How To Hang Mounted Photos
One of the most rewarding experiences in photography comes from receiving a print order. Here are some recent gems that came in this week that were mounted on sintra and gatorboard. Go to the bottom to learn how to hang photos without a frame and without looking like a complete cheapskate by mounting your work.
click to enlarge
The mailman brings goodness.
Who gets what?
10″ X 15″ of Ion Banner goes to a lucky guy in New Jersey, mounted on 3mm sintra.
New Jersey is also getting a 10″ X 15″ piece of San Onofre, CA, mounted on 3mm sintra.
10″ X 15″ of Peter Mel is heading to Maine, mounted on 3mm sintra.
Prints for Habilitat in Oahu
Two 12″ X 18″ prints are being sent to Kaneohe, Hawaii for the 10th Annual Habilitat Luau & Art Benefit. Each year I donate work to Habilitat which is a long term residential drug addiction treatment center on the island of Oahu. This year I asked one of the residents of the program to select an image from my website to be included in the benefit. He excitedly chose this image below of Zach Wormhoudt charging down the face of a wave at Mavericks in Half Moon Bay, CA. This year’s luau will be on May 22nd at Windward Community College. Visit here for more info.
12″ X 18″ of Zach Wormhoudt is going to an art auction in Oahu, mounted on 1/2″ gatorboard.
Habilitat Art Auction in Oahu also gets a 12″ X 18″ print of Capitola, CA, mounted on 1/2″ gatorboard.
Frameless Presentation
A traditional way to hang photography is to mount the prints to a hinged 8-ply window mat board under UV glass with a custom frame. This offers the best protection but it is exceptionally expensive. I have been getting photos dry mounted to Sintra (a 3mm thick durable lightweight PVC material) and gatorboard (similar to foam core but much stronger due to the wood pulp fibers). Dry mounting allows artwork to lay completely flat when framed under glass and is almost always required for pieces 11X14 and larger. Once mounted, you can also hang your work without a frame without using clothespins, binder clips, or thumb tacks. Your work does not deserve such injustice.
This 10″ X 15″ of Mavericks printed on metallic paper stays here, mounted on 3mm sintra and “floated” off the wall.
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How To Go Frameless:
If done correctly frameless photography can look as nice as a framed piece and offer similar protection. You need to do (4) things.
1) Dry mount the photo to a substrate that will not flex. Materials can include: artboard, masonite, metal, plexiglass, and gatorboard, Foam core will not work and will warp over time. There is also a law of physics that states as soon as you mount a photo to foam core you will drop the photo and dent the corners. Don’t do it!
2) Have the artwork UV coated. This also protects the print from moisture, dust, and the color will not self destruct under normal viewing conditions. UV coatings can be either: clear, luster, gloss, or high gloss. These are extremely thin protective sheets that are completely invisible. Friends don’t let other friends emboss textured coatings like linen or canvas onto their photos. Keep it classy and go clear.
3) Place a self-adhesive hanger on the back of the mounting material. These are very strong due to the large surface area, but for larger pieces go with (2) adhesive hangers and a piece of wire.
4) “Float” the mounting material away from the wall. Many framers and labs mount a smaller piece of 1/2 gatorboard behind the dry mounted photo. The easiest solution is to use these thick self-adhesive rubber bumpers found at Home Depot. Place one at each corner of the print about 4 inches toward the center to hide their appearance.
Place the bumpers 4″ from the outside edge so they are less visible.
Additional info and resources:
Unless you don’t mind doing the whole thing over again in a few years because the color has shifted, don’t skip the UV coating in order to save a few dollars. Most labs and some framers can do this for you. The biggest concern for archival properties is from the heat and adhesives used in the dry mounting process. Shop around and ask questions, or do it yourself. To save a few steps take a look at the self-adhesive gatorboards and other materials at www.artsupply.com. Gatorboard is very rigid and will have to be cut by saw. You can do it yourself or job it out to save a few steps.
Here are two recommended and inexpensive online printing labs that offer color controlled printing (ICC profiles), dry mounting, and UV coating:
Get your work outside of the computer and make some prints! Then hang em!
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RELATED POST:
Photo On Aluminum: BumbleJax A Photo Printing + Mounting Service
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Tags: art, mounting photo, photography, printing services
April 16th, 2010 at 3:50 pm
You’re always impressing me, Jay! I really like what you said here, because I’ve heard you talk about it before when we’re at art shows: “It also allows you to experiment with frameless presentations that does not include clothespins, binder clips, or thumbtacks. Your work does not deserve such injustice.”
Also, I’m so glad we get to keep that little rainbow wave piece. I love it.
April 19th, 2010 at 7:17 pm
excelent!!!
April 19th, 2010 at 10:48 pm
love it. Amen brother to the non-linen/fake canvas texture and denting the corners on foam core mounted pieces (my prints were dinged big time AND pulled away from the foamcore mount!) really like the home desperate bumpers idea. the images you show rock.
May 4th, 2010 at 12:06 am
Really useful post, the prints look great, thanks Jay!
August 17th, 2010 at 10:37 am
Hey Jay, nice post and couldn’t agree more. In my opinion anything that takes away from the image itself which I think traditional framing often does, diminishes the power of it and floating it adds another dimension. At BumbleJax.com we use gatorfoam as well as plexi, aluminum and even bamboo. We’d love to discuss donating a piece for the charity you discuss above. Feel free to contact us anytime.
April 23rd, 2011 at 10:26 am
Thank you so much!
March 31st, 2012 at 11:09 am
Any thoughts on how to hang a giant poster (6ft x 4ft) mounted on sintra?
April 12th, 2012 at 9:26 pm
@JK – Yes. Super easy. Lay the piece face down. Use gorilla glue or liquid nails to adhere two long pieces of 1X2 wood to the back. Imagine replacing the rubber bumpers shown in this post with long pieces of 1X2. Run a wire between the 1X2 for hanging. If you still get too much flex (sintra is very flexible) then run cross pieces at the bottom and at the top for extra support. Good luck!
July 31st, 2012 at 10:36 pm
Am going to be in my 2 art corridor showing this year. coming up on the 2nd. last year i had an extreamly limited budget and wasnt able to afford any prints bigger then an 8×10 and some cheap frams. i did it mself. this year i was able to save a little money ahead and had my pictures mounted ( i believe on gatorboard) ., But they have to be ready to hang and i was completly unsure on what to do. i googled it and this blog was the first to pop up.. I wanted to thank you so much. it has been a great help!!!!! feel free to email me.
August 3rd, 2012 at 12:35 pm
Thanks Katie! Glad this idea helped. It can definitely save on some costs for putting a show together on a budget. Just make sure you get those prints protected with a clear coat since they won’t be under glass.
August 26th, 2012 at 9:25 am
Which lab do you use for these? Thank you!
August 30th, 2012 at 11:09 am
@Jacqueline
I use a variety of labs. Some of my favorites are:
Oscar’s Photo lab – San Francisco
Printroom, White House Custom Color – both are a great value
Bumblejax – great mounting options
West Coast Imaging – custom printing and inkjets
January 9th, 2013 at 5:22 pm
Hi Jay – any ideas on how to fix photos i already have mounted on foam board? Exactly as you said, one of my pieces got dinged after being dropped. i chanced upon your blog after searching for fixes. Can i remount?
January 9th, 2013 at 8:50 pm
Foam core is not very forgiving. Without seeing it, my guess is that remounting the photo would destroy it. For a minor ding you might be able to smooth it out to minimize the blemish, but if it’s beyond repair you might have to trim it short. The fight frame might cover it up. Good luck.
March 14th, 2013 at 4:25 pm
Hi Jay,
Your suggestions give me hope. Photos of assorted sizes have been mounted on 2mm styrene for a gallery exhibit and look great w/o frames. I want to display them this way. However, I have been told by the photo lab and a framing store that adhesives will not stick to the nonporous styrene. Your experience seems to be different. Would adhesive strip hooks like Command stick to the styrene? I just need something on the back to connect to a gallery hanging system. I certainly don’t want the pieces to be falling off, but really want to present them w/o frames. I can not put anything on the wall itself. Much appreciation for your input!
Jane
March 14th, 2013 at 5:19 pm
I think the adhesive hook would work for smaller size pieces where humidity isn’t a factor. Styrene is light and the adhesive hook has a sponge tape on the back which works well even on smooth surfaces. You can even used two adhesive hooks (spaced several inches apart and connected by a wire) to give extra strength. The lab is right that most adhesives will not stick. Epoxy might work but it could eat through the surface causing new problems. Since you already mounted the work to styrene – just try the adhesive hooks. If it holds well at home for a few days then you can feel safer taking it to the gallery.
March 15th, 2013 at 12:24 pm
Many thanks for your suggestions. Off to buy some hooks to set up the test pieces. The heaviest is 13 ounces. If I end up using this method, I will let you know the outcome after the month’s showing.
I appreciate very much you sharing your time and knowledge.
Jane
March 15th, 2013 at 12:31 pm
@Jane
Awesome. Thanks for the shout back. I hope the info helps and I wish you luck!