Fibre and RC Mounting Tissue.

[Wind on Allen]

I have the book " The print " owned for probably 15 years , Time to read it now I have a new enlarger .

[John King]

Originally Posted by Mark J

I really don't see why anyone would need to dry-mount RC paper myself, it hangs very flat and can just be taped to the matt.

Sorry Mark but taping the print down will always look wrong, especially if it is double mounted under a cut out matt. Been there seen it done it myself and never ever have I seen a resin coated print lye perfectly flat there is always a small air gap behind which shows in the form of a gentle ripple.

The only way is to use a spray or spread on adhesive. I used to use Cow Gum which was superb once you got the knack of using it. That is no longer available but a reasonable substitute Called 'Studio Gum' can still be bought but it is expensive.

One trick to overcome the tendency to lift, is before applying the adhesive is to use a very fine grit sand paper just to roughen up the resin coated back of the print and with a good coat of adhesive it will stick like it has been superglued.

[Reginald S]

Drymounting lives from heat but heat destroys RC prints.

I have heard goods about the Gudy doubleside adhesive tissues - no heat necessary there.

Owning myself a drymount press I would't use it for my fibre prints.
The ancient technique of wallpapering with a glue out of rice starch does the job very perfect.

[Alan Clark]

I agree with Mark. There is no difficulty getting a RC print to lie flat when taped to the back of the mount, but it has to be done properly. The wrong way is to tape it all round its four edges. This prevents the print from expanding and contracting when the humidity level changes. So, if the air goes damp, and the print wants to expand - it can't, because it is trapped all round the edges. So it cockles.

The correct way is to use only a short, 2 " length of acid-free tape. You stick this on so it overlaps the top edge of the print, at the mid-point. The backing board holds everything flat, and the print is free to expand and contract in response to changes in humidity, and still stay flat.
This is the standard method used by picture framers for any art work on paper, and , of course , works for fibre-based photos as well.

[Reginald S]

Originally Posted by Alan Clark

.. if the air goes damp, and the print wants to expand

I haven't much experience with polyester prints but I never have seen mine expanding?

[Mark J]

It may be that the board expands and contracts more than the resin paper, but the effect is there in some way.
As Alan says I've had resin prints mounted ( by a couple of good local framers ) just from the top edge, with a backing board, and looked flat enough for me over the long term.

I must look into the rice starch glue method, if it is fairly easy to do and avoids me having to transport another heavy piece of equipment across the country , then I'll learn.

[Alan Clark]

Originally Posted by Mark J

It may be that the board expands and contracts more than the resin paper, but the effect is there in some way.
As Alan says I've had resin prints mounted ( by a couple of good local framers ) just from the top edge, with a backing board, and looked flat enough for me over the long term.

I must look into the rice starch glue method, if it is fairly easy to do and avoids me having to transport another heavy piece of equipment across the country , then I'll learn.

Mark, I agree. The mount board also expands and contracts. And probably not by the same degree in every direction (according to my textbook on bookbinding)
I think we are only talking of small amounts, but enough to cause the print to cockle slightly if it is taped all round the mount.

[Reginald S]

Thanks for clarification.
Mark, I'm not sure if glueing RC paper with starch is the right technique.

With FB prints you only have to cook some glue from starch powder and water.
It then behaves like wallpaper glue.
I have to add that I have no idea if glueing onto typicical mount carton could work because of the really wet process - I was taught to use these lightweight doublesided aluminium boards.

The following is more than easy:
Bring the glue to the board, better thick than thin.
Bring the wet!! print to the board but don't use preasure - thereby using a sheet of plexiglass stabilizing the print is good praxis.
Like a wallpaper, unevenness disappears during the drying step.
The only disadvantage I could see is that working clean is neccessary, and one have to cut 3 to 5cm from each side.
Concerning the faster drying at the edges they become wavy.

[Lostlabours]

Just to be accurate, I've dry mounted hundreds of B&W prints on RC and FB papers.

Older shellac based tissue can be used very carefully with RC papers, without issues, but note the word carefully.

However, modern dry mounting tissues are designed to be used with RC papers, they don't require as much heat, and bond at a significantly lower temperature that won't cause any issues with the RC papers.

Labs have been dry mounting RC/PE papers for decades now with no problems, it's also used for canvas mounting RC prints.

Ian