The Framers Forum

A family member works for an IT company and has access to a HP printer using Vivera inks. He printed a black & white photo and a colour photo onto A3 sized canvas.
He originally wanted these stretched onto bars as per oil paintings. However he`d printed right upto the edge and would lose a lot of image using stretcher bars.
He now wants them mounted behind glass. Can I treat them as "paper prints" and T hinge them?
Or must I fix them onto something like Fastmount before framing?
Thanks, Sean.

I would tend to stick them to a board of your choice. PVA + heavy weight for a few hours. A heated press may or may not cause damage, so if you want to do it that way, try and test a scrap print first if poss.
You could hinge them but I can't see any virtue in doing this and loose canvas probably wouldn't stay flat no matter what.

If you have a vacuum press you could heat bond them to foamboard, then cover with a matte laminate and put them into a Lion floater frame (L1387). That way the canvas is well-protected but the texture is more apparent than would be the case under glass. The Hot Press Matte laminate also offers some UV protection.

I frequently mount Epson Ultra-chrome canvas prints this way and have never had a problem - one did bubble a bit but it had been kept in a conservatory in full sun. On the other hand, when I used to use PVA I quite a few returned from one particular photographer who used to leave them in her car for long periods.

If you're unsure whether Vivera inks would survive a heat press then you can either test a sample or ask Hot Press - they have tested out various types of inkjet prints and I'm sure they would be able to advise.

Must get into the workshop - I have 2 canvas prints to mount and laminate this morning...

Thanks for the advice. I don`t have any kind of press so far. I`ll try fastmount, sandwich it between two pieces of mdf then pop it all under the morso for the night. I know my brother can print it all again if there`s a hiccup. Thanks gents.
Sean.

If you've not got a press, PMA may be useful - it can be applied by hand, with a 'spatula' provided or it can be applied with manual rollers, much cheaper than a press.

Ir stays repositionable right up until you want it to be permanent.

I send my drymounting out, but recently bought a roll of PMA to try it out. Its good stuff. I'll still be sending most things out, as it saves me a lot of time, but for the occasional rush-job, and small bits and pieces its perfect. Be sure to smooth it down quite hard though - the adhesive works by flowing slightly under pressure - had my first attempt de-laminate a bit at one edge - thankfully not a customer's piece though