dry mounting K3 giclees

[patflynn]

Any advice on this? I'm using various Epson papers and will soon be in

possession of a Seal 210 press. I'm worried mainly about colors shifting or

prints curling, plus any other perils I haven't anticipated. I'm wondering

especially about temperature settings and press durations - what's ideal? I'll

be mounting to foam board with dry mount tissue. Process suggestions for any

stage more than welcome, all experiences helpful. Many thanks!

[frans_waterlander]

Epson and HP satin paper cannot take the 170 degrees F for 30 or so seconds needed in the drymounting process; narrow dark lines appear that are very visible in areas like blue sky and not so visible in other areas. I would think you would have the same problem with about any brand of satin, semigloss or glossy paper. For those far between cases where I need to use satin paper, I have the prints vacuum mounted by a local framing shop.

 

Normally I use Epson matte paper and that works just fine with my Seal drymount press at 170 degrees F using Buffermount tissue and between 30 seconds and a couple of minutes.

[RobertChura]

I use mainly Epson glossy paper and I have seen no problem dry mounting my images. I use a low heat and the low heat dry mount paper onto rag mount board.

[frans_waterlander]

Robert,

 

I use Buffermount tissue which is as far as I can tell the lowest temperature, archival drymount tissue on the market. I use 170 degrees F for 30 to 45 seconds and the problem I get is only visible in areas like clear blue sky. Reason enough for me to use vacuum mounting (at room temperature) for anything not matte.

[steve_sharf1]

Patrick: While I have not printed K3 Giclees, I do have much experience with mounting on a Seal 210. I don't see why any of the current Epson papers would be much different than my Silenium darkroom prints of the past when I was using both Fibre based and RC papers, though I stand to be corrected. Certainly my method of flattening will work. It is an easy and superb method. You will find it in the following response post I made in 2003:

 

I flatten my 11x14's before I place them in my Seal dry mount press. I use the large Seal brand boards that are made to act as a substrate when you place your prints in the press. These are silicone boards and therefore the surface is quite slick so that if you place your wavy print between them and SLOWLY close them under a heavy weight(in my case I use the Seal Weight which is about twenty pounds), the chances of buckling a corner are very slim as the corners will slide down flat. I leave the print under the weight for about 15 minutes and then I transfer the "sandwich" to the press. I press them in the dry mount press for 2 1/2 minutes. I have had excellent results with this method.

[boris_krivoruk3]

Seal's website has RagMount. This is what is says: "This is the only adhesive on the market today that is designed for dry mounting Giclee prints. It can also be used in dry mounting digital prints to fine art paper and in traditional dry mounting applications." Although recommended temperature is 180F. Anyone tried it yet?

[sourdoughsteve]

I find this whole mounting process troublesome. You would think and or assume that Seal

and or Epson would have straight forward answers regarding techniques for artists.

[frans_waterlander]

"I find this whole mounting process troublesome. You would think and or assume that Seal and or Epson would have straight forward answers regarding techniques for artists."

 

Yes, you would, but that's not the case. Epson couldn't tell me right away if their satin paper could withstand 170 degree F and only after insisting on a clear answer did they say it was not designed to withstand that temperature. HP is in denial: when their satin paper developed the thin dark lines, I asked them if it could withstand 170 degree F; they said yes, the limit is 200 degree F; they clearly have no clue.

[carlosesteban]

Since it is almost impossible to get a dry mount press here (Brazil) or at last it could be very expensive (about 3x) I tried to mount (Epson pro 3800 B&W on Ilford Galerie Smooth Gloss and Kodak tissue) with my household iron (a trickei process, but useful) and I got the photo "back mounted" to the board I used just to cover the photo side aside other issues posted in the forum. So, I think I must avoid heat at all

Said that, has anybody tried cold process (3M 567)? Is there any disadvantages in it? Thanks.

[frans_waterlander]

The cold mounting process is tricky in that you have to position the print exactly in the right position; once you put it down on the glue (mostly from a spray can) it is almost impossible to remove it for repositioning. To avoid alignment problems, you can use an oversized board and trim it AFTER the print has been mounted.

[carlosesteban]

Thank, Frans. I don~t think position the print on the board is a problem since I use two straight pieces of board thick enough to guide the print that leave the exact position uncovered. Besides the 3M 567 is quit (not perfect) repositionable but it carries another issue: when someone pull out the protective layer the glue tends to colapse in small balls that may be seen in the print surface, so been extremely careful is a must.

 

Said that, my concern is about stability and archival issues using that kind of mounting.

 

Best regards.