Help mounting

[Mikbaja]

Hello, I have several photos in to mount and they are printed on Kodak Endura Metalic paper. Does anyone have specific advice on how to mount these? I have a Vacu-seal. I looked on the website and did not figure it out. thanks for the Help>

 

[MIK]

Endure metallic can be dry mounted with heat (low 170's) or wet mount with Vacumount or the like. I've done them both ways and prefer wet mounting them to minimize the orange peel effect.

 

[more_so]

Use Colormount drymount tissue if you've got it, always the best for smooth surfaces.

Best if you pre-press the print and backing (minus tissue) for about a minute to make sure everything is expanded and/or shrunk to size and the print is nice & flat. Those stiff papers don't have any give, you can get warps and bubbles and ripples if you try to mount them without the pre-press step.

 

[Karen]

I have a dry press and a friend of mine has a vacu-seal, sometimes we get great results but more times than not the images end up with hot spots even at a low temperature due to the metallic paper.

We have both found that the ones that give us problems are the images that have alot of red, black or gray colors in them.

I now inform all of my customers that I will mount them, but I make them sign a paper stating that hot spots could occur and that they take responsibility for any damages that might occur, that if a problem arises that they will need to pay for a new photograph. I also tell them that they need to have any future images mounted at the time of printing. That if something happens at that time the company just prints it again. I have contacted mpix (one of the main sites that uses metallic paper) and was told that the proper way to mount these types of images are to use a roller press and self adhesive boards. This is the method that they use.

I still have people who want me to mount them and I have good luck about 50% of the time. This is just my experience with these types of photographs. Hope this helps.

 

[DesignsInk]

Endura Metallic RC

Hello, I have several photos in to mount and they are printed on Kodak Endura Metalic paper. Does anyone have specific advice on how to mount these? I have a Vacu-seal. I looked on the website and did not figure it out. thanks for the Help>

Mikki,
Contrary to popular belief there is nothing metallic about Endura Metallic images. There are micro voids in the base rather than metallic particles, and they have the same emulsion as Kodak Supra Endura Paper and therefore react like any RC photo. They may be mounted and laminated as any RC photo and are subject to the same major problems of other high gloss photos: fingerpprints, orange peel and - what I refer to as - scuffing. I believe scuffing is the hot spots referred to by another thread answer.

I wrote a MASTERING MOUNT article for PFM called "Mounting Issues 2003" December 2003 on Eudura Metallic images. If you cannot locate it on in the archive information is available in THE MOUNTING AND LAMINATING HANDBOOK, third edition, or email me directly.

There was no change to the image in my testing even at temperatures of 220F for as long as 10 minutes. They easily tolerate heat up to 225F and may be laminated though the look of the metallic is reduced. The scuffing (hot spots) is caused by the silicone release paper and can be controlled by using older uncreased release papers or a sheet of Drytac's Glazing Foil between the photo and the release paper.

Chris A Paschke
Designs Ink and Designs Ink Publishing
info@designsinkart.com