Conservation Mounting a Fine Art Print

Whenever we are asked to mat a print, either as part of a framed artwork or simply as a matted artwork to be framed later, we employ conservation mounting techniques to ensure the artwork is properly protected and allowed to expand and contract comfortably through the natural cyclic changes in temperature and humidity.

As art vendors we attend a large number of art shows and have seen many examples of good and bad mounting practices from other vendors. Most photographers are conscientious and strive to deliver a quality product to their customers. A few could not care less. There have been several cases where we have seen prints mounted onto cardboard with masking tape used to hold the print in place. The resulting artwork looks fine when you buy it, but there is trouble lurking behind the scenes. Unfortunately, both cardboard and masking tape are highly acidic and will begin damaging a print almost immediately. The acid begins to consume the tape, the cardboard and the print. Within only a couple of years the artwork will be ready for the recycling bin. In the long term it pays to purchase art that is designed to last a lifetime.

We believe you should understand what you are getting when you purchase fine art. We also believe that you should be getting only the best.

Hanging Prints

Unfortunately, most prints are mounted using simple and easy methods that are intended to reduce the time and expense required to mount the print, not to extend the life of the artwork. Prints that are purchased from department stores, and discount print web sites generally are mounted using inexpensive materials and techniques that can serve to shorten the lifespan of an artwork.

There are several different acceptable methods that can be used to mount a print onto a backing board. Sometimes adhesive plastic corners are used to hold the corners of the print against the backing board. These corners stick to the backing board and the print is then slipped into each of these four corners. The print is not glued, but is held in place by the plastic corners and is allowed to move freely to accommodate changes in temperature and humidity. This is an acceptable method for mounting prints, but is often viewed by true conservation framers as a second rate method of mounting.

Another common mounting practice is to simply glue the print to the mounting board. This has the advantage of holding the print absolutely flat against the mounting board, but it restricts the print from expanding and contracting naturally as the environment around the print changes. Dry mounting is a common form of glued mounting in which heat and pressure are applied to the print to melt a thin sheet of glue placed between the print and the backing board. Once the glue is melted it holds the print rigidly to the backing board. This is a very commonly used method and is fine for art that is not intended to last for decades.

The mostly widely accepted means for conservation mounting of a print to the backing board is to use T-hinges. T-hinges suspend the print from the top so that it is free to move in all directions. Since the print is suspended from the top it cannot sag as can happen from prints supported by plastic corners. The natural fiber T-hinges also expand and contract with changing atmospheric conditions so that the entire artwork is free to move as needed. Museums and high end galleries mount their artworks exclusively using T-hinges.

We utilize acid-free T-hinges exclusively to mount our prints. T-hinges are universally accepted as the best method for mounting and preserving a print. They also offer the best solution for repair of an artwork should there ever be damage caused by leaking water pipes, a fall during an earthquake, or smoke damage (it happens).

Backing Boards

The backing board (also referred to as a mounting board) is the board from which the print is hung. The most commonly used materials for this are foam core and mat board. We use foam core because of its added thickness and rigidity. Most foam core is manufactured from paper and is often quite acidic. This can be quite damaging to prints and unfortunately, most of the art framed today is done on this acidic foam core. It is relatively inexpensive and offers good support for the art - though it doesn't offer longevity to the art. We pay the substantially higher price to utilize only acid-free foam core products to provide maximum life to our finished artworks.

Tapes and Related Materials

Aside from T-hinges, we avoid using tape wherever possible. When we do use tape we use only high quality acid-free tapes designed for archival framing. If you purchase a framed artwork from us then it will contain no tapes at all on the artwork (aside from the T-hinges). Mat boards will be free to move in the artwork without any restrictions of any kind. For custom framed and limited edition prints we use acid-free tapes to attach a dust cover panel to the back of the frame.

If you purchase a matted print from us then we apply acid-free tape to hold the mat boards in place so that they do not shift and cause damage to the print during shipping. This also makes it much easier for you to frame the artwork since you are dealing with only a single piece that will be placed into your selected frame. The tapes are pliable so that the mat boards can successfully expand and contract with changing temperature and humidity conditions.

And that is pretty much it. We don't use masking tape, cellophane tape (very acidic as well), glues, clips, inserts, tacks or other accessories to produce our fine art. We believe fine art is also simple art - using the finest materials and the best well-established methods for mounting and conserving artworks. This helps us deliver impeccable art to our customers. Quality is extremely important to us because we understand it is extremely important to you.