I guess I don't really hear answers to the primary question here. I am looking for a similar answer. I want to mount prints on heavy weight watercolor paper in sizes of 44 x
I don't like the idea of permanent adhesion but don't really see an alternative.
Self-adhesive foam board sounds okay but I suspect it will bow and deform badly with changes in humidity.
I've used spray adhesive and would trust it for small prints and perhaps smoother papers, but not for a huge print like this. I'm pretty sure it will delaminate over time.
I'd like to use gator foam with the self-adhesive surface but I am unsure about the archival quality of the gator foam. I am going to ignore the issue of adhesion and "archival," I want a print that lasts a long time, whether adhering it to a substrate violates archival rules or not. I know gator foam in not entirely acid free but someone told me that the adhesive serves as a bit of a barrier as well.
I'm trying to avoid the high cost of metals, etc. I'm looking for a way to prepare prints for galleries without bankrupting myself. I have several galleries to supply, some of whom are new to me so I don't know if they will be successful in selling my work. They need substantial numbers of prints and I want them to have a way of displaying them without, as I said, bankrupting me in the process.
Any experience with the foam core flatness issue or opinions on gator foam?