Re: pt/pd mounting > not gum related

[Katharine Thayer <kthayer@pacifier.com>]

On Sep 12, 2006, at 8:14 AM, Katharine Thayer wrote:

> On Sep 12, 2006, at 7:16 AM, Camden Hardy wrote:
>
>
> > > I still think there's some confusion here.   The issue isn't whether
> > > to use an acidic board or to use a non-acidic board;
> > Actually, Katherine, it is.  That was my question.  If you refer  
> > to the
> > original post, I was looking to either bust or confirm the myth  
> > that acid
> > board is good for pt/pd prints.
> Yes, I thought I made it clear yesterday that I understood that  
> that was your original question, when I pointed out  that Gawain  
> and Liam had initially responded to a different question  (whether  
> buffered board -- board where a buffering agent is used to raise  
> the pH above neutral--may be bad for pt/pd prints)  rather than  
> your question, and that  the answer to your question is no,  acid  
> board is not good for pt/d, or for any kind of print, no matter  
> what someone may have told you.  Acid makes paper turn brown and  
> brittle and crumble into tiny bits, so you wouldn't want to print  
> on or mount on or mat with acid paper (see also Eric's understated  
> comment yesterday, "I think we can all agree that a pH where paper  
> is happy is neutral and above?")  So I thought we'd already  
> disposed of that "myth."  So, while the original question was about  
> acidic vs nonacidic board, my point below was that regardless of  
> the question, the only real issue in choosing a board is between   
> pH neutral rag board (nonbuffered) board  and buffered board.
>
> Besides, as far as that goes,  let's look at whether this "myth"  
> makes any sense from a common-sense standpoint.  Where are you  
> going to find these "acid" boards that are supposed to be so good  
> for pt?  There are no acidic boards, for obvious reasons. Even wood  
> pulp boards are treated somehow to make them start out "acid-free"  
> even if they're not necessarily going to stay that way.
Well, I meant within the range of quality art materials. Of course if  
you really wanted an acid board you could find something, like  
cardboard or such, but what I meant was that within the range of  
professional matboard, you don't find an acidic board especially  
designed for platinum, which should sort of shoot that "myth" down  
without even having to go farther into it than that.

But  this may explain something I couldn't understand before.   
Several years ago I bought a platinum print from a gallery in the  
nearest big city, and was disgusted when I got it home to find that  
the print itself was backed by plain grey cardboard,  held in the  
frame with masking tape (especially since the photographer's bio said  
she was a professor at one of the regional colleges and, I thought,  
should know better). I completely took the print apart and rematted  
and backed it with my own archival materials, before hanging it.  But  
maybe she was a victim of this "myth" that acid board is GOOD for  
platinum, and thought she was doing the right thing by giving it a  
nice acid board to provide it with the acid it needs.
Katharine