Thank you so much to everyone who has weighed in with ideas and methods for
post-dry mounting weighting of prints.
A similar query in a facebook group yielded someone who actually has the type
of metal plate I want, so now that I have seen the pictures and description, I
am waiting to hear the ...drumroll... price! I have a big thick piece laminated
shelf from years ago, courtesy of Ikea, but it is just too heavy and I really
want metal for the temp conductivity.
I also realized that I need to get a larger press(!!) since the 1" throat on my
16x20 will not allow the prints in the center of the collage to fit. So the
hunt is now on for something bigger. My own danged fault for having *large*
ambitions! 😊
Lifelong collage artist (read: packrat) that I am, I actually have saved
Richard's dry mounting instructions from 2007(!) - so no need to test out your
carpal tunnel surgery here (which I am so very sorry you had to go through!) I
have followed these instructions faithfully over the years with a couple of my
own tweaks, and now have them committed them to memory but of course still have
the original e-mail saved in a word doc, so here ya go:
From: "Richard Knoppow"
<dickburk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<http://by118fd.bay118.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/compose?curmbox=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001&a=89106930d8e7d424713ebae056b902aa373bbddc486d6846fc5828abb374e0ae&mailto=1&to=dickburk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx&msg=EA840FB8-DC94-4DA7-9FF5-1955070F03BC&st%20>>
Subject: [pure-silver] Re: how to use release paper?
Date: Mon, 15 Oct 2007 19:22:15 –0700
FWIW, the method I now use for dry mounting is based partially on a procedure
described in a booklet published by Seal in the past but no longer available,
plus some changes I've found useful in practice.
The difference between this method and some others is that I bond the dry
mounting tissue to the print first. The first step is drying and flattening
the print as described. I also dry out the mounting board in the press for a
couple of minutes.
When the print has been dried and flattened I tack a piece of dry mounting
tissue to it at a spot on one edge. I then make a sandwich of the print and
tissue by laying the print face down on a sheet of release paper with some
padding under it. I then place another sheet of release paper over the mounting
tissue and some layers of padding on top of that. The entire assembly is then
put in the press and locked down for perhaps 1 to 2 minutes, what ever time is
necessary to fuse the tissue. The sandwich is then removed and placed under the
weight to cool. When cool the release paper will strip right off the excess
mounting tissue. The tissue will have bonded smoothly to the entire back of the
print. I then trim the print and tissue together to the desired size and shape.
I then tack the print to the mat, again at a spot at one edge, and place a
sheet of release tissue over the print along with several sheets of padding
paper, construction paper or blotter paper works well for this. The assembly is
than placed in the press and locked down for the time recommended for bonding
the tissue, typically about 2 minutes. The entire assembly, including the
release tissue and padding, is then put under the weight to cool. The cooling
time depends on the thickness of the assembly and the type of material the
weight is made of. For aluminum it might take no longer than about 2 to 3
minutes, for wood perhaps 5 or more minutes. Experience will tell.
When the finished print comes out the release tissue will just lift off.
The result is a very flat and very smooth mount with no excess tissue or
bleeding at the edges. Because the tissue is fused to the two surfaces
separately there is much less chance for bubbles or wrinkles to form. I
still like dry mounting for display prints because IMO it gives the most
uniform surface, especially for glossy or nearly glossy paper. Archivists and
gallery people prefer unmounted prints because dry mounted prints can be very
difficult to remove from their mats should some future treatment of the print
or replacement of the mat become necessary. The drying method works well for
prints to be mounted on hinges or corner mounts. When low temperatures are used
it does no damage to the prints. I typically set the press for about the
temperature for fusing color mount tissue although temperatures lower than
this, as low as 150F or perhaps even less, will work well for drying.
Note: Some old Kodak instructions show tacking the release tissue and
print by making an X across the back. This is bad practice and will very often
result in wrinkles or bubbles. Tacking at a spot or short line at one edge
works a lot better. This is the method recommended by Seal.
---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA
dickburk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx<http://by118fd.bay118.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/compose?curmbox=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000001&a=89106930d8e7d424713ebae056b902aa373bbddc486d6846fc5828abb374e0ae&mailto=1&to=dickburk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx&msg=EA840FB8-DC94-4DA7-9FF5-1955070F03BC&st%20>
Thank you, Richard, and thank you, everyone, for all the advice and camaraderie
over the years - decades, actually! I have been part of this wonderful group
since about 1986!
Wishing a Happy New Year to you all,
Adrienne
Adrienne Moumin
Handmade B&W photographs and photo collages:
http://<http://picturexhibit.com>picturexhibit.com<http://picturexhibit.com>
Architextures series: http://picturexhibit.com/html/architextures.html
<http://picturexhibit.com>
NYC and Silver Spring, MD
212-602-1809
