Most modern adhesive films for print mounting are made of a carrier with adhesive on both sides and double-sided silicon paper on the outside. Our ‘Mount Film’ is a typical example of this.

A good general purpose mount film has to have:

• A smooth finish with minimal ‘orange peel’
• A good consistent quality with minimum dirt, blemishes or other marks
• Provide a good bond to all common mount boards after appropriate curing time
• Provide a good structured stability and workability – no wrinkles or stretching
• Have low to moderate initial tack so that work can be tacked down and lifted when positioning and removed if a mistake is made.

The carrier is the backing to which the adhesive is laid and is important to provide the structure for the film. It is usually PVC and is clear but can be made white to prevent show through of the board. An example of this is our ‘Blockout’ adhesive.

The carrier also serves to provide workability of the film as it prevents film stretching and keeps the adhesive together. The lack of stretch can be a disadvantage in an application where rolling is required. A film with no carrier is superior in these instances. Such films are also called transfer adhesives. An example of this is our ‘Sticky Film’.

The silicon paper is usually made of paper coated with silicon. Because the smoothness of the adhesive is greatly influenced by the smoothness of the silicon paper, ultra smooth mounting adhesives usually have siliconised polyester as the masking paper.

SPECIALISED FILMS

• Facemount Film
  Facemount films have to be optically clear and ultra smooth. They are made up of clear adhesives, polyester carrier and usually have two layers of siliconised polyester release liner. An example is our ‘Facemount Film’.  These films are also very good for ultra smooth back mounts such as in mounting high gloss cibachromes, glass, back mount and aluminium.

• Films for Rough Surfaces
  These films have long fibre paper, carrier and an extra thick layer of adhesives. This makes them mould into rough surfaces and is good for hand applying to walls. An example is our ‘Heavy Mount Film’. Note that the paper carrier means that the film is not very smooth and a slight texture can be seen on mounted prints.

• Removable Films
  These films have a permanent adhesive on one side and a removable adhesive on the other. When the permanent side is applied to the back of the job, it can then be applied to most surfaces and removed later without leaving a mark. This lasts two weeks less on textured surfaces