To Mount or not to Mount..........

Mounting is the action of affixing a paper image, photogragh, fabric or object to a stiffer support backing. The art work may be attached in a number of ways from the use of non-invasive preservation hinges to the more invasive technique of Dry Mounting.

Conventional mounting ie. window mounts serves two purposes, decorative and practical. Many techniques can be applied to a window mount to achieve highly decorative finishes to include: double mounting: deep bevels: inset panels: the choice of colours and finishes are endless allowing artistic and co-ordinated designs.

Window mounting is recommended to keep the surface of media away from the glazing. All our mounting techniques uses conservation boards, tapes and barriers to ensure lasting protection for all media.

Dry Mounting is the application of art work to a substrate using heat activated adhesive in a pressure controlled piece of equipment. It is the cleanest, most effective, predictable and permanent method of mounting.

Surface Laminating, or Over Laminating is a process of applying a heat activated film to a flat surface for the purpose of protecting or enhancing images.

Knowing when not to dry mount an item is equally as important as how to mount it successfully. Quite often, it is not a question of can it be safely dry mounted, but rather should it be dry mounted at all. The list of what not to dry mount varies, but generally includes signed limited editions, vellum, parchment, university certificates, documents with verso notations, original art of any kind and irreplaceable heirlooms. Although such items may be dry mounted without harm or damage they will no longer be truly reversible, or be able to return to their original state and will therefore have a detrimental effect upon their value. We use a a large hot bed press which offers no restrictions to sizes.