Mounting Large Prints

[Ultra Magnus]

Well, I realize now that mounting a large print isn't as easy as it looks.

I recently had a photo printed 24x36 to hang on the wall, and well, I got it in the frame and it looks like crap. It didn't help that I received it wrinkled (working on getting a new one) but since I have a throw away, I thought I'd see how it'd look on the wall. The photo looks good until you see any reflection in it, and all the waves and wrinkles look terrible.

I Googled the subject, and found a few methods, but none were very specific in regards to large prints that come to you all rolled up. That, and I NEVER seem to get a picture behind glass with some kind of spec of dust, dirt, or lint in between the two...

What are the easy (read: cheap) tricks to getting a nice print on quality paper smooth and flat?

Thanks,
BM

[SmartWombat]

Hm, I had a local specialist company do the mounting.
I have absolutely no chance doing it myself ... cat hair and photos do not mix !

[mjs1973]

How are you mounting it? When I mount my prints, I attach the print to 1/8" foam core board. I only attach the top of the print using archival tape. I used to use a piece of double sided photo tape and ran it along the top edge of the print, then I add a simple matte over that to hold everything flat and away from the glass, or plexiglass.

I have some more things that I need to matte in the next couple of weeks and I'm going to change my method of mounting. I'm going to start using a hinge mounting technique. Instead of using a single long piece across the entire top edge of the photo, I'm going to use two smaller pieces, and create a hinge. From what I have seen, this seems to be a pretty standard way of mounting photos. Again, a matte will help to hold the print flat, and keep it from touching the glass.

If you don't plan on adding a matte, you may want to look into dry mounting the photo. This method covers the back for the entire photo and then it gets pressed onto a matte board, and heat and pressure are applied to make everything lay flat. A good frame shop should be able to do this for you. If you don't have one available, you can try to do it yourself. I have done it in the past using adhesive tissue that I bought from B&H and a regular iron. If you do try to do it yourself, make sure the iron is on a very low setting, and put a towel of something over the print.