What is photo mounting?
Photographic mounting describes a process of using adhesive to fix a photo print to a solid rigid material, known as a substrate. The type of photographic mounting we use at Metroprint uses large rollers to seal photographic prints to a substrate, as opposed to other warm techniques, such as heat mounting. Although photo mounting to card was common for framing photographs for some hundred years, other modern photographic materials such as foamboard, foamex and Aluminium have entered the photographic exhibition market from places like sign-making and museum exhibitions as photographers search for new and innovative methods of displaying images without a frame.
Photographic materials such as MDF and foamboard may be favoured for their durability, but would not be considered archival as they contain chemicals which will eventually colour or even disintegrate photographic paper. Where the archival longevity of a photo print is paramount, photo framing is the only truly archival technique of presenting a photograph, but materials such as Aluminium or dibond may be used where a frame is not desired for aesthetic reasons or those of weight. To help you decide which photo material to use we have prepared a chart below that outlines the relative benefits of each substrate.
| Substrate | Weight | Rigidity | Durability | Archival? |
| Card | Ultra-light | Poor | Poor | Yes |
| Foamex | Light | Poor | Good | No |
| Foamboard | Ultra-light | OK | Poor | No |
| MDF | Heavy | Excellent | Excellent | No |
| Aluminium | Medium Light | Good | Excellent | Yes |
| Dibond | Light | Excellent | Excellent | Yes |
Photo Printing
Prints ready for collection within 24 hours, or for delivery worldwide. We can produce prints in sizes from a simple 6×4 up to 2.74m x 1.22m / 108 x 48 inches, giving you a huge choice of sizes when it comes to producing your prints.
Fine Art Giclee printing
While all of our colour and black and white photo printing services are of gallery quality, a lot of photographers and artists like to produce their fine art prints on Giclee watercolour paper, using archival pigment inks.
Black & White printing
We can produce real Silver Gelatin 'Darkroom prints' from your digital files. Working with Ilford, we are able to print directly to Ilford Galerie Silver FB Glossy fibre based bromide photo paper and Ilford Galerie Digital Silver RC Pearl.
Mounting your prints
After your photos have been printed, our mounting team are able to mount the prints on a range of substrates, ranging from the lightweight foamex, foamboard or kapamount. We can also mount ctype photo prints onto more sturdy materials such as dibond or aluminium, backed with either battens or a subframe, depending on print size.
Framing your photos
When ordering online, we offer a limited range of classic photo frames, in three finishes: white photo frame, smooth black photo frame or a solid light oak frame. Alternately, just order your prints online to take advantage of our great value online ordering system, then contact us to discuss alternate framing styles and our range of thousands of frame mouldings.
