One last comment about this. Dry-mounting also has an undocumented
side-effect that I have not seen discussed here yet (although this could be
because I no longer have the time to read all the mail I am getting)
Back in the 70s when Ansel Adams' work was still "affordable", I was trying
to buy some of his work for my collection. Remembering his own notes in his
portfolios and my own unpleasant experience with bubbling dry mounted
prints, I refused to buy anything dry mounted. I was informed that his
prints were only available that way. There are no Ansel prints in my
collection.
There is an awful lot of stuff available out there to buy. It is not a
question of buying Ansel (or whoever) or nothing. It's a question of buying
X or Y or Z and if only one of the three is not dry mounted this is what I
would buy and since I am in the consulting business this is what I
recommend when I am asked.
One more tip to those who hope to sell their work to museums and
knowledgeable collectors. If, for whatever reason (exentricity, etc) you
really want to look stupid and amateurish, make sure you sign the overmat,
i.e., the board with a window cut in it that sits on top of the print. This
way anyone can substitute the print underneath and your signature will
still be on the overmat... There is more on this discussed in the 3rd
edition of my platinum book which can be found in many libraries.
Luis Nadeau
Fredericton, NB, Canada