Dry mounting matte paper

[tony field]

I normally print on semi-matte, lustre, or glossy paper with my ancient Seal press.  However, sometimes I do print on matte - however some of the quality of the matte surface is lost (i.e. "flattened").  How do you avoid this and preserve the fine surface of the matte print?

[Justan]

I don’t have an answer to your question but I'm considering getting a dry mount press of one type or another and have wanted to know more about the extent to which the flattening happens, as well as other details related to this.

Have you tried using less pressure during the curing process? Have you tried using a release paper with a textured surface? Perhaps a duplicate of the paper you are mounting will work to the end of maintaining more of the surface texture?

On the general topic, what kinds of paper and printer do you use? What temp do you use in the mounting press?

Thanks!!

[larryg]

I have mounted matte paper with ok results

1.  use lower temp if possible
2.  we used a special coated paper (sorry I don't remember name) between the print surface and the press to protect the print (also used matte board placed between the press and the print

perhaps someone will give something more usefull  but if you protect the print from the direct heat  you should be able to control the results

[Paul Roark]

Why dry mount matte paper?

One reason I prefer matte paper is that it does not need dry mounting.  I just tape hang it behind an over-mat.  The matte surface hides any waviness that there might be.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com

[Jonathan Wienke]

Why dry mount matte paper?

One reason I prefer matte paper is that it does not need dry mounting.  I just tape hang it behind an over-mat.  The matte surface hides any waviness that there might be.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com

Anything over 11x17 or so is susceptible to curl if it isn't mounted to something, especially when printed on roll paper. You may not see the waviness in reflections off matte paper, but if it's touching the glass in the middle that's noticeable...

I've mounted a lot of matte prints and never had problems with heat damage. Epson 7600 + Epson Enhanced matte.

[Paul Roark]

Anything over 11x17 or so is susceptible to curl if it isn't mounted to something, especially when printed on roll paper. You may not see the waviness in reflections off matte paper, but if it's touching the glass in the middle that's noticeable...

I've mounted a lot of matte prints and never had problems with heat damage. Epson 7600 + Epson Enhanced matte.

I'm  not fond of roll paper curl either.  I usually stick with pre-cut sheets, even if they originated as roll paper.   I hang the prints from a line with an aluminum bar -- 1/8 x 2 x 24" -- clipped to the bottom.  It generally straightens the prints.  If I cut the paper  before printing I'll do this and  mist the back of the paper  to relax it.

Of course, wtih Enhanced matte, touching the glass is only one problem.  It's acidity is  of more concern to me for anything serious.  That paper is for short term display only.

Paul
www.PaulRoark.com  

[larryg]

I used to museum mount everything until I had an booth at an outdoor art show (damp day)  and quite a few of the larger prints starts buckling  I ended up having to take the mattes apart and dry mount to prevent this from happening again.

I take much care in the transport and storage of my images and still have problems like this issue.  I can only assume that consumers purchasing my images might not take the same care as I and I would certainly not want this to happen to purchased images