Matt’s Guide for Mounting and Presenting Photographs in the CIB Shop
By Matt Murtagh who works Wednesdays and Fridays and is doing rather well with his range of 8×6 prints.
Wrote this for a couple of people who asked how and why you should mount photo prints for sale in t’shop -
Photos either sell in mounts or in frames, a good mount turns a fairly cheap looking print into something that people want to buy, especially as presents to other people.
There’s an argument to be made that mounted frames sell much better than framed prints as people care much more about frames matching their home decor, personally I like a nice frame that’s sympathetic to the image, I am however a photographer and not a buyer. There’s a difference.
Where do you source mounts?
The internet, generally. There are tonnes of competitive mat cutting sites (picturelizard.co.uk, frames.uk.com, ebay). If you want to make mounts yourself go ahead, you’ll need a Logan Mat Cutter and some mountboard to start with (Lions Picture Framing Supplies in Digbeth is full of people willing to help you out). It’s tricky to start with but easy, if time consuming, after the first few tries. Also buy some plasters, seriously. If you do really long panoramas making your own mounts is probably quite sensible as they can be a nightmare to source cheaply online.
A few points –
1) Always buy acid free/conservation board, not standard board. If the website does not say the magic phrase ‘Ph neutral’ then leave well alone.
2) Double mounts kinda look tacky (this is just a personal opinion)
3) Always buy a backing board for large prints, in my experience 10 x 8s and smaller can get by with a back made of stiff paper
4) Shop around – especially if you’re looking for standard sizes
How do you mount your images?
Tape your images to the inside of the mount –
1) Fix the image at the top only, this way the image will lie flat in the frame , don’t tape it all the way round
2) Use gum tape/conservation tape, don’t use sellotape, masking tape, horrible double sided tape, electrical tape, gaffer tape – these are all either acidic or non archival, as in you cannot remove them from the print afterwards.
3) Use a small piece of tape while positioning the image then use a large strip when you’re sure it’s right.
Bagging
Cellophane bags make your work easier to handle and more presentable. Most mounting websites will sell self sealing clear mount bags which are cheap and easy to use. For odd shaped or big prints cellophane rolls can be bought, the plastic sheets are easily fixed with a little sellotape.
