Digital BW, The Print

I'm looking at alternatives to the usual mat, glass, frame for 
presentation purposes.  The Diasec or face mount process looked 
interesting, but I wonder how stable the finished product is in terms 
of warping, effects of humidity changes, etc.  Anyone tried this with 
B&W inkjet prints on matte papers?  Here is some discussion about 
archival properties, but no firm conclusions:
http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=001YUe

At 04:38 PM 10/7/03 -0400, you wrote:
>I'm looking at alternatives to the usual mat, glass, frame for
>presentation purposes.  The Diasec or face mount process looked
>interesting, but I wonder how stable the finished product is in terms
>of warping, effects of humidity changes, etc.  Anyone tried this with
>B&W inkjet prints on matte papers?  Here is some discussion about
>archival properties, but no firm conclusions:
>http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=001YUe


Carl,

Thanks for the link to the threads re face mounting.  I have seen some 
examples in galleries and wondered how it was done. The important 
consideration for true archivability is whether  the mounting can be 
un-done.  Keep us posted when you find out more.

AZ


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Carl, sorry for this rather late reaction re Diasec.
I've been making Diasec montages for many years.
Diasec is basically meant for commercial purposes, expo's, office or shop
decoration etc and is said to extend the live of photo material +/-  3
times. 
I do not consider it archival because Diasec's are made in a very acid
environment  So, don't use it for your precious prints unless you accept
discoloration say after 3 to 5 years.

Jean.





on 07/10/2003 22:38, Carl Schofield at scho@... wrote:

I'm looking at alternatives to the usual mat, glass, frame for
presentation purposes.  The Diasec or face mount process looked
interesting, but I wonder how stable the finished product is in terms
of warping, effects of humidity changes, etc.  Anyone tried this with
B&W inkjet prints on matte papers?  Here is some discussion about
-- 
jean.verrept@...

archival properties, but no firm conclusions:
http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=001YUe


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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

> Carl, sorry for this rather late reaction re Diasec.
> I've been making Diasec montages for many years.
> Diasec is basically meant for commercial purposes, expo's, office or shop
> decoration etc and is said to extend the live of photo material +/-  3
> times.
> I do not consider it archival because Diasec's are made in a very acid
> environment  So, don't use it for your precious prints unless you accept
> discoloration say after 3 to 5 years.
>
> Jean.

Thats interesting Jean, as a number of artists use the diasec mount for
their exhibition prints? For example Paul Grahams current show at MOMA's PS1

tim

Jean,

Thanks for the additional info on diasec.  I definitely don't want  
discoloration in such a short period of time.  I'll look for other  
options.

Carl

On Wednesday, November 5, 2003, at 12:17  PM, jean verrept wrote:

> Carl, sorry for this rather late reaction re Diasec.
> I've been making Diasec montages for many years.
> Diasec is basically meant for commercial purposes, expo's, office or  
> shop
> decoration etc and is said to extend the live of photo material +/-  3
> times.
> I do not consider it archival because Diasec's are made in a very acid
> environment  So, don't use it for your precious prints unless you  
> accept
> discoloration say after 3 to 5 years.
>
> Jean.
>
>
>
>
>
> on 07/10/2003 22:38, Carl Schofield at scho@... wrote:
>
> I'm looking at alternatives to the usual mat, glass, frame for
> presentation purposes.  The Diasec or face mount process looked
> interesting, but I wonder how stable the finished product is in terms
> of warping, effects of humidity changes, etc.  Anyone tried this with
> B&W inkjet prints on matte papers?  Here is some discussion about
> --  
> jean.verrept@...
>
> archival properties, but no firm conclusions:
> http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=001YUe
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Sponsor   ADVERTISEMENT
>
> Please visit the Group Homepage to check the Files, Bookmarks, Polls  
> and
> other resources as they are often being updated. The page is at:
>
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint
>
> If you wish to receive no emails or just a daily digest, or you wish to
> unsubscribe, please edit your Membership preferences by visiting this  
> same
> page.
>
> Please follow these basic guidelines:
> - Include your full name with your message.
> - Include the address of your website, if you have one.
> - As threads develop, trim off excess portions of earlier messages to  
> keep
> them short.
> - As the topic of a thread changes remember to change the subject  
> header.
> - Good manners are required at all time. No personal attacks or flames
> - Complete your Yahoo profile.
> - Before posting a question, search the message archives and the  
> various
> resources on the homepage.
>
>
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service
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> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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> Please follow these basic guidelines:
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> - Include the address of your website, if you have one.
> - As threads develop, trim off excess portions of earlier messages to  
> keep them short.
> - As the topic of a thread changes remember to change the subject  
> header.
> - Good manners are required at all time. No personal attacks or flames
> - Complete your Yahoo profile.
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>

Here is some info from the conservator at the Tate.

> There has been limited research carried out on Diasec mounting which
> suggests it is stable (silicone (the adhesive part - is a good durable
> material). It seems if the adhesive (or rather adhesion) fails it
> happens quickly, otherwise all signs are the process ages well -
> although the earliest examples of have seen are from the early nineties
> so there may be problems ahead. The most obvious drawback of any face
> mounting is the risk of scratching the surface. Shallow scratches can be
> removed but anything deep is permanent, with reprinting the only answer.
> There are of course benefits of the process  - I have longed believed
> that face mounting may well reduce susceptibility to fading - due to the
> low levels of oxygen reaching the dyes. Once again this needs to be
> tested.
>
> As you probably know Diasec is a licensed product available through
> limited outlets - but there are other forms of face mounting produced by
> rival companies. Only limited testing has been undertaken (all in the
> USA) on true Diasec - and virtually nothing on rival systems.
>
> The latest research into Diasec has been published in the American
> Institute of Conservation News journal. As far as I am aware this is the
> most comprehensive study of the durability of the Diasec process.
>
> AIC News, March 2002 Vol.27, No 2
> Written by Penichon & Juergens.
> I suggest you try and contact them for a copy - I think Martin Juergens
> has a website?

and here is some info from Martin Juergens:

In the case of a face-mounted Andreas Gursky photograph, there is a
high probability that the image was printed and mounted in
Duesseldorf at a specialist lab. This lab commonly uses a Plexiglas
with what they call 98% UV filter (but, during a visit, would not
further specify). The silicone rubber mounting system involved is a
licensed process named Diasec.

The maintenance of the immaculate Plexiglas surface may be somewhat
problematic. I have seen people at museums unconsciously (or
purposely) touch the surface of these prints, perhaps because in the
back of their minds they think it is glazing in a frame (so not so
bad!) and don't realize that it is actually the print's surface.

There has not been much too much research on these face-mounting
techniques and materials, but there are a few publications on the
subject:

    Penichon, S., Juergens, M., Murray, A. 2002.
    "Light and dark stability of laminated and face-mounted
    photographs: a preliminary investigation" in: Conference
    Proceedings, Works of Art on Paper--Books, Documents and
    Photographs, Techniques and Conservation, International
    Institute for Conservation (IIC), Baltimore, MD, pp. 154-159.

    Penichon, S., Juergens, M. 2002.
    "Issues in the conservation of contemporary photographs: the
    case of Diasec or face-mounting" in: AIC News, Vol. 27, No. 2,
    pp. 1, 3-4, 7-8.

    Penichon, S., Juergens, M. 2001.
    "Two finishing techniques for contemporary photographs" in:
    Topics in photographic preservation, Vol. 9, pp. 85-96.

Then there is a research project from the Master of Art Conservation
Program at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, which described
the mounting process and materials in detail and which I believe is
available at the CCI library (if not there, then surely at Queen's
University):

    Juergens, M. 2001.
    Silicone rubber face-mounting of photographs to poly(methyl
    methacrylate): process, structure, materials, and long-term dark
    stability.

To give you an idea of the contents of the IIC publication, here is
the abstract:

    The increasingly popular finishing techniques of laminating and
    face-mounting photographs and their effect on the long-term
    stability of the prints have not been extensively studied. In a
    preliminary investigation, colour photographs (unmounted,
    laminated, and face-mounted) were subjected to accelerated
    light- and dark-aging tests. In addition, samples of both
    un-mounted and face-mounted prints underwent quantification of
    acetic (ethanoic) acid off-gassing. Face-mounted photographs
    were more sensitive to light than unmounted ones but showed
    better dark stability. Laminates with ultraviolet inhibitors
    slowed the light-fading of the prints. Acetic acid is off-gassed
    by acetoxy-curing silicone rubbers used in face-mounting and
    escapes from the edges of the prints at a rate which is
    partially governed by storage temperature.

It should also be mentioned that prints mounted at different labs
had very different ageing results. The whole subject is pretty
complex, due to the variety of materials involved. We surely need
more research! Hope this helps"

-0-0-0-

I'm checking to see if our Conservator has any of these publications tucked
away

tim a