Paper

Mounting/hinging flat paper

Mounts/mats serve to:

• protect your flat paper items from physical damage;

• discourage direct handling;

• give structural support;

• allow the paper to respond naturally to fluctuations in environmental conditions;

• enhance the appearance of your paper items, and so are widely used to display paper items; and

• buffer against acidity if you use acid-free, alkaline buffered mount board.

The structure of a mount

Standard mounts consist of:

• a window mount with a bevelled window. The bevelled edge prevents shadows falling on the paper item when mounted works are lit for display; and

• a backboard to support the flat paper item.

To give adequate support, especially to heavier papers, both the window and the backboard should be cut from board that is at least four ply.

Acid-free archival boards give the best protection to paper items. Acidic boards are much cheaper; but they will cause damage and will need to be replaced sooner, because they can deteriorate quite rapidly.

The window mount is hinged to the backing board, either down the left side or along the top edge with a continuous strip of gummed, linen tape. The window mount and the backboard should not be stuck together in such a way that makes the item inaccessible.

Click here to see diagram

Items can be:

• clamp-mounted: that is with the paper held down where the window mount overlaps the edges; or

• float-mounted: that is with the entire item showing and with a small distance between the edge of the paper and the window.

There are a number of stages involved in mounting/matting a flat paper item. These stages are outlined in the following sections.

Cutting and assembling the window and the backboard

To begin, you cut two pieces of board of equal size. The size of the mount is determined by:

• the size of the item;

• the size of the frame or box you are putting the mounted item into; and

• the width of the margins you want around the window in the window mount section.

Windows are usually cut with the width of the top and side margins equal. The bottom margin is usually slightly weighted visually; that is, it is usually slightly larger than the others. This visually centres the mounted item.

Once cut, the backing board can be put aside while you cut the bevelled-edge window.

Windows are basically quite easy to cut; but you usually won't find mount-cutting easy at your first attempt. Practice, a steady hand and the right equipment are essential for a good result.

Mount-cutting equipment ranges from simple hand-held tools such as mount-cutting knives and the Dexter which are run along a straight edge, to expensive table or wall-mounted machines. Wall-mounted machines should really be considered only if you need to cut lots of mounts over a long period of time.

Instructions for cutting the window are not given here because they vary according to the equipment you have. For more information, consult a conservator.

Once the window and the backboard have been cut, they can be hinged.

• Lay them down flat, side by side. The inside face of each should be facing upwards. Their longest edges, either the top or the left-hand edge of the completed mount, should abut each other.

• Cut a strip of gummed linen tape, just a little shorter than the longest edge. Wet the gum and put the linen tape in place as a hinge. Don't use too much water.

Close the mount and align the backboard and the window, and lightly weight it while it is drying.

Once dry, the mount/mat is complete. It is now ready for the paper item.

When large quantities or complicated mounts are required, it may be more efficient to have mounts cut by a framer; but make sure that you specify archival-quality board if that is what you want. Very few framers use archival-quality board unless they are asked to.

Mounts can be modified in various ways to suit an item. For instance, a sink mount with a deep window would be suitable for an item lined on thick board and a double-sided mount with windows front and back for an item with images on both surfaces.

Hinging and mounting, especially of fragile items, is often better left to conservators or conservation framers, who can be relied on to use archival techniques.

Hinges

It is recommended you attach your flat paper items to their mounts by hinging them to the backboard. The item should not be attached to the reverse side of the window mount, or stuck with adhesives or self-adhesive tapes directly to the backing board. These methods of attachment can be very damaging and very expensive to reverse.

A mounted watercolour. Photograph courtesy of the Ian Potter Art Conservation Service, University of Melbourne

This photograph shows clearly that the watercolour is not attached to the back of the window. It is hinged to the backing board. Photograph courtesy of the Ian Potter Art Conservation Service, University of Melbourne

Hinges are made from high quality archival papers—usually conservation-grade Japanese papers, which are:

• durable, lightweight, long-fibred and extremely strong; and

• available in a range of weights from art supply stores.

The most common types of hinges are the T-hinge or drop hinge for clamp-mounted items, and the V-hinge or fold-under hinge for float-mounted items.

Making hinges

Japanese paper can be water-cut to produce hinges with soft, feathered edges: so avoiding ridges showing on the upper side of the paper item.

To water-cut Japanese paper, place a ruler on the paper parallel with the grain and run a brush dipped in water along the ruler edge. Keep the ruler on the paper and tear the paper along the wet lines to make hinges of the desired size.

The size of the hinges depends on the size of the item; but for small items an oblong hinge of approximately 30 x 15mm is appropriate.

When hinging an item which is to be clamp-mounted, adhere small hinges along the top edge of the paper.

The number of hinges used depends on the size of the item, but one hinge at either end is sufficient for smaller items. More hinges are recommended for larger items and for thick papers. Additional hinges can be required at the bottom of the item, if it is being float-mounted.

Click here to see diagram

Attaching hinges

• Place the item face-down on a clean surface.

• Brush adhesive onto half the lengthwise side of each hinge. Allow it to almost dry. Place the pasted part of the hinge on the reverse side of the item. The unpasted part of the hinge should extend beyond the edge of the item.

• Cover the hinge with a piece of release paper and rub a bone folder lightly over the area, then press the hinged area under the release paper and a blotter with a small weight until it is dry.

• The item should then be positioned on the backboard in relation to the window, and weighted.

• The other half of the hinge is then brushed with adhesive, allowed to almost dry and then attached to the backing board.

• A second, slightly larger piece of Japanese paper is often stuck over the upper half of the hinge to provide strength, forming a T shape. The hinge is then bone-folded and pressed.

• The adhesive used for hinging and other work on paper items should be water-based and reversible; starch paste or methyl cellulose paste are recommended.

• Flat paper items in study collections are often hinged to sheets of heavy-weight archival paper, which are in turn hinged into mounts to facilitate handling.

One hinge is weighted while it dries, the other is being stuck down to the backing board. Photograph courtesy of the Ian Potter Art Conservation Service, University of Melbourne

Making starch paste

Starch paste is the adhesive most widely used by paper conservators. Starch paste from various sources—for example, from wheat and rice—has been used for centuries to stick paper to paper and textiles to paper. It is recommended for use with flat paper because of its strength, durability and purity. Aged starch paste does not discolour and remains reversible.

Many commercially available adhesives are starch-based but may also contain preservatives, plasticisers, fillers and other unwanted additives which can damage the paper item. Starch paste does not keep well in its wet state. It should be made fresh and can be covered and stored for two weeks in the refrigerator.

You will need:

• 10 grams or 3.5 level teaspoons of Silver Star laundry starch, which is available from most supermarkets;

• 100ml of water, preferably distilled or deionised;

• a stainless steel double boiler, or Pyrex beaker in a saucepan;

• a stove or hot plate; and

• a wooden spoon.

Method:

• Add about 10ml of the water to the starch and mix to a smooth slurry.

• Add more water if required to produce a smooth paste and leave to soak for about half an hour.

• Heat the remainder of the water in the double boiler.

• Add the starch slurry and cook for 20–30 minutes, stirring constantly.

• Leave to cool.

• If the paste is lumpy, press through a Nylon sieve or some fine cloth for example, terylene.

• The paste can be thinned by adding water and blending.

Alternatives to hinges

A fast but less desirable alternative to Japanese paper hinges and starch paste or methylcellulose are tabs of archival paper tape with a gum adhesive. This is known as archival hinging tape.

Photocorners are an excellent method of attaching paper items to mounts without using adhesives. They can be used:

• if the item is appropriately rigid and stable;

• if there is an adequate margin to hide the corners behind the window mount, and as long as they do not damage the medium; for example, abrade the paint; and

• for holding encapsulated material in mounts or on board for display purposes.

Photocorners should be made from polyester film, for example Mylar, and can be bought or made in a variety of sizes. To make photocorners you will need:

• strips of polyester, 100 or 125 micron Mylar D or Melinex, cut to whatever size is required: for example, for smaller items, a strip measuring 15 x 45mm is appropriate;

• acid-free, double-sided tape 6 mm wide—3M double-sided tape #415 is commonly used;

• scissors; and

• a bone folder.

To make up the photocorner:

Click here to see diagram

• fold in each end of the strip as shown on the diagram to form a point in the top centre edge of the strip. Make sure the ends butt up to each other;

• use a bone folder to form sharp creases. To avoid scratching the polyester, place a piece of release paper; for example, Glad Bake paper or Reemay, over the photo corner when bone-folding; and

• apply a strip of double-sided tape across the protruding ends of the photo corner.

Click here to see diagram

In this way, the photocorner can be stuck down to the backing paper and no adhesive touches the items being mounted.

When using photocorners to attach items to mounts, the item is weighted in place on the backing board and its position checked by closing the window mount. The photocorners are then slipped onto the corners of the item, and the corners attached to the backing board using acid-free, double-sided tape.