Using glue sticks to mount photos? Other methods?

John: The traditional method is dry mounting, but you really need a dry mount press to do it right. I have had good success using a spray adhesive from Scotch called "Super 77". I have never had a print come loose when mounting on mat board, but I have had one come loose when I mounted it on foam core. That was the only one out of many, and I may not have used enough adhesive. The adhesive comes in two kinds, removable and non removable. Use the kind that is non removable. Spray the back of the print, let it set for about 15-to-30 seconds, and put the print in place and roll it with a rubber roller. Make sure the print is in the right place before you put it on the board, because it is impossible to remove without ruining the print. I do outdoor art festivals with my prints, and that adhesive holds in hot sun, freezing rain, you name it. There is also spray adhesive made especially for art work, but I have not had any problems with Super 77 in several years of using it. You can get it at homecenters and craft shops. It is usually cheaper at home centers, about seven or eight dollars for a large can that will do a lot of prints.

Hope this helps,

Doug.

Try Elmer's Craft Bond Glue Stick (acid free). I've been using it for about a year with no problems.

Doug -- this spray adhesive doesn't soak the print and ruin it? I think that's what I've been worried about with anything less dry and gummy than the glue stick that I've been using.

Use adhesive tack mounting paper. You can get it in art stores where they sell framing/mounting supplies. It runs $3-4 per sheet (~10x14), so it's not the cheapest way, but is a whole lot less messy than spray adhesive, easier to control, and does not smell bad.

John, Dry mounting (hot process) is the best way to go. 3M makes a cold mount that you run through a press to adhere the cold mount adhesive to the print and the backer board. I wouldn't work if your using a "corrugated" back board but on a mount board, it works great. I have used the 77 spray for older portfolio prints and have lasted 20+ years. Fiber papers, well it is best to have them dry (hot mounted) mounted. Cheers

Greetings. Not to long ago, I did alot of reasearch in this area. I was using double sided framing tape to mount my photos, and the humidity was causing them to bubble and lift. I then tried to hinge them with linen tape, same problem. In all my research, it came down to two options, positional mount adhesive (3M) or dry mounting. After weighing the options, I bought a dry mount press. Dry mounting eliminates burnishing and the possiblity of scratching your print. It also doesn't allow for any air bubbles. Haven't looked back since, and my photos look better than ever. Hope this helps.

Let me ask a question that occurs to me reading all your counsel (for which I am grateful, thanks): the glue stick allows some give and flexibility -- that is, if my print is not precisely lined up when I lay it down on the backboard, I can move it around until I really press down hard.

Are these other methods -- the 77 adhesive, the tack mounting sheet -- a little forgiving, or is it "once that first bit of your print is down, that's where it is going to STAY"?

John: I agree with Scott that the best method for fiber papers is dry mounting if you have a press. I have in an emergency dry mounted smaller prints with the wife's electric iron, with the prints and mounts between two pieces of mat board, but it isn't the best method. With double weight fiber paper, I have used the Super 77 and coated both the mat and the back of the print for a stronger mount. I have not found the spray to penetrate the paper with a normal coating, as it is almost dry when it hits the paper if you don't glob it on. To use the double coating, you will need to cut out an opening on a mat board the size of the print and lay that over the mat before spraying. I use dry mounting a lot, but for doing many prints when I am getting ready for a show I like the spray mount.

Doug.

I've never seen a dry mount press, but it sounds like a moderately big piece of gear. I live in an NYC apartment, so economy of space is a must.

With respect to the adhesive spray 77: if your print curls at all, don't you run a risk of getting it on the photo side as you spray the rear? Or does one just spray a narrow area towards the center of the print? I guess I'm wondering if I would be able to get away just spraying the back board, then laying down the print on top of it.

Try the Rollataq system. Acid-free glue that sets quickly enough that bubbles don't creep back in after you've just chased them out. Available in art supply stores and from Light Impressions.

Michael is right on. Rollataq is the way to go. Simpler than traditional dry mount. And both cleaner and better than any spray.

John, In answer to your question, the 77 and other methods are pretty much one shot things. I usually carefully lay one edge down to get the alignment correct and then do the full press and roll. I also coat both the print and board. In terms of curl of the print while coating, I make sure to make the print as flat as possible(re-roll it the opposite way or do the table edge pull method to "warp" the paper flat.

Thanks Jack! Another satisfied Rollataqer (at last)!

John, positioning the print is pretty straighforward.

First, place your mat on the backboard. Line the outer corners up and, with a pencil, lightly mark the backboard as close as possible to the window's corners, being careful no to mark the mat.

Remove the mat and place your photo on the backboard, centering it so the pencil corner-marks are all concealed. Replace the mat and inspect it; reposition the photo until satisfied, and make pencil marks just outside the corners of the photo on the backboard.

Take the photo off and rollataq the entire backboard. You do not have to wait for the glue to set up or turn tacky - in fact, you should get the photo in place immediately.

Hold the photo up by one corner and place the diagonally opposite corner at its mark. Lower the photo down so that the short side's corners tally with your last marks. Hold that edge down firmly with a couple of fingers and gradually lower the photo into place. Check that the photo corners and pencil marks tally; if not, lift it up quickly and try again. Rollataq glue will start to set quickly, so you have to get your technique with smaller prints before risking print, mat and backboard with larger prints.

A small inking roller (not inked!) is great for chasing bubbles. I think that simply dabbing with a paper towel might leave some air spaces and could cause scuff marks on a glossy finish.

I like to position the mat while the glue is still tacky, then place the whole sandwich under stacks of encyclopedias I bought for the kids right before they bought their own Grolier's. The encyclopaedias are the most expensive part of the whole system. If you're short on space, storage is not a problem - except for the encyclopaedias, but they look impressive whatever they're doing.

77 bills itself as "agressively adhesive" -- and it is. The stuff doesn't like to let go. Another caution: the overspray from 77 is insidious. It must be used over a workspace broadly wrapped in newspaper or other disposable material. Unless your project components are waiting in another room, you can expect a light mist of 77 to settle on them and everything else nearby. And since your newspaper will be misted in 77 after you spray the first item, you won't want to put the second item down until you lay fresh newspaper.

It should be used with good ventilation but NOT outdoors since the slightest movement of air will carry it to unwanted places. It should be considered uncontrollable when outdoors.

But in the right work area and under strict control, it's great stuff.

Hmmmm...more and more, I'm beginning to feel better about my glue stick.

I use spray adhesive as my primary method of mounting photographs and other graphic materials (not 77, some other spray specifically for photos... by 3M I think). It makes a big difference which brand you use...the "bad" ones go on thick like paint and can be easily absorbed by all but coated paper, whereas the better ones will not even soak into tissue paper unless you spray them overly thick ("good brands seem to be twice to three times more than the cheap stuff...I guess you get what you pay for sometimes). You do not spray just a small area of the back, rather you need an even, thin coat across the whole print...thus it can be a messy job. If your doing 8-10 or smaller it is quite easy to do this by just opening a single old newspaper...lay your print face down, spray lightly from above, carefully lift the print off the paper. Because the stuff does not soak in much, you can just turn the page of the paper to do the next print. The stuff I use does not say to spray both the print and mounting material, and I found no need to do it (sounds like it would be a huge pain!) Mounting is a one shot deal...as in you get no second chances. I normally (1) mark two dots where the upper corners of the print will go, (2) pull the print taught on that upper edge, (3) get a few mm of this upper edge attached (at this point you can still pull it off if need be), and (4) carefully roll the photo onto the mounting material. Placing the print onto the mounting material in a rolling motion is the key...starting at the upper edge and bowing the paper onto the mounting material; done correctly the natural elastic strength of the paper insures that there are no bubbles. I cannot remember the last time I messed up on gluing a print down...which means, basically, that it is not hard with a small bit a practice.

Sound like too much effort?...well good spray glue will give you as good of a mount as that done any other way...and it certainly is the cheapest way for those doing low volume work. Dry mount is fantastic if you have a hot press (but it hard to justify the expense and space if you only rarely use it, and for larger sizes the press can be expensive. Using the old hand iron to dry mount works for small prints, but it is really not satisfactory for even 8-10s. Don't know anything about Rollataq glue. Look...use glue stick, rubber cement, wood glue, bubble gum, nose snoot...whatever you want if the idea is to just keep a photo on the wall for a few weeks. If your dropping some cash on a nice frame or mount, and you what a firm attachment that will last decades, then use good quality spray or take it somewhere that has the equipment to do it correctly with dry mount or whatnot.

Dry mounting is the best way that I know. You could also try using the 3M double-sided tape. There are two kinds, one that is really thick, which you use for sticking hooks on the wall. The one that I recommend is more like a transparent tape, which is used for sticking paper or photos to cardboards. This is not removable like the Post-It Notes. Both are available here in Asia, but I think they should have it in the US and in Europe as well. I've used it to stick pictures to my albums and I haven't experienced this puffiness you had with a glue stick. I guess photo paper absorb semi-liquid adhesives just like normal paper.

Dry mount seems to be the consensus after reading some of the responses. But, contrary to what was said I don't think you need a dry mount press. As a starving student, I use an iron (set on cotton - make sure it is NOT on steam) to tack the dry mount to the back of my print. I trim any extra dry mount off and use the iron to tack the dry mount to the board. Then, I put an extra board over my print and iron the dickens out of it. So far it's worked very well. I tried the spray glue, but it was way too messy for me. Good luck!

I was taught never to do anything to a print that could not be reversed. Why not photo corners and linen tape on acid free mats? Plus if your taste changes the mats and frame can be used for other prints.

Interesting to read so many different opinions. Here are my 2 cents: Dry mounting is best for fiber based papers. For anything RC (be it black and white, color, or ilfochromes) I have never been able to achieve as flat a surface as I desire using a drymount (hot press). You could simply tape the edges and cover with the overmat. This method of not-mounting-at-all is preferred by many museums!!! If you want to permanently attach the photo to its base board, I'd recommend Scotch 3D Positionable Mounting Adhesive (568) - very clean, very easy to use and the art work can be repositioned until you apply pressure. Stay away from sprays; they are messy!

I would like to offer my thanks to everyone; I have received a lot of helpful advice.

Behind a viewfinder, I feel pretty comfortable. I'm not a pro, but I generally feel like I know what I'm doing. Sometimes I like the results, and more often not, but I feel generally pretty comfortable.

By contrast, I don't feel like I know much about getting my work into a nice, presentable, framed form once it is printed, and I haven't been all that happy with my efforts to date (though I should say that, in general, the Nielsen and Bainbridge presentation frame series and museum frame series make everything look pretty good). This has given me a lot of ideas of what to work with and how to do it.

As I mentioned, I live in an NYC apartment; a major piece of equipment - which the press sounds like -- is out, as is spraying probably. I'm going to look into some of these other suggestions, though.

Thanks again.

If you use a glue stick to glue the photo to the backboard, only glue along the top edge. This allows the print to hang free, so that changes in humidity do not cause the print/backboard combination to buckle, as it would if they were glued together along the entire print. The front mat holds the print flat.

Paul -- that's a good idea, thanks

Yes! Per Andreas' post, the key word / tricky phrase you want (in a spray adhesive, at least) is "REPOSITIONABLE." They're much easier to work with!

My experience with glue sticks is not a happy one. I tried using a glue stick just once with bad results. The glue leaked through the print and ruined it. Not only that, the print buckled and bubbled. Back to dry mounting I guess. I used to dry mount all the time with an iron, worked just fine.

I wonder, has anyone had any experience with these mounting methods with inkjet prints? I recently bought the new Epson 2000p and although epson claims the prints will last upwards of 140 years, I wonder what the heat involved in dry mounting will do to them or whether a spray adhesive will cause any premature fading. Thanks