Presentation Mounting

When you see a photo gallery at an art and crafts show, the prints are often in a presentation mounting. 

The way I like to do presentation mountings is with hinge taping. This allows the photo to stay centered in the mat without being permanently mounted on the mount board. That way, whoever buys the print can either frame it as is, or have their framer do a more permanent mounting.

There may be other ways to do this type of mounting, this is how I do it.

First, assemble the materials. I am mounting 11 x 14 inch photos onto a 16 x 20 board. The 11 x14 mat has an opening that is actually a little smaller than the print, so be sure your photo can take the cropping intrusion. For the hinge tape, I like to use a pre-glued dry self sticking linen tape. You can use the gummed tape which requires water to activate it, but the self sticking tape makes the job quicker and cleaner, imho. I have a large flat area to work on ( a card table), a heavy flat straight edge, and another weight (in this case, a heavy clear plastic T), and a good pair of scissors.

materials

I lay the mat and the mount boards together, mat face down. Run a length of hinge tape across most of the joint, press it down to stick well. This is makes a  hinge.

hinge

Now, I place the photo on the mount board, fold over the mat, and center the print. Place your weight on the print to keep it in place.

center print

Open the hinged mat and put the heavy straight edge down near the bottom of the print. This way, you can handle the top of the print without moving its position. Cut four 3 to 4 inch pieces of linen tape. Stick two strips on the back on the print, leaving an inch or so of tape sticking out glue side up.

glue side up

Now, use the other two pieces to stick the tab of tape sticking out to the mount board. This will hold the print in place until it's removed.

stick it down

Next, put it in the plastic presentation bag.

plastic bag

Seal the bag.

signed, sealed ...

And put it in your display. Ready to be held and handled without getting bent, creased, dirty, or otherwise damaged.

delivered!

And that is my easy version of presentation mounting. 

Enjoy!

"Fascinating..."