick for baking and seems to be the same for dry mount tissue.

Peter,

Glad you've found everything you needed. Sourcing mounting supplies seems to be getting more difficult.

Just FYI, I've never really used release paper, opting instead for a one-ply sheet of cotton rag paper (which I also use for interleaving prints). I trim the print and the tacked-on mounting tissue together and don't ever have a problem with the tissue bleeding outside the border. Never once a stuck-together print and interleaving sheet.

Best,

Doremus

[Drew Wiley]

I trim the mounting tissue slightly smaller than the overall initial print size (including the white borders), then bond the drymount tissue to the back of that - an operation where a silicone release sheet is essential. Then afterwards, I precisely trim down the print itself to its final size before final drymounting on the museum rag board.

Another function where silicone release sheet is essential pertains to high-tack permanent acrylic cold adhesives used for large color prints, along with a high-pressure roller press.
It's a lot like laying Formica down using contact cement, but actually far more fussy. One little mistake or wrinkle or bubble, and you ruin the whole thing. The silicone release paper is gradually pulled away as the roller system progressively bonds the length of the piece. Ordinary wax paper is fine for Formica, but not for a task like this.

Doremus - Release paper should NEVER be used in a heated press on the front side of a fiber-based print. Sometimes a bit of silicone can actually transfer and leave an irremovable shiny spot on the emulsion. It's only legitimate use is either between a tacking iron and the back of the dymounting tissue, or else the between the heated press and the tissue, in which case a supplementary sheet of museum board should also be temporarily in place ABOVE the release sheet to more evenly disperse the heat.

But there are a few (darn few) practitioners who used Colormount to actually drymount chromogenic color RC prints. But in that case, a thick silicone coated board was supposed to be used between the heated press top and the print surface, to minimize uneven sheen effects due to semi-melting of the RC top layer. A sheet of pure Teflon could also be hypothetically be used for that. But I've never found the look of hot-mounted RC prints to be acceptable.