Digital BW, The Print

Hello All,

For over 5 years I've been mounting prints (conventional and inkjet) using a 
cold-mounting tissue called 3M Positionable Mounting Adhesive.  It's dirt 
simple to use... place a sheet of the tissue on the mounting board, squeegee 
it down with the included tool, and peel off the release paper.  This leaves 
a perfectly uniform coating of adhesive on the mount board.  Position the 
print (I have it pre-positioned and hinged with tape by this stage), and 
protect the print with the release paper.  (I use the same sheet I peeled 
off in the previous step.)  Squeegee again.  Done!

I've seen no bond failures, bubbling, discoloration, or other problems in 
the hundreds of prints I've bonded this way.  There is no odor.  It works 
for glossy and matte papers.  (With matte, I'm careful not to let the 
release paper slip around when squeegeeing.)  PMA comes in rolls 50 feet 
long by either 11, 16, or 24" wide.  I use the 11" rolls... perfect for 
letter-size prints or 11 by 14's.  For 13 by 19 prints, I use a small PMA 
filler strip butted up against a larger sheet of PMA on the mounting board, 
and squeegee both together.  I've never noticed any trace of a seam through 
the print... the adhesive layer is very thin, and there's no gap or overlap 
in the adhesive layer anyway, if you're careful.

There is also an expensive hand-cranked "roller machine" available (instead 
of a simple squeegee), but I've never tried it.  (No need for it, in my 
mind.)

See the product at:

http://www.3m.com/us/mfg_industrial/adhesives/framing/html/scotch568.jhtml

I buy mine from Freestyle Photo in Los Angeles.  They have good prices and 
service.  Current price is $35 for the 11" by 50 foot roll.

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/sc_prod.php?cat_id=2314&pid=1963

I hope this helps!

John B.

John,

This sounds like an interesting option.  Do you have any information on
whether it is archival (whatever that means)?

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com 

-----Original Message-----
From: John Broski [mailto:jbroski@...] 
Sent: Wednesday, January 05, 2005 9:51 AM
To: Digital B&W List
Subject: [Digital BW] Easy cold mounting of inkjet prints


Hello All,

For over 5 years I've been mounting prints (conventional and inkjet) using a

cold-mounting tissue called 3M Positionable Mounting Adhesive.  It's dirt 
simple to use... place a sheet of the tissue on the mounting board, squeegee

it down with the included tool, and peel off the release paper.  This leaves

a perfectly uniform coating of adhesive on the mount board.  Position the 
print (I have it pre-positioned and hinged with tape by this stage), and 
protect the print with the release paper.  (I use the same sheet I peeled 
off in the previous step.)  Squeegee again.  Done!

I've seen no bond failures, bubbling, discoloration, or other problems in 
the hundreds of prints I've bonded this way.  There is no odor.  It works 
for glossy and matte papers.  (With matte, I'm careful not to let the 
release paper slip around when squeegeeing.)  PMA comes in rolls 50 feet 
long by either 11, 16, or 24" wide.  I use the 11" rolls... perfect for 
letter-size prints or 11 by 14's.  For 13 by 19 prints, I use a small PMA 
filler strip butted up against a larger sheet of PMA on the mounting board, 
and squeegee both together.  I've never noticed any trace of a seam through 
the print... the adhesive layer is very thin, and there's no gap or overlap 
in the adhesive layer anyway, if you're careful.

There is also an expensive hand-cranked "roller machine" available (instead 
of a simple squeegee), but I've never tried it.  (No need for it, in my 
mind.)

See the product at:

http://www.3m.com/us/mfg_industrial/adhesives/framing/html/scotch568.jhtml

I buy mine from Freestyle Photo in Los Angeles.  They have good prices and 
service.  Current price is $35 for the 11" by 50 foot roll.

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/sc_prod.php?cat_id=2314&pid=1963

I hope this helps!

John B. 





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John,
How easy are they to cut?  Can you just use an exacto or something and 
it cuts smoothly?  No sticky residue?

thanks,
allan

John Broski wrote:
> Hello All,
> 
> For over 5 years I've been mounting prints (conventional and inkjet) using a 
> cold-mounting tissue called 3M Positionable Mounting Adhesive.  It's dirt 
> simple to use... place a sheet of the tissue on the mounting board, squeegee 
> it down with the included tool, and peel off the release paper.  This leaves 
> a perfectly uniform coating of adhesive on the mount board.  Position the 
> print (I have it pre-positioned and hinged with tape by this stage), and 
> protect the print with the release paper.  (I use the same sheet I peeled 
> off in the previous step.)  Squeegee again.  Done!
> 
> I've seen no bond failures, bubbling, discoloration, or other problems in 
> the hundreds of prints I've bonded this way.  There is no odor.  It works 
> for glossy and matte papers.  (With matte, I'm careful not to let the 
> release paper slip around when squeegeeing.)  PMA comes in rolls 50 feet 
> long by either 11, 16, or 24" wide.  I use the 11" rolls... perfect for 
> letter-size prints or 11 by 14's.  For 13 by 19 prints, I use a small PMA 
> filler strip butted up against a larger sheet of PMA on the mounting board, 
> and squeegee both together.  I've never noticed any trace of a seam through 
> the print... the adhesive layer is very thin, and there's no gap or overlap 
> in the adhesive layer anyway, if you're careful.
> 
> There is also an expensive hand-cranked "roller machine" available (instead 
> of a simple squeegee), but I've never tried it.  (No need for it, in my 
> mind.)
> 
> See the product at:
> 
> http://www.3m.com/us/mfg_industrial/adhesives/framing/html/scotch568.jhtml
> 
> I buy mine from Freestyle Photo in Los Angeles.  They have good prices and 
> service.  Current price is $35 for the 11" by 50 foot roll.
> 
> http://www.freestylephoto.biz/sc_prod.php?cat_id=2314&pid=1963
> 
> I hope this helps!
> 
> John B. 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Please visit the Group Homepage to check the Files, and other resources as they are often being updated.
> 
> 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:
> - As threads develop, trim off excess portions of earlier messages to keep them short.
> - Good manners are required at all time. No personal attacks or flames. Hostile, aggressive or argumentative users may be removed from the membership without notice.
> - Keep your posts and threads related to the group topic of digital B&W printing. Users who persistently make off-topic posts may be removed from the membership.
> - By posting on this forum you agree to abide by the group rules and guidelines, and to abide by the actions and decisions of the group Owner and Moderators. See \ufffdGroup Topic, Rules and Guidelines\ufffd in the Files section:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint/files/
> 
> BY PARTICIPATING IN AND/OR POSTING MESSAGES TO THE DIGITAL BW, THE PRINT YAHOO! GROUP YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT THE \ufffdOWNER\ufffd AND \ufffdMODERATORS\ufffd OF DIGITAL BW, THE PRINT YAHOO GROUP SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, USE, DATA OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES (EVEN IF THE  \ufffdOWNER\ufffd AND \ufffdMODERATORS\ufffd OF DIGITAL BW, THE PRINT YAHOO GROUP HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES), RESULTING FROM: (i) THE USE OR THE INABILITY TO USE THE DIGITAL BW, THE PRINT YAHOO GROUP; (ii) UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO OR ALTERATION OF YOUR TRANSMISSIONS OR DATA; (iii) STATEMENTS OR CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTY ON THE DIGITAL BW, THE PRINT YAHOO GROUP; OR (iv) ANY OTHER MATTER RELATING TO THE DIGITAL BW, THE PRINT YAHOO GROUP.
>  
> Yahoo! Groups Links
> 
> 
> 
>  
> 
> 
> 

-- 
Technical Projects Specialist
Academic Computing
Stanford University
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f - (650) 725-4685

Hi All,

To answer a few questions that folks asked:

Cutting: The PMA cuts easily with an Xacto knife, but use light pressure and 
a sharp knife.  If you bear down hard, you may actually get a bit of 
adhesive to transfer to the mounting board (on the "wrong" -- scrap -- side 
of the cut).  Alternately, I suppose you could cut it with the tacky side 
up... that just doesn't suit the workflow I use to hinge and mount pictures.

Removeability:  No way, as far as I can see!  Once this stuff is down and 
squeegeed, it's a very strong bond.  I've never even tried to reposition it 
after initial "touchdown" (before squeegeeing).  I wouldn't want to crease 
the print if it were partially adhered.

Archival Qualities:  I have no info.  It's funny that no reseller seems to 
mention this... even Light Impressions, who have carried it for years. 
(They sell the 11" roll for $49, as opposed to $35 at Freestyle.)  I've 
never seen any problems I would attribute to the mounting tissue, but I've 
only been using it for 5 (maybe 10?) years.

John B.

It is impossible to remove the print after it is pressed down, so I believe
that alone makes its none-archival.

The package instructions indicate putting it on the print first, trimming
print, and then placing on the mount board.  John’s method sounds easier to
me, I may give that a try next time.

One problem I had initially was picking up little bits of adhesive on the
release paper, and inadvertently pressing them onto some prints.  I now work
more carefully and inspect the release paper before placing on the print.  I
found that the initial rub-down needs to be done well to get a perfect
release of the liner paper.  Also, I use a rubber brayer rather than the
plastic squeegee provided.

If I could justify the expense and space of a seal press, I would rather go
that route, but this works well for reproducible inkjet prints, so I
completely agree with John on this alternative.

John

-----Original Message-----
From: John Broski [mailto:jbroski@sbcglobal.net]
Sent: Wednesday, January 05, 2005 12:51 PM
To: Digital B&W List
Subject: [Digital BW] Easy cold mounting of inkjet prints

3M Positionable Mounting Adhesive.


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