Digital BW, The Print

Tom,
You have to very carefull today regarding mounting especially with the photo papers. A few of them are just to scary and in the big picture represent a lot of risk..
A couple of Epsons newer materials that look great are literally junk as far as I'm concerned from a marketing standpoint.. The material deforms way to easily from lower heat temperatures and contains a material that almost works like an old slip sheet so it doesn't bond that well. It may look good at first but when it's subjected to heat can still work loose and wrinkle or get small or even large air pockets.. The spray glues holds them down near as I can see but these are not archival. Their is only one film that seems to work reasonably well and most frame shops don't even know about it. Sadly we've all taken a lot for granted and the manufacturers have changed the content of their material to enhance it and make it more cost effective.. Many of the newer materials are entirely synthetic I think this is the heart of teh issue myself. 
In my experience experienced frame shops do not guarantee their process when mounting medium and larger pieces and also suggest not doing it on pieces that cannot be replaced. Their are to many issues with the films, foam core and prints these days. We do fine art repro and printing here along with mounting framing etc ..in the studio. We do use the right material and finally appear to be having success with the more difficult substrats but I honestly reccommend to artists to change materials due to the potential issues and liability. Many of us sell our prints mounted and matted and also offer a framing option ....but we also sell to galleries or individuals that only want to buy the print and they take care of the rest on their end. What they do is out of our control.. That segment has proven to be a total disaster for some artists. I have a friend in another state that runs production for several weeks every year .. He switched from photo Luster to one of Epson newer materials.. His effort could only be described as a horrer strory.. I have been to many shows and saw artists selling prints of which they had many framed examples on display for sale.. almost all of which contained wrinkles and could not be sold. I remember a gal this past summer that was set up in her craft hut at a show and on the second day every larger piece she had went nuts due to teh heat.... She was so frustrated all she could do was cry.. It was sad..
The potential liability to ones carrear is far beyond the loss of $ at the time.. It could damage your reputation such that it might be difficult to recover. Epson has a couple of materials that require specialized procedures.. They are in denial about the whole thing as thes eare great selling materials for them..
I have in stock about 8 rolls of prem semi matt which I like far better then prem Luster as it doesn't surface mark as easily.. I'll use it over time but only in a very controlled environment..  I have spoken to Epson regarding this material till I'm blue in teh face and they are literally in denial about it.. 
Anyway, what we all need to realize is that theirs way more to the game then how long your print will last from an ink stand point.. That's just a piece of the puzzle.. So who cares if your inks last 30 years if teh material you put them on turns into a washboard when you put it in normal display environments..
Sorry.. I'm kinda pissed about this issue....... and the machine just keeps rolling on.. 

jimbo


----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Tom 
  To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com 
  Sent: Sunday, January 17, 2010 11:39 AM
  Subject: Re: [Digital BW] Mounting Prints


    
  I did read some of the earlier threads, but after I posted my question so I'm a little red-faced.

  I have a 24 x 24 digital print. It is framed now and is not fully mounted - but hung from the top of the backing board, but it has serious waves/wrinkles that seem to be increasing over time. It really needs to be flat. The National Gallery hasn't asked for any of my prints yet so I think it doesn't have to last 100 years. I would like for it to last for maybe 20 without being affected by the mounting materials; longer would be nice, but I'm not obsessive about it.

  --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "mrjimbo" <mrjimbo@...> wrote:
  >
  > Tom,
  > Wow you jumped on an old thread..Actually I read back a few posts and their are outdated now as far as being correct with some of the newer materials.. 
  > So it's a bigger question then you think..Today their are many different substrates that we print on.. So the answers will vary.. A couple of the new er materials are scary to mount an dif you do it so it really works they are not archival....but they are mounted..
  > SO what material are you referring too.
  > 
  > jimbo
  > ----- Original Message ----- 
  > From: Tom 
  > To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com 
  > Sent: Saturday, January 16, 2010 3:32 PM
  > Subject: [Digital BW] Mounting Prints
  > 
  > 
  > 
  > This is not a purely b & w question, but it applies. I need to mount a print on foam core. What do people use to mount prints and feel comfortable about maintaining archive standards? Is there any adhesive that won't degrade the print?
  > 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  > 
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