Protecting Photographs in Mylar Presentations
Question: “Normally I take all my photos and have them mounted. I have lots of the mylar protective sheets, and the paper backing is all acid free. They say it doesn’t lift ink, but I’ve found that it indeed does adhere to the photo and “bubble” up, causing serious marring on the photograph. Am I doing something wrong there maybe?Is there a way to prevent the sticking and bubbling with the Mylar?
Answer: I went to a crafts store and got a gloss matte fixative. I bought the Prismacolor brand, but there are also Grumbacher and Kryon brands as well as others I’m sure. I put one coat of the fixative on the photograph, let dry, and then it really does keep fingerprints and dust off of the print. I put in behind the protective mylar sheet, and NO STICKING OR BUBBLING!!!! The matte fixative completely protects the photo even better than I thought it would, and it does no harm to it either.It’s not the best in the world to use by itself, but in combination behind mylar sheets or flat on a mat board (as you suggest above), or anywhere else is a good idea just to protect the photograph. I also use other protectors, but I will switch to this one now as it also suits another purpose.”