Re: Dry mounting

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ryuji Suzuki" <rs@silvergrain.org>
To: <alt-photo-process-l@sask.usask.ca>
Sent: Monday, September 19, 2005 6:36 PM
Subject: Re: Dry mounting

> From: Dan Burkholder <fdanb@aol.com>
> Subject: Re: Dry mounting
> Date: Mon, 19 Sep 2005 20:12:40 -0500 (CDT)
>
>> for presenting silver gelatin prints, there is a special
>> elegance to
>> a trimmed, dry mounted and window matted print.
>
> Indeed. I wish there were a truly reversible drymount with
> no risk of
> damaging the work....
>
> The flatness of the print can be easily achieved by using
> RC paper. I
> hate glossy RC paper but some of the
> semi-matte/pearl/whatever look
> very good.
>
> On the other hand, FB prints that are hinge mounted can
> look very
> nicely if the print is toned. I like very dark chocolate
> brown and
> very dark eggplant black. For this, I don't use matte
> board window at
> all. I modify one of the pre-made 24 inch square frames to
> make a
> shadow box of 3/4 inch depth, so that you see print
> floating slightly
> off the backing board in the 3/4 inch of the space created
> within the
> frame. Very nice and cost effective. (If I were to do the
> same with
> custom framing parts, It'd cost double very easily.)
>
   Fiber prints that are flattened using a dry mounting
press look nearly as flat as dry mounted prints. The
flattening process is simple and is part of the normal dry
mounting process. Heat the press to around 190F, or whatever
low temperature dry mounting tissue specifies. You need a
couple of sheets of thick "kraft" or construction paper or
clean photo blotters. You also need a sheet of release
tissue.
  Dry out the paper of blotters in the press by heating them
for about 2 minutes with the press closed but not locked.
  The sandwich the print between two sheets of the paper
with a sheet of release tissue over the emulsion side. The
top sheet of paper is simply padding. Put this sandwich in
the press and close it. Heat for about two minutes, you do
not have to lock the press. Remove the entire sandwich and
place under a flat weight, preferably of a good head
conductor like aluminum sheet but even wood will do. Allow
it to cool for a few minutes under the weight. When removed
the print will be flat and will stay flat. This process
takes out the small irregularities in the surface as well as
overall curl.
   Probably the safest way to mount the print is to use
archival photo corners as Ryuji suggests. Make prints with a
large enough border to allow hiding the corners under a mat.
   For display prints where appearance is more important
than archival life dry mounting has no equal but it is not
the preferred method for collector's items.
   I can't comment much on toning other than there is a
fairly wide range of possible tones with toners that provide
good image protection. For images where Sepia or Brown is
not appropriate remember that Gold toning is also a good
protector and yeilds somewhere from a neutral to a dark blue
color.
   Note that this advise applies to conventional silver
prints on unprotected paper support. I have no idea if its
suitable for prints made by alternative methods.

---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA
dickburk@ix.netcom.com