Opinions Wanted How to Mount a huge poster on 1/2" foam ?

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echavez123

echavez123

MGF, Master Grumble Framer
Joined
Jan 24, 2008
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Location
Las Vegas, NV
Need to mount a 46" x 63" poster on 1/2" foam. Our roller press is 42" wide, cant use it. In order to get a smooth bond, I need even pressure along the tangent line formed as the poster contacts the adhesive, similar to the way the roller press does this. Anyone have ideas?

I was thinking about using a new 48" roll of craft paper as my roller wrapped in release paper to keep the craft paper from sticking to the excess adhesive. Definitely a two person job ...
 
No access to a Seal press or a vacuum press? Can you use heat?
 
The mechanical 500T will handle it if you know somebody with one.
 
Seal Press 500T with a platen size 26 x 34. If you do the mounters in quarters, it'll be done in 5 presses with the first mount starting in the middle. BUT you must use silicon board, or else the piece with
have indents from the edge of the platen pressing down. Maybe you should let somebody who has experience with the press do it. NO worse feeling than a
mount that didn't turn out right. Chris Paschke, where are you?
 
echavez123 said:
One of a kind poster with creases, makes me worried about trusting an outsource.
Click to expand...
If you outsource it to a company with a large vacuum press, if they're pros, they should get it right. Sounds like less of a gamble than you think.
 
echavez123 said:
One of a kind poster with creases, makes me worried about trusting an outsource.
Click to expand...

This sounds like a nightmare in the making. If this is a one of a kind poster and possibly valuable should you be mounting it down at all? My conservator once said "If you want to dramatically increase the value of a piece of artwork, just damage it" but, of course, she was a bit cynical.
 
The mechanical 500T/TX presses can handle 60" by infinity length. By sliding the board all the way to the back your first bond happens with 5" behind the platten that has not been mounted yet. Then you slide it forward to get that last 5" and keep moving it to the left/right/middle/back.

You do want to use the release boards to prevent any depressions that can occur from the hard edge of the platten. I always use release paper over the artwork in addition to the release boards just to be safe that no adhesive is left behind on the board. It is simple to adjust the gap for the thickness of the foam board to be sure you don't crimp it but I usually just don't clamp & lock the lid for the one time job of extra thick boards. You can just hold the bar that is used to lock it down in a firm fashion without clamping.

The 500T/TX is more common in frame shops than the vacuum presses so if you have any framer friends nearby it is a very high probability one of them has one. The release boards aren't cheap so it would be best if you find somebody who already uses them.

Another solution is a sign shop since most have large roller presses and most buy 1/2" foam core at much better pricing than the common frame shop. If you find the right independent sign shop with the equipment there is a high probability to farm the job out at a cost about what you would pay for your materials alone. While framers often fret over the price of equipment for mounting in the sign industry a $10,000 cold roller press is low end and a $50,000 cold roller press is common.
 
echavez123 said:
One of a kind poster with creases, makes me worried about trusting an outsource.
Click to expand...

If it has any true value to it you should consider having it backed/lined by a source that deals in vintage poster art like movie posters. In my experience the only people who think the cost is too much are those who have something that doesn't actually have any true value.
 
It worked. Used a 60" roll of kraft paper as my manual roller to mount this puppy:

Manual_Roller.JPG
 
I have a similar job to do and have the same problem that the print is 44" x 68" wide and does not fit in the dry mount press.
I will be printing the piece with our Epson printer.

Actually we have had to deal with 3 jobs like this in the past month!

I have the SealPro roller press 44" wide and I have used it for mounting on heat activated boards.
For this current job, the customer wanted 1/2" black gator and I said that the roller press can't take boards thicker than 1/4" so she agreed to 3/16" black gator.
My question is "Have you mounted with the roller press with dry mounting tissue instead of heat activated foam". Because the customer wants black gator, I have a problem.

The second part of my question is that I had considered buying a 24x36 D&K (500T) mechanical press to deal with large pieces but I am leaning away from it. I have mounted large pieces in the past by going to a nearby frame shop that has the 500T. However, I am leaning away from making that purchase because I want to do a speedy job and offer mounting, laminating, and face mounting which can be done with a 54" or 63" cold roller press (made by companies such as Drytac, D&K, and Codamount). There is used one made by Royal Sovereign that a local business wants to sell. Are all these machines comparable?

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Bruce Hazany
Vision Graphics
Philadelphia
 
I have the Seal 500T (26 x 34 platen size). WITH RELEASE BOARD used to eliminate pressed edge impressions, it can handle large pieces with ease. You just mount in sections.
And if you "double-heat" overlapping edges in sections, it doesn't matter because the dwell time isn't a factor like temperature is. As long as you try to mount from
the center out toward the edges, the press works great.
 
I still have my old hard-bed press which most of the time is piled up with junk on top.

it's the medium-size model, platen 22x18". It's a big old lump. o_O

But because you can mount in 'bites' the capacity is quite huge. I have a metal sheet bigger than
the platen to dissipate the heat at the edges and prevent bite marks. Although the platen is max 22"
there is a six-inch gap behind, meaning the the max reach is about 28". So working from both sides
you could theoretically mount things 54" x infinity. (as long as there isn't a wall in the way)
Having said that, it would be a long-winded exercise. I used to do 36x24 laminated prints on hardboard
and cooked them for 20mins per corner. Still got some and they are still stuck well after 30 years.
I have done oversize stuff using about 8-10 bites though. :D

It helps if you are a qualified contortionist with four arms. :p
 
Both of my stores have the 500TX which is the first piece of mounting equipment a shop should have. Once you have that you have the flexibility to do anything and any additional equipment should address a specific need.
 
I am certain that the 500T press will do the job. I have used it a few times. I am just thinking the money that would go towards that machine (about $2000 for a used one) can be invested in one of these large cold roller presses ($4000 and up) that can do the same job much faster and also offer face mounting on plexiglas which seems many photographers are seeking and few places offer.
Thank you for helping me decide. It's not easy to decide especially since I have never seen the roller laminators in person!
Bruce
 
Look around for a better price on that used press since the one you are looking at is crazy priced. I've bought 3 of them now all under $800 and they were the 500TX which is a much better press due to the thermostat. The last time I arranged for the school system to buy a new 500TX I believe I got it at $3,000 brand new.
 
There are a bunch of used presses on eBay but all look really beat up. The one that was $2000 looks new and was purchased for over $4000. I am not sure if it was TX.
 
You gotta be careful buying a used 500T. Some of them have hot and cold zones- they don't heat up evenly.
 
One thing about these presses is they weigh 275 pounds so pick up is how almost all of the used ones are purchased. Due to the weight they are difficult to sell so the cost of used ones is very low. Look around for one where even if you have to drive a few hours in each direction it is worth the savings.
 
Yes I am looking for a used machine I can drive and pick up.
However, I thought of another limitation to the mechanical presses which is that I can't use them for large prints that need to be cold mounted.

I am still in favor of a large cold roller press. Does anyone out there have one of these machines? There are 54" or 63" wide units.
Some have "heat assist" but can be hot or cold.

Thank you.
 
To find the roller units both hat and cold you should be looking at the sign industry.

You will quickly find that in the sign industry the hot and/or cold roller units tend to be in the $10,000-$50,000 price range.
 
Actually the new ones I have seen are $5000 to $10,000.
Here is a picture:
18938-f076aa3220127cb43652bd558ffeb547.jpg
 

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Hazany said:
Actually the new ones I have seen are $5000 to $10,000.
Here is a picture:
18938-f076aa3220127cb43652bd558ffeb547.jpg
Click to expand...

That looks like it should do all a frame shop needs. Talk to some people in the sign industry for reviews since they will be able to tell you if it will meet your needs. Sign shops are making very permanent outdoor solutions so there stuff is quite a bit more expensive than our stuff. The sign shops will let you know if there are any quirks in certain brands that you need to be aware of before you make the purchase.
 
Hazany said:
I have a similar job to do and have the same problem that the print is 44" x 68" wide and does not fit in the dry mount press.
I will be printing the piece with our Epson printer.

Actually we have had to deal with 3 jobs like this in the past month!

I have the SealPro roller press 44" wide and I have used it for mounting on heat activated boards.
For this current job, the customer wanted 1/2" black gator and I said that the roller press can't take boards thicker than 1/4" so she agreed to 3/16" black gator.
My question is "Have you mounted with the roller press with dry mounting tissue instead of heat activated foam". Because the customer wants black gator, I have a problem.

The second part of my question is that I had considered buying a 24x36 D&K (500T) mechanical press to deal with large pieces but I am leaning away from it. I have mounted large pieces in the past by going to a nearby frame shop that has the 500T. However, I am leaning away from making that purchase because I want to do a speedy job and offer mounting, laminating, and face mounting which can be done with a 54" or 63" cold roller press (made by companies such as Drytac, D&K, and Codamount). There is used one made by Royal Sovereign that a local business wants to sell. Are all these machines comparable?

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Bruce Hazany
Vision Graphics
Philadelphia
Click to expand...

1) All of my mounts are with cold dry mount, using Drytac double sided adhesive rolls. I have a Bienfang 42" press which takes 1/2 boards just fine. I have a much better success rate with cold mounting.
2) My next roller press will be a 60" press, and I will still do cold mounting. I have done facemounting with my Bienfang sucessfully, and have no problem handling long panoramics. Right now my limitation is 42" width.
 
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