Cold Mounting

<p>This is probably a pretty stupid question, but how do I cold mount a photo? I've been shopping around for a photo album for my wife for Christmas, and I've settled on a nice leather-bound one with dry-mountable pages (regular, no matted pages or adhesive thingies).</p>

<p>I think it'd be nice to mount the photos directly on the pages without corners or tape and what-not. That leaves me with dry-mounting or cold-mounting. Dry-mounting apparently requires a press that costs a lot, which leaves me with cold mounting. The problem is, I have no idea what I'm doing. I saw a "roller" on Adorama, but I don't know what else is entailed. For example, what kind of adhesive? I don't see anything that specifically mentions cold mounting, so I'm a bit lost. I'd love for this album to last a lifetime, so I'm interested in doing it right the first time. Any help would be wonderful!</p>

<p>You can use liquid or aerosol spray adhesives for cold mounting (<a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Pressure-Sensitive-Roller-Spray-Adhesives/ci/849/N/4288586547">http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Pressure-Sensitive-Roller-Spray-Adhesives/ci/849/N/4288586547</a>). Apply the adhesive to the back of the print with a spray or roller, then press the photo onto the backing and hold it under pressure for a short while. Follow the directions on the can.</p>

<p>Cold mounting is a messy job. It's hard to control the overspray, which gets on the front of the print if you're not extremely careful, especially if you do several prints. It's also hard to keep the print absolutely flat and straight during the mounting process. Once you start, you can't make any adjustments. You can use a slip sheet to expose only a thin edge of adhesive to start, then pull it out ahead of the roller.</p>

<p>On the other hand, you can hot-mount a print with an ordinary iron. It's easy to do and there's no overspray to deal with. You tack the dry mount sheet to the print in a few places, mount it to the backing with heat, and trim away the excess adhesive with a razor blade. It's easy to keep things straight, because you can make adjustments with the work laid out flat. I'd do that any day rather than resort to a spray can or roller (wet adhesive will warp the print unless you work quickly).</p>

<p>To do a professional job of hot or cold mounting with a large print, you really need a vacuum press. Most framing shops will mount a print for a nominal fee. I recommend that for anything larger than 8x10 inches.</p>

<p>You can use liquid or aerosol spray adhesives for cold mounting (<a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Pressure-Sensitive-Roller-Spray-Adhesives/ci/849/N/4288586547">http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/buy/Pressure-Sensitive-Roller-Spray-Adhesives/ci/849/N/4288586547</a>). Apply the adhesive to the back of the print with a spray or roller, then press the photo onto the backing and hold it under pressure for a short while. Follow the directions on the can.</p>

<p>Cold mounting is a messy job. It's hard to control the overspray, which gets on the front of the print if you're not extremely careful, especially if you do several prints. It's also hard to keep the print absolutely flat and straight during the mounting process. Once you start, you can't make any adjustments. You can use a slip sheet to expose only a thin edge of adhesive to start, then pull it out ahead of the roller.</p>

<p>On the other hand, you can hot-mount a print with an ordinary iron. It's easy to do and there's no overspray to deal with. You tack the dry mount sheet to the print in a few places, mount it to the backing with heat, and trim away the excess adhesive with a razor blade. It's easy to keep things straight, because you can make adjustments with the work laid out flat. I'd do that any day rather than resort to a spray can or roller (wet adhesive will warp the print unless you work quickly).</p>

<p>To do a professional job of hot or cold mounting with a large print, you really need a vacuum press. Most framing shops will mount a print for a nominal fee. I recommend that for anything larger than 8x10 inches.</p>

<p>Archival mounting tape is your friend. Acid free, mess free and easy to use. Just google "Archival mounting tape" to find a supplier or try your local art store.</p>

<p>You can use self-mount albums. No tools required and the adhesive is already on the pages....-TED :-)</p>

<p>I strongly recommend against using the adhesive spray. It is messy, smelly, and next to impossible to keep it off the photo side of the print. And if it doesn't go on evenly (difficult to do), it will bubble after some period of time because the mount and the print expand and contract at different rates.</p>

<p>I've been using Scotch brand "positionable mounting tissue" or PMR for years. It comes on a roll. It still takes some care to keep adhesive off the front side of the print, but it is pretty easy to work with. Not real cheap, but a roll is 50 feet long and that will mount a lot of prints. See here: http://www.amazon.com/3M-568-Positionable-Mounting-Adhesive/dp/B00023JK88</p>