Protect Your Prints!
If you’ve ever had a tour of this place, you’d know that it’s not just the storefront where all the action takes place. In fact, there’s a whole other level of important work being done in the work areas behind the photo lab.
There’s the Digital Imaging Lab, where you can get precious memories from decades past restored to their full glory, canvas or fine art prints, high resolution scanning and more.
...and then there’s Mounting and Lamination.
It’s pretty much always busy back there in Mount & Lam... canvas prints in various stages spread over the tables, prints big and small waiting for their respective finishes, trimming and packaging. Mostly it’s the same clients sending their work through, already sure of what they want. The odd consumer order makes it there every now and then. To be honest, it’s surprising there’s not more! Of course, most people don’t realize it’s an option—a great one at that.
Not only does Mounting and Laminating a print give the photograph a professional, finished look, it protects it from long-term environmental damage as well.
Mounting
If you’ve ever framed a large print, you’re probably familiar with the sag that comes with age. A photographic print all by its lonesome just isn’t sturdy enough to hold itself up for long. There’s an easy fix, though - just mount it. This gives your print enough support to stay where it should. This way you can choose to frame, or NOT frame, your print.
We have two options available that add strength and protection to your prints—Smooth Mount and Foamcore.
Smooth Mount is our customer favourite and most popular option. It’s strong, but thin enough (1/16") to fit in ready-made frames and as the name suggests, it’s also super smooth!
Foamcore is the second option. It’s lightweight but thicker than Smooth Mount, and so better for custom framing.
Lamination
Once you have your Mounting preference figured out, you should probably consider adding a lamination. When Lamination is added to your print, your print can be wiped clean with a damp cloth, while a straight print on photographic paper can not.
If your print isn’t going behind glass, you’re going to want the extra protection against greasy fingerprints and dust/dirt.
If framing the print is in your future, and you won’t be using a matte, you’re going to want lamination to insure that the print won’t stick to the glass. This will eliminate a hassle down the road, when you need to swap out or replace your photo/frame.
If you are using a matte, and your print won’t be up against the glass, then lamination isn’t a necessary step—though it’s still an option.
We offer two different types of Lamination: Pearl and Leather.
Pearl Laminate adds a delicate sheen to your images and is best for photos that will be viewed under direct lighting.
Leather Laminate, which is our most popular choice for the majority of our clients, has the texture its name suggests. However it will not fade or change the colors of your image in any way, nor the sharpness.
So the next time you put your time and money into choosing and printing a large print, consider it an investment you need to protect. It’s really only a small cost for the piece of mind knowing that, years later, your print will still be good as new!
This Blog post was originally written by Erin Smith in 2010. It has been updated and re-posted by Rachelle Clothier.