Bruce Barnbaum - The Art of Photography - An Approach to Personal Expression

I feel that the presentation looks best if the texture of the mount board is compatible with the print surface. Because I prefer an air-dried gloss surface, I also prefer a smooth surface mount board—but not one with an obvious sheen, for reflectivity makes the board too glaringly bright and detracts from the image.

The size of the mount board compared to the print is also a subjective decision. A border that is too narrow is nothing more than a bothersome stripe around the print, and one that is too wide diminishes the importance of the print. I mount 16″ × 20″ prints on 22″ × 28″ board, though I prefer 24″ × 28″. Many galleries demand specific standard sizes for framing and display, and I am somewhat constrained by those demands. For the same reason, I mount 11″ × 14″ prints on 16″ × 20″ board, though I much prefer the proportions of 17″ × 20″. I mount 8″ × 10″ prints on 14″ × 17″ board (which I like very much), and all prints significantly smaller than 8″ × 10″ are mounted on 11″ × 14″ board. You may want to experiment with other sizes to suit your taste. Edward Weston used to mount his 8″ × 10″ contact prints on 13 ″ × 16″ board—the size dictated by the fact that six such mounts could be cut with no waste from one 32″ × 40″ board!

Generally, the format of the print—whether horizontal or vertical—goes best with a board of similar format. Once in a while there may be a reason to mount a vertical print on a horizontal board or vice versa, but these instances are rare. In addition to compatible formats, all successful mounts I have ever seen are pleasingly centered left to right, with the print raised slightly above center. Anytime I’ve seen an off-center mount (usually with the print off in one corner), it has an affected, “cute” look. The emphasis should be on the photograph, and everything should be done to enhance it without calling attention to the mount or any other aspect of the presentation. When the presentation calls attention to itself, it detracts from the statement of the photograph.

Dry Mounting Prints

Dry mounting is a method of adhering the photographic print to a mount board for permanent display. It is done using a material known as dry mount tissue, a heat-sensitive glue that looks like waxed paper. When a sandwich of the print, the dry mount tissue below it, and the mount board are placed in a dry mount press (a large, flat press with heating elements), the dry mount tissue melts and glues the print to the board permanently.

The first step in mounting a print is to make the mount tissue adhere to the back. To do this properly, always preheat the print prior to tacking the dry mount tissue. This is not necessary for most color prints made on RC materials, but it’s true of all fiber-based papers for black-and-white (which, of course, I recommend to the exclusion of RC-based black-and-white papers). Most fiber-based papers are not dimensionally stable; they expand when wet and contract when dried. As a result, most prints shrink slightly when heated because the heat drives out the moisture in the emulsion and paper base. If the print is not preheated before trimming, it will shrink during mounting; however, the dry mount tissue will not shrink, and a distracting, shiny line of mount tissue will be visible all around the print. It’s important to note that all fiber-based prints are wavy and stiff if not heated prior to mounting, so preheating makes them more pliable and easier to work with. (RC papers are dimensionally stable and will not expand when wet or shrink when dry.)

Note

The size of the mount board compared to the print is a subjective decision. A border that is too narrow is nothing more than a bothersome stripe around the print, and one that is too wide diminishes the importance of the print .

Prior to tacking the dry mount tissue to the preheated print for trimming, carefully wipe the back of the print to remove any grit that may cause a bump in the mounted print. I do this with my hand rather than a brush because a brush often passes over a small impurity without budging it, while my hand will feel the bump, and I can then dislodge it. Then use a single stroke of the tacking iron in the center of the print, about two to three inches in length, to tack the tissue to the print. The traditional method of tacking—a large X on the back of the print—may cause ripples in the tissue at the junction of the X and result in an imperfect mount.

Once the dry mount tissue is tacked to the print, the two should be trimmed together. Trimming itself is extremely important, for this is your last chance to do any cropping of the image. Before trimming—and then again after trimming—check for minor edge distractions or intrusions that can be eliminated with another cut or of an inch in length. (Ansel Adams once remarked with his teeth clenched in mock anger, “I’d like to get my hands on the guy who invented of an inch!”) This is also the time to perform any more significant surgery, i.e., cropping. After all, it may be a stronger image at 15″ × 20″ than 16″ × 20″, or maybe at 11″ × 13″ rather than 11″ × 14″. Don’t become wedded to the exact format of the purchased paper. You may even go to extremely long and narrow formats or square formats to achieve your strongest image. Don’t hesitate to crop. Although I feel it’s important to attempt to use the maximum area of your negative, I always advise cropping if it improves the image.

When the print is trimmed, it’s ready for positioning on the mount board. Before placing the print on the board, wipe the surface free of any grit to eliminate any maddening bumps. Again, this should be done by hand, not with a brush.

Making Positioning Guides for Print Placement

To help position my print properly on the mount board, I have cut a number of positioning guides from scrap board. I have them for horizontal and vertical 16″ × 20″ prints, horizontal and vertical 11″ × 14″ prints, and so on. Sometimes I print an image slightly smaller than full frame for subtle variation of effect, as with a 14½″ × 18″ print that is mounted on 22″ × 28″ board. When I do this, I use my guide for a “narrow” 16″ × 20″ print.

Making the guide is a bit laborious, but using it saves enormous amounts of time. Here is my procedure for making one: the width is chosen as the distance from the top of the mount board to the top of the print, while the length is the width of the mount board. My guide for a horizontal 16″ × 20″ print mounted on 22″ × 28″ board is 28 inches long and ″ inches wide, while the guide for a vertical 11″ × 14″ print mounted on 16″ × 20″ board is 16 inches long and 2¾ inches wide).

When cutting the guide, I must be certain that its width is uniform across its entire length, in order to ensure that the print is positioned parallel to the top edge of the mount. I place the guide atop the mount board and push both of them against a straight edge to ensure that the guide is parallel with the board. Then I position the first print against the new guide and measure carefully to make sure the sides of the print are parallel to the edges of the board. If they are, then I know the guide is properly made, and I have no reason to measure subsequent prints for parallelism. I then slide the top edge of the print along the guide until the sides of the print are equidistant from the edges of the mount board.