Drymount vs. hinging question...

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fieldsframing

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What are your thoughts on when it is appropriate to drymount artwork, photography, etc and when you should use as alternate method such as t-hinging the artwork? It's a line that seems to be vague at times and my policy so far has been, "when in doubt, don't drymount", but I was hoping to gain some insight from framers that are more experienced than myself. Thanks guys!
 
Easily replaceable items get dry mounted here for the most part. If somebody is paying you a bunch of money for conservation framing then it would be wrong to dry mount unless the purpose of the conservation framing was only for higher ticket dollars or because that is all you offer. I get a bunch of framing that falls in the gray area where they are not willing to pay for conservation framing but I am also not willing to dry mount the artwork so it gets hinged.
 
  1. See this thread, which is very similar
  2. Especially for items that fall into the 'gray area' it's largely a matter of having an informed discussion with the client
 
Thank you both for your responses. This is obviously a topic that gets a lot of attention on this site and I can see why. I currently don't have a separate or additional charge for conservation framing and that might be something that I need to address. The cost of labor is always the same within a certain U.I. dimension unless I know that it will require more than simply mounting and matting. I also appreciate the link to the previous discussion on this matter. I've always felt like regardless what I am framing I should frame it in a way that is the least intrusive and possibly reversible fashion possible. What I've read so far just confirms my suspicion that I'll be doing far more hinging than drymounting. I care about my customers' art and mounting it properly matters!
 
I've gotten away from hinging most art and instead opting for using edge strips which are less invasive than hinges. There are only two types of framing I can think of where I hinge now other than just standard small photos.

1.) When the substrate of the art is not strong enough to support itself. Rice paper is one such example.

2.) When I float mount a piece of art.

With edge strips no adhesive touches the artwork itself and, if done properly, there is plenty of room for expansion and contraction without any buckling. Even though rice paper hinges applied with wheat paste, rice starch or methyl cellulose are reversible by a conservator, they are still somewhat invasive. They also hold the art at at least two fixed points and can cause the top edge to buckle in some circumstances.

Sometimes I'll use the mylar edge strips from LineCo making sure to allow enough space for the print to move and also to burnish the strips down well so they don't fail. More often and on very valuable work I'll make my own edge strips with either heavy rice paper or 1-2 ply Strahmore 100% cotton 500 series vellum.

Here's an article by Hugh Phibbs on the use of edge strips:

http://www.pictureframingmagazine.com/pdfs/pressupp/APR01_EDGESTRIPS.pdf
 
Once last question on this post, and I apologize if it exposes my ignorance. Is acid-free, linen cloth tape sufficient and acceptable for creating t-hinges and other style hinges or should I always use the mulberry strip/wheat starch method?
 
Wow, thanks Dave! That is a great article and a method that I was completely unaware of. I'm going to have to get some practice in with it but I believe it will be great. Thanks again!
 
The linen tape is a self adhesive tape and will eventually fail. From an archival standpoint, rice paper hinges are better. If you do use the linen tape, be sure to burnish the tape down well which will greatly increase it's holding power.

I do use LineCo's self adhesive linen tape on some items like small family photos or inexpensive reproductions. On more valuable work I generally use edge strips or sometimes corner pockets. When hinging with rice paper I'll use linen tape as the top part of the T-hinge.
 
Just to be clear their are also water activated linen tapes available. These are great for book mounting your mats. Like Dave, we rarely hinge art any more. Edge strips are easy and fast. We don't to quite the effort that Hugh shows in his book, but the point being that there is no adhesive touching the art.

Most of what we get in for framing these days is not art and not valuable. Much of this is drymounted on KoolTac which can be carefully reversed. That is not saying that it is acceptable for conservation framing.
 
That's great Dave, I appreciate it. It's easy to feel isolated in my little corner of the framing world and I mainly want to make sure that I'm being objective when it comes to the framing methods that I'm using. There seems to be a careful balance between what works best for me and my bottom line and doing what is right for each individual piece that comes across my table. I just wanna do the right thing on all accounts.
 
Dave said:
The linen tape is a self adhesive tape and will eventually fail. From an archival standpoint, rice paper hinges are better. If you do use the linen tape, be sure to burnish the tape down well which will greatly increase it's holding power.

I do use LineCo's self adhesive linen tape on some items like small family photos or inexpensive reproductions. On more valuable work I generally use edge strips or sometimes corner pockets. When hinging with rice paper I'll use linen tape as the top part of the T-hinge.
Click to expand...

I have seen as many rice paper hinges fail as I have seen dried up masking tape for hinges fail.

And typically when the rice paper hinges fail they are on something good and end up with a crunched corner of paper. And typically this is what you hear from the conservators stand point, that they are made to "break away" so the art is not torn if the frame falls to the ground. Seriously designed for failure....
 
There is also Bainbridge Artcare Restore which allows for removable drymounting which comes in handy.
 
Thanks for the info Terry! And Randy, is it safe to say then that any and all adhesive will eventually fail? (It sounds like a stupid question but if or since that is the case, how should we mount?) In that case, what is your preferred method of mounting? And what are your thoughts on the edge mounting method that was mentioned in this thread?
 
The Platform mount is another non-adhesive mounting method. It consists of a 4-ply mat with an opening cut slightly larger than the paper to be mounted. The fallout becomes the "platform" that holds the paper against the window mat(s). If you have a CMC, set the dimensions to the paper size, plus .015". Beveled cuts are OK, but straight cuts are better.

The platform mat must be securely glued to the back of the window mat, so that there is no gap around the opening, in which the paper could get caught. I generally wet mount the platform mat and the (bottom) window mat layers together in the vacuum press.

To assemble, place the window mat face down on the table, exposing the back of the platform mat. Lay the art/document/photo face down into the platform mat's opening. Place the platform back into the mat (from whence it came) and use gummed linen tape across the corner on the back of the mat to close it.

This is a very simple mounting method and easy to make using any kind of mat cutting equipment. Assembly is very quick. The result is a mounted art/mat package that consists of only one 4-ply mat layer in addition to the window mat(s), which is especially handy if your frame has a shallow rabbet.

I keep a stock of platform mats cut in advance with 4" wide margins (usually trimmed to fit the frame later), for 8" x 10" and 8-1/2" x 11" paper items. I may add 1" x 14" platform mats to the stock.

No adhesive, no risk, secure edge support, fast, easy. For colorful illustrations and more information on variations of this technique, see the "Platform Mount" article in the July 2010 issue of PFM.
 
I do a similar mount to the platform mount with already mounted items that are being matted.

1.) Lay the front mat face down on the work surface.

2.) Position the mounted art face down over the opening of the front mat such that the piece is centered over the opening of the mat and doesn't fall through.

3.) Measure and attach panels all around the mounted art starting with the bottom panel to securely support the mounted piece in position. Attach the top panel next and then the side "column panels". The panels should be the same thickness as the mounted art/photo and extend all the way to the outside perimeter of the face mat.

4.) Adhere a backing board (at least 4 ply mat board thickness depending on overall size) to the face down package.

This method works especially well when matting already mounted photographs in a larger frame package.
 
Thanks Jim, and thanks again Dave!! This is just further proof of how much I have to learn! I'm excited to try all of these methods and as always I'm very grateful for the fact that you so willingly share your knowledge!!!
 
Dave said:
I do a similar mount to the platform mount with already mounted items that are being matted...This method works especially well when matting already mounted photographs in a larger frame package.
Click to expand...

You described what lots of framers call a Sink mount, and yes, it is a similar concept. The difference is that the Platform mount is a secure edge-support technique for paper items not already attached to a substrate, and its backing is the same size as the paper item itself. Also, Platform mounts can be cut in advance for instant mounting, and trimmed to the frame size as needed.
 
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