Re: To Dry Mount or not to Dry Mount. That is the question.
James A. Strain (jstrain@iquest.net)
Tue, 21 May 1996 16:10:24 -0500
Robert Hudyma wrote:
>
> I've been rummaging through the various tombes on print finishing and
> visiting several museums and I can only determine that there are several print
> finishing schools from which to choose.
>
> Nadeau's 2nd revised edition on Platinum Printing suggests, not to
> dry mount the Platinum prints stating that it makes the conservator's life
> easier. Most other alt-photo authors are silent on this issue (Shillea,
> Skopic(sp?) et al).
>
> Other photographers and authors endorse dry mounting (at least for silver
> prints) and practice what they preach (Ansel Adams, John Sexton, Bruce Barnbaum
> et al). (Sudek exhibition prints are dry mounted as well).
> I have to admit that many of the dry mounted prints still look wonderful even
> after 50+ years of exposure to urban atmospheric pollution.
>
> Interestingly, though, the Platinum prints that I have seen "in the flesh" so
> to speak, hanging on museum walls, appear to have been, for the most part dry
> mounted. Also, most of the prints were neatly trimmed so as to remove
> any hint of brush strokes. (I understand they were out of vogue in the 1930's).
> While, many contemporary, but not all, Platinum prints that I have seen show
> prominent brush strokes (e.g. Paul Caponegro).
>
> I'm starting to print a small portfolio of prints, first in silver then in
> Pt/Pd.
> For the silver prints, I've decided to enroll in the Ansel Adams school and
> Dry Mount the final prints. I don't know what to do with the Pt/Pd prints
> however.
>
> So here are the questions (comments, suggestions and discussion are
> appreciated):
>
> How are others finishing and presenting their Pt/Pd prints?
> Are your Pt/Pd prints dry mounted or not?
> Are the brush strokes masked off or not?
>
> I have to admit that I'm leaning towards masking off the brush strokes
> (rubylith)
> and dry mounting so that if the prints Pt/Pd are hung side by side with the
> silver
> prints there will be a certain uniformity in presentation.
>
> As always, thoughts and suggestions are appreciated.
>
> Robert Hudyma, Email: rhudyma@idirect.com,
> Semi-Tech Microelectronics, 131 McNabb Street, Markham Ontario Canada, L3R 5V7FWIW, pt or pt/pd prints do not ***REQUIRE*** dry mounting in the same way that silver prints do
because once they are flattened, they stay flat. Accordingly, I use corners for mine just
because (a) I do not risk damaging the print by using corners, and (b) they do not need to be
dry mounted to keep them flat. With respect to the brush strokes, my personal preference, oft
repeated (even in print), is that for me they are an affectation that are designed to distract
the viewer from the message of the image to the message that this is an image for which I had to
coat the mount with an emulsion. For me, it is better to let the image speak for itself, using
the medium of pt or pt/pd. Plainly, that is a very personal reaction. Cheers. Jim