Can you safely clean adhesive or dirt off a mounted photo print?
Asked 12/1/2010
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I mounted a 24×16 print to mounting board with spray adhesive and got some adhesive on the front surface. The print is needed for an exhibition soon.
Is there a safe way to remove spray adhesive from a print? More generally, what is the best way to clean dirt, fingerprints, or other grime from photographic prints without damaging them?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
15y ago
2 Answers
6
It would depend what the print was created with. If the print was created with some kind of ink jet system, there is no way to clean it. The inks are soluble, and pretty much any cleaning agent will ruin the ink. The adhesive itself has also likely bonded to the ink particles, so trying to remove the adhesive will damage the print.
Some forms of print are more resilient, such as laser or possibly dye sublimation. Generally speaking, I would assume that there are few cleaning agents that would allow you to remove the adhesive without also removing the ink or ruining the paper substrate.
When it comes to board-mounted prints, usually after bonding the print to the base, you seal the print with some kind of spray-on sealant or laminate. If you use a print sealer, it might help mitigate the effects of the adhesive, as well as make your print resilient to any future damage.
Originally by user124. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user124
15y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
It depends heavily on how the print was made.
For many inkjet prints, there is usually no safe way to remove adhesive once it’s on the image surface. Inkjet inks can be vulnerable to solvents and moisture, and the adhesive may bond to the ink and paper, so cleaning often damages the print.
Some print types are more durable, such as certain laser or dye-sub prints, but even then there’s no guarantee a cleaner will remove adhesive without harming the surface.
For general grime like fingerprints or oils, a print cleaner such as PEC-12 is commonly used for photographic emulsions and may help. It is intended for photo materials, but its effectiveness on adhesive is uncertain, so test very carefully on a corner or noncritical area first.
Going forward, mounted display prints are often protected with a spray sealant or laminate after mounting, which can make later cleaning safer and easier.
So: for adhesive on an inkjet print, the outlook is poor; for normal dirt on suitable photo prints, a dedicated archival print cleaner may work.
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