Mounting 1830mm x1240 mm print

Larry01

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Hi all

I have a monster of a print that has arrived. There is an 80mm boarder around the image that contains the photographers embossed stamp. Total image size is above. As I cannot use a matboarder, I called the gallery who frames this photographers work and they mount his prints to adhesive foamcore (using a roller) and use 20mm foam spacers. I’ll be using acrylic glazing to reduce weight. My client is happy to go down this route but I wanted to check if there were any other options that are less permanent? I’m having to outsource the mount and frame joining as my tiny studio just couldn’t cope. I was planning to add L corner flat brackets to the corners for support. Do you think that would be enough?

Hope all of that made sense! Im still getting my head around it 🥴

Thanks in advance 🙏🏼
 
If you mount it to s/a foamboard using a roller I would bet my boots that it will bubble up sooner or later.
Most likely sooner. :oops:

The only reliable way is to find someone with a giant vac press and use heat-activated film and a harder board.
 
Sorry I didn’t add that my supplier is going to dry mount with heat/press. I was going to use foamcore but do you think that isn’t firm enough? My spacers will cover the edges to prevent lifting there but I’m terrified of the thought of bubbling 😳 what would be the best substrate to dry mount to?
 
Foam core easily dents and warps. Is this print replaceable? If so, I would sandwich it between backboard and plexiglass and call it a day.

Personally, jobs like these are more headaches than worth it. I would have declined it as I simply don't have the space or the stamina to do the extremely large sizes.
 
A better option is to have it cold mounted to ACM panel using a roller press. Professional photographers usually prefer this method. It is irreversible, but coming from a digital file, the image is replaceable.
Sign companies often have this capability.
One concern is that any mount using pressure might affect the artist's blind stamp.

As far as structural integrity is concerned, unless you are using a fairly massive frame, a strainer frame may be necessary. That should be integral to the overall design process.
 
This subject has come up in the past, and recently.
Trying to deal with a difficult print puts all the responsibility on the framer, rather than the creator researching better options for having their images made, which would make displaying the art much easier.

Standard 1/8 or 3/16 foamboard will almost be guaranteed to bow if heat press dry mounted at that size.
I've done some drymounts around the size you have, 32x40, and smaller, and they usually bow.
This happens either using a pre-applied glue board like Mountcor, or using film and AF foam board.
There are "tricks" that can be done to mitiagate the bowing effect, such as reverser mounting, or double or tripling the foamboard after mounting, etc.
I strongly suggest there are other options for materials and mounting processes that would be preferable over foamboard, in my experience.

Make sure you charge an appropriate rate to cover the extra costs to solve this "problem" they have presented to you to solve.
1- a product has arrived that is not "easy" to deal with. Oversize items always are more difficult, and require more time and space to deal with. Or in some cases, outsourcing part of the work. This adds to the cost.
2- constructing an oversized frame that will accommodate this piece requires substantial frame material or extra reinforcement to be safe for the art. This adds to the cost.
3- mounting with more expensive materials or methods than the "standard" foamboard drymount. This adds to the cost.

You may have already taken all that into consideration.
 
Thank you. This job had me loosing sleep last night which made it clear that it’s probably not a job for me!
All your responses are very helpful and make a lot of sense. I’ve flagged many of these red flags with the customer but I think it will come down to the final cost. There is different print which is around the same size and the print cost him $190 I only just found out. Not worth the headache for me or framing costs to him I’d imagine.

Thanks everyone
 
Sorry I didn’t add that my supplier is going to dry mount with heat/press. I was going to use foamcore but do you think that isn’t firm enough? My spacers will cover the edges to prevent lifting there but I’m terrified of the thought of bubbling 😳 what would be the best substrate to dry mount to?

Foam core board is great for mounting prints that are going to be for temporary display. It is light in weight
as you point out, but it is also very flimsy and easily damaged.
Pressure-sensitive adhesives work with pressure as the name suggests and that means a lot of pressure. Using a
manual roller means it's nigh-on impossible to get a high even pressure over the entire surface. So that means where
it has bonded well it's bonded very well but there will be localised spots where it hasn't. Any swelling of the paper will
result in bumps at these spots and they are impossible to flatten without forming creases. Put simply, the paper area
of the bump will now be slightly bigger than the area on the board where they came from. The surrounding stuck area
can't move so the paper has no choice other to fold over on itself.

* I would use a sheet of 2.5mm MDF and make a sturdy subframe (strainer for viewers in the US) and spot-glue the panel to that.
On a sheet that size I would seal the back with a couple of coats of varnish to waterproof it.
 
Foam core board is great for mounting prints that are going to be for temporary display. It is light in weight
as you point out, but it is also very flimsy and easily damaged.
Pressure-sensitive adhesives work with pressure as the name suggests and that means a lot of pressure. Using a
manual roller means it's nigh-on impossible to get a high even pressure over the entire surface. So that means where
it has bonded well it's bonded very well but there will be localised spots where it hasn't. Any swelling of the paper will
result in bumps at these spots and they are impossible to flatten without forming creases. Put simply, the paper area
of the bump will now be slightly bigger than the area on the board where they came from. The surrounding stuck area
can't move so the paper has no choice other to fold over on itself.

* I would use a sheet of 2.5mm MDF and make a sturdy subframe (strainer for viewers in the US) and spot-glue the panel to that.
On a sheet that size I would seal the back with a couple of coats of varnish to waterproof it.
You’ve explained this so clearly thank you!
to be honest the dry mount is just feels too risky, the piece isn’t cheap.
With your suggestion of using a subframe/mdf, could that work with pressing the print up against acrylic? I’ve read about micro abrasions on the forum but I feel that’s less risky than a dry mount? Feel like my opts are limited as we don’t have matboard of this size available either.

🙏🏼
 
Hi all

I have a monster of a print that has arrived. There is an 80mm boarder around the image that contains the photographers embossed stamp. Total image size is above. As I cannot use a matboarder, I called the gallery who frames this photographers work and they mount his prints to adhesive foamcore (using a roller) and use 20mm foam spacers. I’ll be using acrylic glazing to reduce weight. My client is happy to go down this route but I wanted to check if there were any other options that are less permanent? I’m having to outsource the mount and frame joining as my tiny studio just couldn’t cope. I was planning to add L corner flat brackets to the corners for support. Do you think that would be enough?

Hope all of that made sense! Im still getting my head around it 🥴

Thanks in advance 🙏🏼
You need someone with a 24" x 36" mechanical heat press. I just mounted a 30" c 80" photograph and for backing I used KoolTak PRESERVE (reversible and acid free). Mount it in bites and you won't see any lines. Mounting with a roller will not work!
 
You’ve explained this so clearly thank you!
to be honest the dry mount is just feels too risky, the piece isn’t cheap.
With your suggestion of using a subframe/mdf, could that work with pressing the print up against acrylic? I’ve read about micro abrasions on the forum but I feel that’s less risky than a dry mount? Feel like my opts are limited as we don’t have matboard of this size available either.

🙏🏼


I should have mentioned that a subframe can be made with crossbars to restrict any bowing in the board.
I dab of glue in the middle will hold it nicely. As for micro-abrasions it's anyone's guess but if you have the
acrylic spaced away you would maybe need really thick stuff for that size (6mm?) or it will be very floppy.
I would be inclined toward direct contact....

* this is a subframe I made for a huge map. It's made with tongue&groove pine cladding with the tongue
ripped off. Made using two 8mm thick layers glued/screwed together which makes it easy to half-lap the
corners and inside joints without any fancy woodwork procedures. Assemble it 'dry' with one screw in each
corner and then square it up. Once you have done that you can remove one screw in turn and glue it up.
It's very strong and light. The laminated construction makes it very stable too.

That particular one had 3mm Polycarbonate glazing. Direct contact, but the map itself was just a basic photocopy.

bigmap003.webp


bigmap004.webp
 
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