INTRODUCTION TO DARKROOM

Dry Mount Presses

A dry mount press is a luxury for a home darkroom. Due to its inherent size, weight and space requirements, a dedicated work area is recommended. Inasmuch as some presses require high amperage, most dry mount presses, especially the larger more heavy-duty units, require their own dedicated power line. If these considerations can be dealt with, a dry mount press can make print finishing a good experience. Dry mounting is the most secure and reliable way to secure a print to a piece of mat board. There are other methods for mounting such as cold mounting using spray adhesives but dry mounting is the oldest and most respected technique.

A dry mount press is essentially a large metal sandwich into which the print and board are placed. The platen contains a heating element that seals the print to the board via a sheet of dry mount tissue that melts in between the print and board when the platen is closed and gross pressure is applied. To some people, a dry mount press resembles something akin to what you see a dry cleaner use - only it is dry heat rather than steam heat.

As with most darkroom equipment, presses come in all sizes. Once again it is recommended that you get one that is larger than you think you'll need. Even though it is possible to mount large prints in smaller presses (first, by mounting one side, then rotating the print and mounting the other side), the process can be risky. It doesn't take much to overheat a print or cause a seam to appear where the print was rotated. A larger press simply makes your life easier.

Presses are not only used for mounting but for pre-drying mat board as well as the prints themselves. They are also used for laminating which is a process by which a thin sheet of clear plastic is sealed over an image for preservation purposes.