Digital BW, The Print

A few days ago I posted a message on the EpsonWideForum stating how 
good face-mounting on plexiglass looked for my 24x36 in photo. The 
reason that face-mounting looks so good is the look of brilliance and 
depth that a photo has when bonded to a 1/4 in sheet of clear 
plexiglass -- quite a different look from framing under glass. Photos 
framed under glass at certain viewing angles still show some reflection 
from the print itself in addition to glass refl;ection-- I'm using 
Semi-Matte paper -- while face-mounted prints are more like looking at 
the print directly, actually better than looking at the print directly.

But face-mounting is expensive I paid $300 including mounting an 
aluminum sheet on the back and a wooden "box" to allow the picture to 
be hung looking like it's "floating" on the wall. When I get back to 
Bangkok in mid-May, I'll probably have a large print laminated and 
mounted on a 1/2 inch board, which will probably cost about $70.

Does anyone know how the face-mounted look compares to a laminated 
print? And is there a difference in the look of hot-lamination versus 
cold-lamination? The shop where I have my print face-mounted told me 
that hot-lamination has a greater look of depth than cold lamination.

--Mitch/Potomac, MD