"Masterpiece" Blemishes--what to do?

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Occasionally, when dry mounting large prints, I occasionally find very small sand grain "imprint/s" on the surface of my prints(cleaning prior to dry mounting does take place)--What is the best method (if possible & if desired)to lessen this imperfection other than totally discarding one's own work, a lot of time & money spend on matt board & printing paper, etc.. I'm sure Weston & Adam's et al had similar situations/blemishes in their works--Other blemishes may be water marks.

What do forum members do with their "blemish/es" that they know may exist on their prints but the unsuspecting viewer may not? Thank you for your honesty-------Raymond

-- Raymond A. Bleesz (bleesz@vail.net), August 20, 2001

Answers

I Chuck it.

If my 59 year old eyes can see a defect, this means there is a big demographic group of people who should have no problem at all of seeing it.

It is not a total loss, however, you can cut out the print and use the rest of the board for a window matt.

The trick is to not let it happen in the first place. And the best way I have found of preventing defects is to carefully go over all the mating surfaces immediately before bringing them together with a cotton glove. This does two things: It pulls off dirt that a brush might be unable to dislodge and the moisture in your hand will help discharge static in the material. The platen of the dry mount press is especially problematic. Bits of wax from the dry mount material will stick to it to the extent that no brushing or wiping will be able to dislodge them. For this I keep a Plexiglas ice scraper handy.

-- Bruce Wehman (bruce.wehman@hs.utc.com), August 20, 2001.


Raymond, put a small drop of water on the little imprint, sometimes this helps as it swells the paper again.

-- Jorge Gasteazoro (jorgegm@worldnet.att.net), August 20, 2001.

Raymond,

I don't let the face of the print come in contact with the platten. I use a sheet of thin hot press matte board on top of the print. Dry mounting takes a little longer but I don't experience pressure blemishes. When I don't have one I keep it and mount another.

-- Kevin (kkemner@tatesnyderkimsey.com), August 21, 2001.


I use smooth mat boards on both sides of the sandwich, plus release paper on the face of the print. I clean both the top mat board and the release paper using cotton gloves before each press. Even then, little indentations appear on the print surface ocassionally. I'll give the drop of water idea a try.

-- Gene Crumpler (hassieguy@att.net), August 21, 2001.

A drop of distilled water will swell the emulsion and you won't have an indentation. The bad ones are when a piece of grit gets under the print. Then it is impossible, although if it is a very tiny protruberance you can sometimes press it flat with a burnisher.

Michael A. Smith

-- Michael A. Smith (michaelandpaula@michaelandpaula.com), August 23, 2001.



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