Mounting, Trimming & Laminating

Photo Mounting Techniques

The process of mounting a photograph is simply affixing the photo to a thicker material, often a board, in order to give it more thickness and, therefore, more stability. The technique one uses is based solely on his or her needs. Cost can be a factor. What materials are available also factor into the equation. Conservation is another issue. If it is necessary that the picture is removable from the mount then hinging the photograph to the mat may be a good option. Hinging tissue is non-acidic, easy to find, and easy to remove from the photo and mat. If is does not matter that the picture is removable from the mount then dry mounting may be desired. With dry mounting, the picture and the mount are permanently adhered to one another using an adhesive tissue between the picture and the mount and then pressing them together. Wet mounting simply uses a special type of glue to bind the photo and mount while spray mounting is similar to wet mounting only a spray adhesive is used instead of a wet glue.

Photo Mounting Board

There are different options available when choosing a mounting board. Foam board is a nice and popular option. It is often used since it is very light and yet gives a sturdiness and thickness, or depth, to the photograph. Mat board is another option. It will not give such a thick mount as foam board, but that may be desired, especially if the option to frame the photo may ever be desired. Technology for mounting board is always advancing, and there are newer materials used for mounting as a result. Paper that is treated to give it a certain rigidity is now being used. It is as sturdy as foam board but is thin like mat board. Self-adhesive boards are also options. These boards, usually foam, come with areas on the boards that are usually covered with tape, and when the tape is removed, the adhesive is exposed. One must of course be careful when placing the photo on the adhesive.

Photo Mounting Sleeves
Photo mounting sleeves can be an excellent option for photograph mounting. The photo is placed in a plastic sleeve which protects the photo from any fingerprints or stains. Many sleeves are self adhering. No adhesives ever touch the photograph itself, the adhesive is on the back of the sleeve, so the photo is simply dropped into the sleeve and the sleeve then sticks to a mounting board.