Mounting, Trimming & Laminating

Mounting photographs is a skill in and of itself, probably because it takes a close eye, a steady hand, and an understanding of the concept of space, which goes along with instinct as well. Mounting, trimming & laminating is the process of preparing photographs for presentation, and involves an endless variety of possibilities.

The various possibilities come about due to the wide assortment of photo mounting materials that photographers use in the process. Mat boards, heat-activation boards, pressure-sensitive boards, and foam boards serve as backdrop for photo-mounting and must be durable and have a wide, flat, clean area to accommodate photo layouts after trimming with mat blades or scissors. Depending on the photographer’s preference, the board will be used to display one or two larger images or a series of smaller ones. The board must provide adequate space for whatever the photographer has in mind.

Photograph-mounting techniques involve any one or a combination of several adhesives. Dry-mount tissue is neat and quick-drying, as is roller glue or pressure-sensitive stick. No dripping or running occurs, so the photographer has total control over adhesive application. Laminating film, or lamination, wraps the photo-image and the photo-mounting board entirely and sealed tightly in translucent film material. Non-laminated images are marketed off by photo-mounting corners. Photo-mounting techniques such as this ensure that photo-images appear well-defined on mount boards, especially while in the process archival photograph mounting where pictures are slipped in photo-mounting sleeves made out of archival polyester for protection against skin oil, dusty, dirt, and other airborne particles of debris. These sleeves are to be inserted or affixed in some type of binder or album for organization, storage and presentation.

Yet another photo-mounting technique is that of slide mounting. Slide mounts allow photos to be secured by sliding them in place. The advantage here is that such images can be easily removed if and when necessary.

When the photo-mounting process is done, the image is to be glossed for the purpose of enhancing color and detail. Print lacquer finish works well for this.

Photograph mounting is enjoyable, but it also requires some knowledge of process, not to mention how to uses the various materials. This process provides a professional appearance to any non-computerized photographic display. Such a process is one of the oldest traditional practices in both art and photography and is still quite popular. There is no wonder, then, how and why photo-mounting has and will continue to stand the test of time.