An introduction to dry mounting and the archival and non-archival options available on creativehub.
What is dry mounting?
Dry mounting is the process in which a print is bonded to a mount using an archival adhesive. This a traditional method and an ideal one for presenting your artwork to a high standard.
The dry mounting process offers protection and displays your work in a clean minimalist way. It’s great for exhibitions and stylistically has impact, allowing viewers to focus on the work.
Keep in mind that dry mounting is an irreversible process and artworks cannot be removed from the mount board, and so is not advisable for one-off original artworks or highly valuable prints.
Video: An introduction to our different mounting options
Dry mounting: Archival
This kind of dry mounting is a process that focuses more on the longevity of a finished mounted artwork to ensure it doesn’t degrade and will last over a decent amount of time.
The more professional grade mounting options which are considered to be completely archival and will ensure stability over time include: Acrylic Reverse, Aluminium and Dibond.
Dry mounting: Non-archival
This kind of dry mounting offers more affordable mounting options. These options contain contaminants that cause degradation to the print over time and are not considered archival forms of dry mounting.
These non-archival dry mounting options including: Display Card, Foamex PVC, Foamboard and MDF.
Please note: Our lead time for mounting is 5 working days, apart from the Acrylic Reverse option which is 10 working days.
Compare mounting materials and their technical properties
The table below gives you an overview of the options available and their technical properties.
Tip: This is the paper type we recommend to use with dry mounting
When choosing a paper type for dry mounting, we highly recommend choosing from our C-Type range to allow a professional finish with a clean edge.
The durable emulsion coating of a C-Type paper makes it very robust. In comparison, our range of Giclée papers are more delicate, especially our uncoated 100% cotton-based papers.
Still need help?
Get in touch with us and speak to one of our team membersfor additional advice about the dry mounting services we provide.