Dry Mount Film vs Tissue

[eileen]

Hi, this is a question to all the dry mount press users out there - does anyone know what the difference is between dry mount tissue vs film adhesive? I had read in some of the older threads that the film adhesive is best for puzzles over the tissue, however I have occassional problems with the film adhesive lifting off the wood. I can sometimes peel the entire image off the wood once it has cooled, but I want the adhesive to permanently bond the image. I currently use an ArtGrafix adhesive manufacured by D&K, PolyMount series. Most of the adhesive tissues I have seen say they bond permanently during cooling and am wondering if this would be best after all?

I purchased the film adhesive I use on ebay and although the description didn't mention if it was permanent or removable if re-heated, I suspect that it is removable since the image can be lifted. I am aware that the image bonds during cooling and I place it under a board with a weight on top in order to provide even pressure while cooling.

I like to adhere using the dry mount press because I also seal the image with a laminate.

Any suggestions & advice would be appreciated!

[oldvaxguy]

My ex wife works at photographer's studio. She does my dry mounting. Here are the known facts. The tissue does not hold up to sawing. The Film (it feels like saran wrap) before she mounts it. What happens is it melts(i think) more and gets into the wood fibers some how and holds on real well. The first few were with the tissue and I had to throw away the puzzles half way through cutting. The picture would tear during cutting because it pulled away from the wood.

My suggestion would be to use the film and wait 10 seconds longer with the heat. You will need to make a detailed process with your heat press. She only uses one of the three heat presses that she has access to and uses the same one every time for film.

[eileen]

thanks for the info.

[lkgraves]

Eileen,

I use Bienfang Fusion 4000 film for all of my puzzles. I only had the image lift one time in nearly 200 puzzles and that was because I didn't heat it long enough. I would bet any amount of money that your problem is just not heating it long enough. Since I am also applying the laminate over the picture at the same time, I use a higher heat setting and longer time on the press then you would normally do with just the adhesive. I cook mine for about 12 minutes at 215 degrees. The point is you can't go wrong by upping the heat and cook time.

Good luck!