"Mounting Posters for Framing". Port Credit Village Times. V. 1 Ed.4, October/November 2007.

Fall has arrived and everyone’s lives seemed to have just gotten a lot busier.  Here at the gallery I have noticed that you are all back inside and starting to look at bare walls, or piles of pictures that need to be framed.  Through this series of articles I will be trying to give my advice based on many years of experience in regards to all aspects of custom framing and home décor.  This is the fourth edition in this series, if you have missed prior articles, or would like to re-visit them they are available at www.albionartgallery.com/articles.htm, or give me a call at the gallery.

            This month I will focus on different methods of mounting posters and the benefits of a proper mounting process.  Too often I get clients brining in posters that they had framed a few years ago and the pictures are starting to bubble or look wavey.  This is something that is easy to repair, but would have been easier to avoid in the first place.  I’m sure everyone understands the cost of the frame, the mat and the glass, but are not sure why they need to have their piece mounted.  For the little it costs to mount the piece before the framing is complete you could save time and avoid a more costly repair later.

            I recommend that every poster be mounted.  These mounting processes permanantly adhere a poster to a rigid surface to keep it from buckling from changes in humidity in every home.  I know most homes now have climate control all year, but unless you have a home that has a climate control system similar to that of museum quality it is impossible to avoid seasonal changes in humidity. 

            The most common mounting process use in our gallery is dry-mounting.  This process involves putting a dry-tac sheet of tissue like material btween the poster and the rigid backing.  This package is then placed into a heat press, which then heats the poster and the tissue which essentially glues it to the backing.  This process is permanent, which makes it the prefferable treatment.  However, because it is permanent you need to be sure you never want to take the image off of the board.  I would not recommend this for posters that may be of value aor contain valuable signatures.  These items should be left in original condition and mounted in a very different way, which I will cover in a later article.

            Another less expensive option is wet-mounting.  This is something that we do not do at our gallery simply because we have seen a history of problems with it.  If completed incorrectly the process is not permanent, or the original can become damaged.  This process is used when mounting multiple images for as cheap as possible.  When custom framing this is not a process that should be used to save a few dollars.  If it is worth framing do it right.

            More frequently these days we are using a process to mount posters we reffer to as canvas transferring or canvas mounting.  This is an exciting technology that allows us to take any poster (or anything on paper) and mount it directly to canvas.  Then the item receives an acrylic textured cover on top to give it the feel of canvas.  The canvas is then stretched just as any original painting would be.  This is a great process as it can be framed like an original, without glass.  Canvas transfers have opened a new window of opportunity and more imprtantly creativity. 

            For more informaiton please contact Christopher Adair at 905.278.2117 or visit www.albionartgallery.com