I have two solo shows coming up in the next few months (stay tuned!) and I was trying to find a non-standard way of mounting my images. I do like the typical matte board and black-museum-frame look, but for the Botanica Obscura work, I wanted to try something new–and, well, something more fitting. Right about that time I had been researching Dane Creek’s covers for the folios I am making (stay tuned some more!), I came across his post Plywerk Mounting Panel Review.
Long story short, I ordered a few test pieces and for the most part have been favorably impressed. Attaching your image is a straight forward process, if a little nerve wracking at first–you have to get the print on the ph-neutral adhesive correctly the first time, or the whole assembly may be ruined. You also have to be quite careful when trimming the edge of the print to the edge of the mount. Clear mounting and trimming instructions are included with every order. Plywerk mounts are offered in a large number of sizes and thicknesses, and in Birch and Bamboo–architects and builders will recognize the Bamboo base material as Plyboo. Plywerk also offers Photoshop .PSD files on their site here, that are designed so you can add your own image on a layer, for marketing and sales and such. That’s a nice touch. Here are two different versions of one of my Botanica Obscura images:
I’m using 310gsm Canson Infinity Platine Fibre Rag which is the inkjet version of the paper platinum/palladium printers have used for years. It has a nice surface, is acid free, and contains no optical brightening agents (OBAs). One of the reasons why I picked this paper was that this type of mounting is designed to be shown–not squirreled away in a collector’s dark cabinet. No OBAs means that there won’t be a shift to yellow as the brighteners lose their ability to fluoresce over time. I gave the mounted image 24 hours to let the adhesive set, then sprayed the image with two coasts of Premier Print Spray to help prevent scratches and finger prints on the image surface.
To sum up, I really like the Bamboo mounts for these particular images–they make for a more intimate, organic presentation.