Drymounted Poster Question

fl4tdriven

I did the unthinkable... Earlier last year, I had a poster drymounted and I specifically requested it. I thought I was doing the right thing and did exactly what I didn't want to do, which was to permanently mount the print. My question is, will the drymounting eventually degrade/discolor the poster? I never intend on removing it from the frame, so that's not much of a concern. I'm just worried it will eventually degrade in the frame.

Thoughts?

on2legs

I have some inexpensive movie posters that I unknowingly had drymounted when I got them framed about 20 years ago and they have not degraded or discolored. I would never knowingly do it again but so far so good.

riley540

on2legs said:

I have some inexpensive movie posters that I unknowingly had drymounted when I got them framed about 20 years ago and they have not degraded or discolored. I would never knowingly do it again but so far so good.

What movies? Just curious, I'm big into movie poster collecting

fl4tdriven

on2legs said:

I have some inexpensive movie posters that I unknowingly had drymounted when I got them framed about 20 years ago and they have not degraded or discolored. I would never knowingly do it again but so far so good.

Good to know! I also will never have something drymounted again. Oh well, live and learn I guess.

screaminreel

I had someone offer me a dry mounted Chief poster. I honestly felt bad for them.

deadendp

fl4tdriven said:

I did the unthinkable... Earlier last year, I had a poster drymounted and I specifically requested it. I thought I was doing the right thing and did exactly what I didn't want to do, which was to permanently mount the print. My question is, will the drymounting eventually degrade/discolor the poster? I never intend on removing it from the frame, so that's not much of a concern. I'm just worried it will eventually degrade in the frame.

Thoughts?

It's hard to say with materials now, but my art school experience back in the early 90's says that the materials I used back then most definitely would and did degrade and discolor. I suppose that what you could do is to contact the person you had do the drymounting for you and to ask them the products that they used and whether they are archival friendly. (I'm going to say with 99.7% certainty that they are not.)

Do you like the final product? If you do, have it, enjoy it and don't kick yourself over it. Just please o' please don't drymount another poster again.

fl4tdriven

deadendp said:

fl4tdriven said:

I did the unthinkable... Earlier last year, I had a poster drymounted and I specifically requested it. I thought I was doing the right thing and did exactly what I didn't want to do, which was to permanently mount the print. My question is, will the drymounting eventually degrade/discolor the poster? I never intend on removing it from the frame, so that's not much of a concern. I'm just worried it will eventually degrade in the frame.

Thoughts?

It's hard to say with materials now, but my art school experience back in the early 90's says that the materials I used back then most definitely would and did degrade and discolor. I suppose that what you could do is to contact the person you had do the drymounting for you and to ask them the products that they used and whether they are archival friendly. (I'm going to say with 99.7% certainty that they are not.)

Do you like the final product? If you do, have it, enjoy it and don't kick yourself over it. Just please o' please don't drymount another poster again.

I love the way the frame job turned out. The poster is the MSG 1 Owl, which is the first concert my wife and I went to together. I do have another of the same print, so worst case I could have it redone down the road.

I learned my lesson the hard way. I'll never drymount again!

PJinIL

I wouldn't sweat it, OP. I worked at a Hobby Lobby frame shop in the early 2000s when I was in school. Can't remember for sure if the dry mount process was absolutely archive friendly, but I dry mounted many posters that are screwed to the wall in my garage. No frame, no glass, just the foam board. Have been for years. I looked, just to be sure, and there's no yellowing, the posters still look great. If you have the posters for your enjoyment, chances are if you use UV glass in the frame, you will absolutely never know it has been dry mounted. Really the only thing you've lost is if there is an artist message on the back.

There was another mounting process similar to drymounting, but used a different adhesive and did not require vacuum and heat, those adhesives were NOT archive friendly and would certainly yellow a print. Probably a cheap adhesive. Drymounting, if done right, shouldn't cause you problems with aging.

rorrim_weiv_raer

I had a Seattle '98 poster dry mounted the week after the show and it still looks good.
BTW I will never ever have a poster dry mounted again! Back then I didn't know.

hsohi

fl4tdriven said:

I did the unthinkable... Earlier last year, I had a poster drymounted and I specifically requested it. I thought I was doing the right thing and did exactly what I didn't want to do, which was to permanently mount the print. My question is, will the drymounting eventually degrade/discolor the poster? I never intend on removing it from the frame, so that's not much of a concern. I'm just worried it will eventually degrade in the frame.

Thoughts?

Nothing to worry about.

fl4tdriven

Thanks for all of your help! Definitely helped to put my mind at ease. The worst part of the whole situation was the lady that helped me at Hobby Lobby tried to steer me away from drymounting. My stubborn self took it as she was just trying to get out of doing it the right way. I learned my lesson for sure.