Mounting Very Large Photographs

Hello all,

 

I'm considering mounting several large photographs before I frame

them to prevent warping and sagging. The photographs are 60"x25"

and larger panoramics. I've mounted my work before, but never this

large. I quickly realized that warping and sagging is/will be an

issue. So I would like to ask some questions of someone who is

experienced in this sort of thing.

 

Question 1: Is this a feasible task for a reasonably capable person

to accomplish? Or is this such a huge undertaking that I should I

go to a lab to seek professional help? (PHOTOGRAPHIC professional

help, that is.) I have checked the labs in my area and they will

charge me some SERIOUS coin to do this. Of course, if I can

reasonably do it myself I would rather do so and save some money.

Besides, I plan on making quite a few enlargements like this over

the next few years and the zeros are adding up and making my eyes

spin!!! :)

 

Question 2: If it IS a feasible option to do this myself, what

method would you recommend? Wet, dry, cold, hot, etc.

 

Thanks in advance for your help on this.

 

David.

I mounted some 30"x40" display prints on foamcore a few years back for an exhibit of my work. I was fortunate enough to be sold a vacuum mounting press for a "song" by a framer-friend who was upgrading her equipment at the time. Check around and see if any frame shops offer a do-it-yourself option. This particular shops offered this service (with supervision) at a reduced rate over their standard prices.

In vacuum mounting the print is sprayed with the approriate adhesive then put on the mounting surface. I needed to take extreme care to avoid any grit or bubbles at this stage.

Once mounted I did final trimming then glued strips of board, just in from the outer edges of the back, to avoid warping.

OK ,I know this is going to sound weird,but here goes. When I was stationed in the philippines in the mid 1970's ,I used to print 40 x60 in prints ,on Kodak mural paper.The paper was Fiber base which I am sure made this easier. We mounted the prints on plywood using starch. The kind you mix into a goo ,which makes your shirts stiff. We soaked the prints in water and then coated the backside with the starch.We just kept use a squegee, and sponges and kept moving any air bells and wrinkles to the edge. They Air dried smooth as if they were a part of the board. I still have several which have never shown any ill effects.This was almost 30 yrs. ago.

I wish I had a couple of rolls of that Kodak Bromesko mural paper now.It came in 20 in. wide rolls that were 40 ft. long. We even made the trays out of 2x4 lumber and put black plastic to hold the dev and fixer.

Hello David,

Thoes are some BIG prints! :) Very cool! Other than using the method previously described (vaccum seal and spray) I'm not sure about any of the other methods of doing this. There is a guy here in Los Angeles that is an EXPERT at this kind of stuff. He does all the work for A&I and he has a TON of high end clients. Whenever I need something expertly done at a reasonable rate, I use this guy. His name is Sino Wong and he owns a place called, "Finishing Studio" he is located at 307 N. Parkman Ave. Los Angeles CA 90026 Phone # (323)253-4896 He is very curtious, extreemly fast and reasonable. He would probably be willing to answer any questions that you might have. Good luck with this, and if you remember please let me know how it goes I find this an interesting topic.

Have you ever considered those plexi-mounted prints? There was some discussion about this here. They give a shiny wet look that is really rich. I have seen prints at around 72" x 48" from the studio I help out in and they look stunning.

Interesting topic as what do we do with these larger then poster size prints.

 

I love large prints of my work displayed over the mantel, inside wall of the living room, the master bedroom and in my studio.

 

Images 20x30 and smaller are done professionally as a "Plaque Mount" where the image is actually laminated to a substrate of 1/2" partial board.

 

For murals I once installed them directly to a painted wall using a wallpaper paste (glue) but changing murals became to labour intense as I generally marked up the wall getting the image off.

 

With today's wide body commercial printers I can get a 4'x8' print, pricey yes but there are no seams.

 

Mounting this I now use a foam core base, rubber spray adhesive, wax paper and a few different size paint rollers.

 

The work area (my studio) affords adequate space for this mounting where I've set up the saw horses a sheet of 4x8 foot plywood, two 1"x6"x10' planks, two 1"x6"x4' planks and several lengths of 1x2 inch to form the jig.

 

When I receive a big print from the printer it's rolled image in and I need to re-roll this so the image is out and mount it on a seamless background tube.

 

I then install it on my portable background stand and add two clamps acting as a brake.

 

Set the cut to size foam core into the jig and you'll notice there is still an edges about 1/4 inch to the top of the 1"x6".

 

Place the mural (large picture) into the jig after spraying the starting edge with the rubber adhesive and lightly clamp it in place (pinching mural to foam core base.)

 

Some spray rubber adhesives give a decent working time others are darn near instant, get one that has some working time.

 

Spray the adhesive onto the foam core and roll the picture down the portable background stand will (if the tension is set right) feed the material as you spray and roll.

 

I forgot to say to tape the image to the seamless tube; I use a painter's grad masking tape, as this stuff will peel off without damaging the picture or backing.

 

If you don't have a background stand use the wax paper to separate the mural (large print) from the core, work with an adhesive with a long working time apply the adhesive to the foam core and put the wax paper over it.

Starting edge is the same method but peal the wax paper out from between the core/adhesive and the print as you roll the images.

 

If you get the rubber adhesive on the print don't panic let it dry and then rub it gently with you thumb or finger and it will ball up and come off.

 

What I've done to install these huge prints to the wall is install anodized aluminium track set the bottom edge of your project into the track flatten it to the wall and reinstall the left, right and top piece of your track which is now your frame.

 

Changing the image as long as it's the same size will only take a few minutes.

 

As far as image life, I change these on a rotating bases every three to five years in the house and once a year in my studio. So when the image has gone its full term it's about four to six years old.

 

They still look good providing you haven't used solvents to clean them, as there is no protection on the images surface.

 

There are spray UV, Matt and Texture sprays that can be purchased but I've not used or had the need to use something like this.

 

The sizes that I do myself are Mantel 40"x60", inside living room wall 4'x8' master bedroom 4'x5', kid's room's very but mostly 30"x40" and are hung like a painting.

 

Have fun hope this was a help.

 

Robert in Canada

The probabity of a minor or major screwup increases with the size of the print.<BR><BR> The increase is faster than the surface area increase.<BR><BR> The SERIOUS coin is becuase alot of care is required; space needed to work; and the space and expense of the cutters; and mounting presses. With a dinky 20x30" print; not much care is required. With 30x40"; ALOT more care is required. With a giant 60x40" print; several folks are required; and a screwup is just waiting to happen.<BR><BR> One avoids customers who want giant prints mounted in a hurry; on goofy materials that are tricky; or folks who want to pay too little; want a rush job; then complain that the price is too high. They probably want a wedding shot; and only want to pay the photographer for the roll of film :)<BR><BR>The shipping; boxing; crating charges go nuts above a certain size of mount. Super giant mounts require a crate to be built; trucking lines called; here the shipping and crating can be more than the mount cost. Seak a local shop to avoid radical delivery costs.<BR><BR>At printing trade shows; the latest trend is printing inkjet directly on the "inkjet coated" rigid mounting materials. The print is horizontal during this process; going thru like a piece of plywood on a table saw top. The printers are special; and print directly on thick materials.<BR><BR>Many small sign shops and amateurs mount giant photos and inkjets with a large flat work table; adhesives; and rollers. The learning curve is quick; there is no shop to blame :); you eat the cost of printing up more re-prints; when wrinkles; warpage; bubbles appear.<BR><BR>If the mount is on compressive core; the mount will often warp with time; if roller pressure is too large; or vacuum press time to long. The expansion rate of the base and photo can be different; and warpage will vary with temp and humidity.<BR><BR>A vacuum mounting press for 40x60" costs like buying a used car; and requires space; vacuum pump. <BR><BR>Shops many times charge less for mounting; if the printing is done in house. This is because reprint cost is known; the material printed on is a know quanitity. An unknown print from a customer may appear dry; then get stuck to the glass; and a chunk of it is pulled off the emulsion or inkjet image. This is always a fun affair; even after mounting for 2 decades. If the wrong inkjet and paper combo is used; the ink can take weeks to dry; even if in a dry humidity chamber; with box fans running 24/7. This is more common than most folks want to believe. Folks get a sample roll of ACME inkjet; and print their masterpiece; then rush the the print shop; and claim it was printed 3 weeks ago; then complain and whine wehn the mounting is refused; becuase the surface is tacky like fly paper. <BR><BR>Folks want a rush low cost job; without the liability of paying for reprinting. <BR><BR>Experiment with mounting your duds first; to avoid disappointment. There are alot of tricks that mounters use; undocumented; trade secrets; a crafty type affair. <BR><BR>In one job; we printed 8 sets of 12 30x40" inkjet posters; and our customer had another shop do the mounting; and 20 percent less cost. The other shop then called; and wanted us to print free reprints; for their screwups. They had never mounted posters this size before; and wanted to learn our methods; and have us pay for their learning curve; ie duds. It takes all types. Here the 2nd shop refused to pay for more reprints; and the main customer got a truncated portion of the job they wanted. <BR><BR>

In mounting of panels that have to match; it gets tricky. The linearity and barrel distortion of ones enlarger can cause matching problems. Inkjet prints run on two different printers; of the same model; can have different linearity & calibration of the X and Y dimensions. Finished prints before mounting can be perfect when printed; and then be of 1/4 inch in 4 feet; if they were stored in different areas; with different humidities. Letting a customer take home one panel is a disaster; they will roll it tight in a tube; leave it in a humid car; then bring it back and it will missmatch a huge amount.

Sometime around last fall/winter, I started a thread here about the same idea. If you do a search, you'll find it, and there were a lot of helpful posts. There is also another large thread on the same thing. Check here and check the forum at www.lfphoto.info.

 

What I settled on, though I ended up not doing the mural project (too muhc money) was to use watered down Emler's glue to wet-mount the print on Gator board.

Hello,

I'd suggest you explore the possibilities for having your photos dry-mounted on (hardened/oxidised) aluminium. This is a tried method currently very much in fashion amongst the art photogs here in Finland. No frames or glass, just the photo... thereby making the photo an objet d'art in itself, not a window to life.

 

Special care must be taken regards dust: aluminium does not compress, so any dust or other particles left between the board and the photo will create an unseemly bubble.

Jaakko

The only effective routes I've found involve dry -mounting and I rang some galleries that I knew sold large prints on Crystal Archive before arriving at this view. I use a professional outfit in London to dry -mount onto foam core, and that costs close to ?100 sterling per 36" sq print, though I have to say the results look really fine -absolutely flat 36" sq prints after six months. I'm sure aluminium would be even better, and I've seen this in galleries and art-school shows etc. But the cost is much higher.

For what it's worth, I've seen (in someone's home) large photographs sandwiched between two sheets of clear high quality plastic (or was it glass) and hung from filament wire (invisible). They appear to be floating in space. I'm sure it is expensive, but the photograph experiences no damage over time.