Question Press for mounting on bamboo?

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M

mcgruenigen

Grumbler in Training
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Sep 1, 2012
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Vienna/Austria
Hi,

I would like to mount fine art prints to bamboo board (up to 1,5") and wonder what kind of press/laminator to buy for this.

I'm printing with an Epson 9900 mostly on matte Hahnemühle fine art paper…not sure if high quality fine art paper is suitable for mounting to bamboo though without ruining the print.
Would a Hotpress HGP260 vacuum press be a good decision or should I go for a Jetmounter? Or something completely different?

Thanks in advance,
Andrej
 
Hi Andrej, welcome to the Grumble.
Perhaps if you were to explain more about your desired end results we could be of more help. When I saw you mention "fine art prints" I was a bit concerned, but later realized you were talking about inkjet prints which are technically reproductions. We dry mount inkjets that we produce with our Epson 9880 all the time (Epson Ultrasmooth, Moab Papers, Somerset Velvet...). We have the option of a heated roller press or a heated vacuum press, and a number of substrate options (am unfamiliar with bamboo substrates). For the thickness required, 1 1/2", my vacuum press wouldn't work (Max 3/4" thickness).
There is a potential issue of color shift in the pigments if you take them above a specific temperature (170F I believe), so low temperature heat-activated, or cold mounting is preferred.
 
For the thickness you are desiring to mount on the old fashioned mechanical presses like the 500 T or it's smaller version would work perfectly. You can adjust the size of the opening thickness and if you then need to mount something thinner you can slide a filler board under it to take up the space gap.

You should have no issues with altering the finished appearance of the prints with the heat because it doesn't need to be in the press longer than a minute and just use a film such as Fusion or any of it's competitors. Film rather than tissue will assure that they stay mounted without coming loose in the future even on a substrate such as wood grain material.

Some people get all caught up in the hype of different tissues such as buffermount and others but that is not an issue. Once you've mounted the print it is a mounted print and that is the product. None of the commercial professional products are going to cause any long term changes to the artwork. The only issue you need to worry about is that it stays mounted.

The trick to using the films for product like you are producing is to mount the film to the back of the print prior to trimming the print. Then just trim the print and when you mount it you won't have any loose edge or excess film on the face of the board. A huge benefit to film is that it can be reheated if you find one has a loose edge even a year from now.

Welcome to the Grumble.
 
Thank you…
The boards and the end result should look like this:
http://www.acbambooflooring.com/Single_cn_216_674_0_61.html

Yep, by "fine art prints" I ment inkjet reproductions on high quality paper, not original artwork. But here I'm concerned in which extend a vacuum press would affect colors and longevity of the print. From what I heard, hot mounting is not exactly ideal for prints that are supposed to last/stay color stable for a long time.
On the other side, Hotpress advertises that using the HGP "...all kinds of artwork can be mounted – even those that may be subject to damage by heat." Not sure what to think of that.

P.S.: I could get a used HGP260 for about 900€/1100 US. Thanks for pointing out the possible substrate thickness issue, I'll check.
 
I've mounted thousands of prints that have been printed on my Epson 9800 and never have seen a single case of color shift. Been doing it for years so if there was going to be a problem it would have shown up by now. I only use Epson papers but know quite a few people that use the paper you are using and they heat mount them without any problems. I have mounted them for artists and photographers with no problems.
 
I've mounted thousands of prints that have been printed on my Epson 9800 and never have seen a single case of color shift.
Click to expand...
Appreciate the info. Would you suggest to use a mechanical press (the 500 T is huuuge:)) or better get a vacuum press for mounting to wood/bamboo?
 
The vacuum presses are much larger but limit the size you can mount. The Bienfang/Seal 250 is the smaller version. Using a 1 1/2" thick piece of lumber in a vacuum press will become very expensive. You will need to replace the bladder quite often if you do so. The lumber will need to be quite a bit smaller than the size of the press for it to work. You will be able to mount a 12"x12" in the center of a 40x 60 but once your item gets larger it may not work and will definitely tear the bladder over time no matter what size you mount. Bladders are not cheap.

If I were to mount on anything thicker than 1/2" on a regular basis I would never choose a vacuum press. In the past I manufactured vacuum presses so I know what is involved in the constant repairs you will be making using 1 1/2" thick materials. You will need to sand the back corners of the lumber on every piece you mount to round it and take it down to an angle that will show a gap on the wall. If you don't do that you stand the chance of tearing the bladder on the very first piece you mount.
 
i do this kinda thing with my jetmounter

the heat press although its sutiable, its not idea, because stretching the diaphram that far is a little bit of a push

i do 25mm stuff using my jm54 a lot

the nice thing about the bigger machines is that it has a feed and take up which is great for coating lots of boards in a job lot easily
 
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