Mounting on Foam Core

[Tea]

I will be in a position in the near future where I have to mount some literary works on to some foam core. I don't know the details of the sizes etc., but I doubt they will be any larger than letter size because of the access to printers, etc. These won't have to be a permanent mounting, but I don't think I will have access to a dry mounting machine and/or laminating for the heat adhesive foam cores. So it may be a manual mounting. I've used spray glue in the past, but that tends to be messy and show through light weight papers.

If someone has any solutions or suggestions for a minimal cost (this is a project that will be funded through a grant so I don't know how much they have to spend yet) to mount the printed works onto foam core without and ripples, bubbles or wrinkles, I'd love to hear them.

I searched here and the internet and I'm either I'm not searching with the right terms or something, because I'm not getting the results I want.
Thanks in advance.

[budafist]

The way I used to do it in Uni is to spray the back of the untrimmed printed piece. Then lay it into the middle of a piece of foam board. Using a very dry, clean face cloth rub lightly over the print from 1 corner to the diagonal corner. Then I trim both pieces together using a big metal ruler and a very sharp knife. Be careful of the angle you trim at. It should be either straight down or in towards the back. You don't want to trim it so the backing material shows at an angle, but it can disappear at an angle if you're no good so aim for that if you are unsure.

[Tea]

Sounds like you were using spray glue? I pretty darn good at trimming and cutting, but I was hoping to find an alternative to spray glue. I had some really crappy luck with it the last time I used it and was hoping for a different product that I could use that wouldn't be too thick or as messy. I may not have an option on this, unless I buy the self-adhesive stuff, but I don't know if I can lift the material back up to re-position it if necessary. Have you used any of that?

Thanks for your quick feedback!

[SpugNothuson]

You can use self-adhesive that is non-permanent.

Its not as common as the permanent stuff and costs a little extra but it does exist.

[shaunxd]

erm...i use craft glue at the moment.
its 'repositionable' but its not advised as soon as i hits the board your not gonna want to lift it off again it will leave a horrible mess.
sorry to sound like im talking without an answer but the best thing is to just get it down first time.
when you say it was messy? how did it get messy i find it the cleanest way of mounting.

[budafist]

What kind of self adhesive? In high school we used to use double sided tape - The school didn't like the idea of a) students carrying glue aerosol form and b) the mess that teenagers make with spray glue. But we found that all our work would go yellow where the tape was and it ruined a lot of my photos.

What was your bad experience with spray glue? Maybe we can work out ways to avoid that experience.

Also (at least with the spray glue I get), if you spray one side lightly only it will not be permanent. If you spray generously on the printed piece as well as the mount, and let it dry for about 30 seconds, it's going to be pretty permanent.

I tend to spray the printed piece generously and stick onto the mount straight away. Because it is still wet, I can reposition and even slide it into the right place if it's not quite right.

I don't recommend spraying generously onto inkjet prints if unless it is coated stock! Not good!

[D-Frag]

just go to a local shop if you have one, hell even kinko's and alphagraphics have small amounts of foamcore in stock, it will be cheaper and they can use a laminator to mount the prints to the board eliminating wrinkles and such, shouldn't be more expensive then going and buying the stuff in the first place.....thats my 02 cents

[ZippyTheWonderMonkey]

I've actually used double sided tape, just at the corners, before to mount on foamcore. I still stand by Super 77 or Super 99 spray glue as my first choice though.

[afurrer]

I've used StudioTac before and its awesome. Its a sheet of small dry glue dots that you stick to the back of the piece, then remove the backing and adhere to the foamcore. It comes in 6x9 pads, or 11x17. I've only seen it at a few art supply stores, but I'm pretty sure that Dick Blick sells it online. The dry glue dots are a bit easier to work with since it has the backing on it, and if you get a bit on anything, some Bestine on a cotton swab wipes it right off.

[Red Kittie Kat]

I have used this before for bigger projects .. comes in nice big sheets ;)

http://www.misterart.com/g40/Bainbridge-Studio-Tac-Adhesive-Sheets.htm

[Red Kittie Kat]

hehe I just read what afurrer said .. thats what I posted too ;)

[captain spanky]

make a dog sneeze on it, that's pretty sticky stuff

[Tea]

Ewww..Captain Spanky. I'll pass on that one!

Thanks afurrer and RKK...that may be perfect!

Buda...I had some very heavy photo paper that was on a roll for my large format printer and it would not flatten for the life of me afterwards. So spraying the back of curled paper was a nightmare as it was so springy. I had to reprint one piece, but the spray glue was not strong enough to bond the suckers because half of them loosened quite a bit and I had to redo them. The bad part was they didn't come off totally, so I was trying to spray the backs while still on the foam core. My hand was so full of glue that I couldn't get it off (figures it stuck there, eh?) and the next morning it looked like a gorilla hand because of all the lint and dog hair it picked up from my blanket! It took me 2 days to get that stuff off.

[captain spanky]

hairy palms?

[Ovaltine]

Buda's way is good, I'd only add that to make the spray-mount less messy, get a 24" flat fan, tape a 24" cheap filter to the back side, turn fan on (this creates a suction effect), place the paper (face to the filter), and spray. Most excess "glue" gets adhered to the filter, not the flor or the walls. Best to do this with the fan facing outdoors though (fumes and all).

[Tea]

That's pretty interesting Ovaltine. I wonder if Spray glue freezes in mid air? :D Luckily it won't be as cold out when I do this!

[PrintDriver]

http://www.dickblick.com/zz232/14/

[Drawing a Blank]

I used this stuff when I had to mount some things to Gator baord and have since used it on foamcore as well. Much less messy than spray adhesive.

http://www.charrette.com/store/catalog/itemDetail.jsp?itemID=759220&performSearch=true&backurl=%2Fstore%2Fcatalog%2FsearchResults.jsp%3Fs earchLevel%3D0%26performSearch%3Dtrue%26sortString %3DManufacturerName%2Basc%26searchGroup%3D3%26cate gories%3D31476%26searchString%3D3M%2B568

[Tea]

Great links! I thought there might be other options out there.

[idaho]

Don't piss with the spray glue. you'll just ruin a pair of shoes with it. Get the self-adhesive board. I think a box of 25 sheets 20x30 is under $100.

Personally I'm not a big fan of the repositionable tack. Gravity tends take affect on it and it'll peel off. Unless what you are mounting is the only set of originals you have, take an extra set and use the permanent adhesive board.

[seamas]

I find Spray 77 to be pretty messy - and noxious. Bought a can once, and never bought one again.

I use 3M Spray Mount, which is repositional, sprays fairly clean and not as sinky as Spray 77.

I give one surface a short bast, position the paper, then spray a small amount on the rest of the surfaces, and use a Scotch ATG double sided adhesive along the edges.

[Red Kittie Kat]

Ooh PD! Thats a great link .. I'm saving that one too .. they have even bigger sheets :)

[Navian]

I've never had a problem with Super 77. It has proven its value to me.

I guess you just have to know how to use it.

*shrug*

[PrintDriver]

You can get full 4'x8' pieces of the stuff if you know where to look...
You can get solid PVC rather than foam too.

[Spunky Nerd]

You could always go ghetto and use a glue stick if its very temporary... :D

[budafist]

I hate glue sticks. Too temporary even for temporary things.

A sneezing dog is more ghetto than that anyways.

[Spunky Nerd]

or you could have a sneezing dog use the glue stick :rolleyes:

[Danger_Mouse]

Super 77 adhesive. Stuff works like a charm, haven't ever used anything better. Not sure why any one would have problems with it ( if you know what you are doing)....easy to make a cardboard containment box for spraying messes.

Never had a issue with thinner paper either, you must be spraying on a ton of it on there if you are. You only need a wee bit. I use a roller to flatten it out after tacking the corners. Make a boo boo? Usually this stuff will let you lift it up at least once before having to redo entire printout

Good thin two sided tape works too, but not as versatile if you have to retack a crooked piece, and on some papers will show through.