Dismounting Dry Mounted Prints...

[lesm]

Hi George,

Unfortunately the negatives for many are gone...

Is copying an option, either by re-photographing the photos or getting professional scans done?

If you're near a public art gallery they may have a curator who could give you some advice. Good luck. I applaud your dedication to archival quality in mounts. It's worth the effort.

[Bob Carnie]

This may be the best advice, you do stand a great chance to wreak the original prints.

Tom,

If the print cannot be reproduced I would not try to remove it. I have a couple of signed Ansel Adams prints that were purchased already mounted and later over matted at a frame shop. In both cases it appears to me that acid-free board was not used (even by AA). The board is not pristine but there is no damage to the prints. I have had them for 40+ years.

IMO, if it's not broke don't fix it. If you are going to display them use an archival over mat.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

[tomkatf]

Thanks to all who responded for the many ideas!!!... Will remove acidic overmats and look into having the mounted prints scanned and then rematted with an archival overmat, leaving the prints mounted on their original boards...Probably the safest and least likely to damage the original prints. Thanks again!

Best,
Tom

[George Collier]

Re the scanning option - there is also a hybrid work flow of scanning, then outputting a very high screen count film at the print size, then you contact this film onto standard silver paper. Brooks Jensen, of LensWork magazine, used to offer this service. The purpose, as I recall, was to offer a method of producing silver process prints easily, for sale at a lower market price than a standard enlarged print. The idea was that the screen count in the (essentially halftone negative he would provide from the print scan) was too fine to see without magnification. The resulting neg would contain all of the print adjustments, like burning, dodging, etc., so was easier to produce. You would provide him with what you consider a perfect print, and for a fee, he would return the print with a negative which would contact print to match the original. I don't know how well this worked, or if he still offers the service.