Homemade, Zen or Nori paste????

I use the Nori paste. It's cheap and ready to use like ketchup for your art.
 
Ah! To be the guy who invented the ketchup pack!!

(And have the marketing rights to the idea.)

Yes, Nori paste in the little "ketchup" packs is convenient, stable, and easy to apply. I like it and haven't mixed any wheat starch paste since I got some samples of Nori at one of the Atlanta shows a few years ago. It is a new product and probably will make mixing paste obsolete.

Framerguy
 
I hate to sound like an ad, but why would anyone NOT use Nori?

I cannot imagine an easier, faster, cheaper or safer product for hinging good art.

I like to slice my own bread, but I will never go back to cooking starch paste or mixing methyl cellulose paste powder.

Greg Fremstad at Frame Tek, if he never does another good thing for the rest of his life, has earned a spot in the Picture Framers' Hall of Fame for introducing this product to us long-suffering framers.

(You don't think I've over-stated my enthusiasm, do you?)
 
"Picture Framers' Hall of Fame"

Where that located? Somewhere in N.C. I'll bet!
 
We may soon have a vacancy in Appleton where the Houdini exhibit is located.

I'm sure it would be a huge draw.
 
I have always admired Houdini but I didn't know that he could make his entire exhibit disappear!! :eek:

Framerguy
 
Is there something detrimental I should know about the Lineco prepasted hinge (you wet it with distilled water)? I realize that it isn't the correct weight for all art, but it's appropriate for a lot ...

In the cases when it IS the right weight, it's quick, archival and strong.
 
I use the Lineco Gummed Paper Hinging Tape, Lineco Gummed Japanese Hinging Paper or NORI.

And I'm in full agreement with NORI - heck fire, I don't like standing over the stove for a meal, why would I want to cook starch paste!?

Thumbs up to NORI!
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I have been using Nori paste for about a year now, and I love it! As a trial, I float mounted some pretty heavy stuff, and it is still stuck after a year. As far as I can tell, it behaves exactly as the kind I used to prepare, but sooooo much easier!
 
I had my local conservator look at the Lineco Hayaku water activated tapes. He said it seems to behave as you would want/expect. (ie. reversible and no discoloration) From the chemical makeup he didn't see any problems, but he couldn't find any "long term" data. His suggestion was to use the Nori for anything clearly of value and to use the Hayaku when I was "tempted to use tape for speed."

Hugh, Rebecca ... any other info on that stuff?
 
Nori is reported to be pure starch paste, just like we would cook fresh in the shop, with no additives that could weaken or degrade it over time.

So, if your fresh cooked starch paste would work, so would Nori.
 
Originally posted by Jay H:
"Picture Framers' Hall of Fame"
Where that located? Somewhere in N.C. I'll bet!
More aptly at the convergence of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah....you know.....4 Corners.


Yes, Nori is the answer unless the piece being hinged is a-hygroscopic (thanks Jim), or hyper-hygroscopic (just made that one up). Check out the tutorial by Rebbecca on the use of Lascaux 360 in hinging vellum and R/C photos. You still use the varying weights of Japanese papers but avoid introducing water where it's not wanted or effective.
 
I'd be interested in hearing how many Grumblers routinely use Japanese hinges on RC photos. Or ever.

Framers Tape II or Mylar corners seem perfectly appropriate for even the finest RC prints, but I'll be happy to hear other opinions about that.
 
I use mylar corners reinforced with linen tape. put the corners down then put a slice of linen tape over the mylar and have it attach to the board.

d
 
Originally posted by wpfay:
...Yes, Nori is the answer unless the piece being hinged is a-hygroscopic or hyper-hygroscopic...
Is a-hygroscopic non-porous? Right, water based paste doesn't work dependably on non-porous surfaces.

And is hyper-hygroscopic super-porous? If so, I suggest Nori paste and Hugh Phibbs' "Micro-Dot" method of applying it. It assures using the minimum amount of paste & reduces the possibility of cockling.
 
:( I'm having a teensy bit of a problem with the Hayaku: I'm either too wet or too dry. If it's too wet, it shows through; if too dry, it lets go. Now, I've taken workshops from the best, and I must have forgotten something. Maybe I'll just go back to Nori and be finished with it. Might I encounter the same problem, or can you suggest what I'm doing wrong....except not getting it right?
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The only odd thing I've noticed about the pre-pasted Linco tape is that on (my sample at least) the Japanese paper developed lots of little brown speckles after a few years in slab basement (semi humid) conditions.

This likely speaks more to the paper than the paste. Speckles may have been caused by tiny iron flecks from drying the paper sheets on iron plates rather than the more traditional (expensive) method of drying sheets on wood planks.

The nice thing about making your own paste is that it's easier to get the precise thickness you want. Cook it up thick, and add water as needed. The same is true of methylcellulose. Make it thick and thin as needed.

The nice thing about using your own paste, be it Nori or home made, is that you can apply it to the particular type of paper you want (heavy or very light weight) rather than being stuck with the thickness Linco uses.

But all this presupposes a fairly constant volume of use. Like anything, the more one uses something, the more useful/important the fine details become. For occasional use only, I'd probably stick with the Linco prepasted.

As is common with LIFE (grrr) there are exceptions to all rules of thumb. I recently had a nightmare experience using the Lascaux HV360/Japanese paper pressure sensitive tissue. It failed in the paper-paper movement caused by a recent heat wave. The bond just would not hold up to the different expansion/contractions of the two papers. I've never had that happen before, so just goes to show that nothing works in every situation. I ended up reverting to tried and true wheat starch paste!

Rebecca
 
The most common problem with hinging with ANY wheat paste or any tape that must be wetted is wetness. If too wet, your art will buckle - if too dry it wont make a strong bond. On the FrameTek web pages there is a video on hinging with Nori paste packets. including a very clever (Thanks to Kris Anderson) method of determing how to control this wetness - darn near fool proof. Under the pull-down menu titled "Free Info" there is a very detailed instruction sheet on hinging - including "S" hinges adn Float hinging. Check it out - it's free. frametek.com
 
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