Many various tapes, numerous applications. Here’s a guide to help you when comparing tapes and adhesives for image framing.
Adhesive Transfer Tapes
Adhesive transfer tapes are used mainly for sticking double mats together, attaching dust covers, gluing spacers and fillets in place, and mounting artwork to a support board. They are identified by high initial tack (which means they grab rapidly) and a protected, long-lasting bond. They are applied by pushing the tape securely versus the surface and then peeling off the strip of release paper, called the “liner”, that backs the adhesive. When the liner is peeled away, the other side of the adhesive is exposed, so that a second item (be it a mat blank or dust cover) can be pushed versus it and stick. Since both sides of the adhesive are in play these tapes are typically referred to as “double sided adhesive transfer tapes.”
ATG Tape
A type of adhesive transfer tape adhesive transfer tape where the adhesive is “reverse injury” implying the adhesive is wound on the outside of the roll, making it cumbersome to work with by hand however perfect for use in an adhesive transfer weapon where the tape is threaded around the roller at the nose of the weapon adhesive side out. The acronym A.T.G. means adhesive transfer weapon. To run the ATG weapon you squeeze the trigger, releasing the roller and then press the nose versus the surface to be glued and pull back. The roller presents the double-sided adhesive, peeling up the liner as it goes, threading it back into the weapon. Tidy and easy. Read more
Handheld Adhesive Transfer Tape
This tape is for those who choose to work with adhesive transfer tape by hand. With this tape, the adhesive is “interior injury” which means the adhesive is relied on the within as it comes off the roll, making it less of a trouble to deal with. Yet, for long term economy there is no genuine advantage to purchasing portable adhesive transfer tape other than to avoid the one time expense of purchasing a tape applicator weapon, since ATG tape in fact costs a few cents less per backyard than portable adhesive transfer tape. Read more
Acid Free ATG Tape
Acid totally free ATG tape offers an adhesive which contains no harmful acids. Acid is the bane of artwork. Given adequate time, in direct sunshine and high humidity, it can trigger a hazy brown impact called “acid burn” that can cheapen and mess up artwork. However keep in mind, adhesive transfer tape is rarely used to mount artwork to a support board since it develops a permanent bond by sticking the artwork permanently to the support so that it can not be removed. The very act of taping artwork permanently to something devalues it. If adhesive transfer tape is used for this purpose it ought to only be used to mount artwork that is not likely to increase in worth, such as posters or easily reproduceable photographic prints. Moreover, adhesive transfer tape can only be applied in long strips, which means the bond will not be uniform throughout the back of the item to be installed.
For permanent mounting it’s more effective to coat the item with adhesive, creating a uniform bond to avoid air pockets and creases. This is better done with self-adhesive foam board or PMA. So adhesive transfer tape is rarely used for mounting artwork, which can only result in the conclusion that it rarely contacts the artwork, and considering that the risk from acid burn happens when the adhesive is in contact with the artwork, the requirement for an ATG tape that is acid totally free is somewhat doubtful. Still, if you want to develop a frame plan that is totally acid totally free, acid totally free ATG tape is the answer. Read more
Installing and Hinging Tapes
Installing tapes are designed specifically for the purpose of mounting artwork to a mat or support board. They are likewise used to attach the mat and the support board together along the leading edge, what is called “hinging”, so that they remain lined up in the frame. Paper mounting and hinging tapes are just those where the tape itself is made of paper, rather than, say, linen or tissue, which have unique benefits.
Lineco Linen Hinging Tape
This tape is suited for mounting heavy watercolor paper and large posters. It is chosen for its higher tensile strength as it will resist tearing under the weight of the artwork. Read more
Lineco Self-Adhesive Hinging Tissue
This tape is utilized on light-weight or clear artwork, such as rice paper. Where other types of tape can be seen through the paper, mounting and hinging tissue is virtually undetectable. Read more
In application, mounting and hinging tapes are typically in contact with the artwork. Because of this, to be safe, the tapes must be pH neutral or acid totally free, however considering that all mounting and hinging tapes are, as a matter of course, pH neutral or acid totally free, it’s a little like looking for a cars and truck with headlights. They all have that function, so we can take that as a provided and move on. The two primary qualities to search for in a mounting tape are ease-of-use and reversibility, and here one quality is typically compromised versus the other.
‘s Tape II
Best when it pertains to ease-of-use, ‘s Tape II acid free tape comes off the roll all set to stick with no irritating liner to need to peel away, however it is only reversible with heat. Reversibility is the capability to launch the adhesive bond, making it unsticky so it can be peeled far from the artwork without tearing it. If you need to put the installed artwork in a heat press to reverse the bond, you can not effectively launch it unless you have a heat press. Nonetheless, if the artwork is fairly affordable and you can not predict the requirement to reverse the bond and you just want a quick, simple way to mount it, Framers Tape II is a good option. Read more
Gummed Tape
Gummed tape is just the reverse of Framers Tape II in regards to its qualities. It is not extremely simple to work with however it reverses easily. It’s a water triggered tape which means it will not end up being sticky up until you dampen it, and in this way it’s quite like a postage stamp and shares a few of the exact same drawbacks. A moistening bottle typically applies excessive or insufficient wetness, so you end up licking it for best outcomes. After you have actually licked mounting tape for some time, self-adhesive tapes that come off the roll all set to stick have an apparent appeal. On the other hand, gummed tapes can be released easily with water. Simply take the head of a Q-Tip, dip it in water, then work the head of the Q-Tip in under the tape and the adhesive will launch easily, letting the tape raise away and leaving no adhesive residue on the art. Read more
AbacaSA Tape
This tape combines the thinness of paper tapes, so it will not deboss through light-weight paper, and the strength of linen tape. It’s a self-adhesive tape made from the fibers of the Abaca plant which resembles the thin fibers on the inside of a banana peel and are extremely strong. Read more
For more on proper framing using mounting tapes, and what to avoid when applying them, check out Vadim Makarov’s article How Not to Ruin Your Image By Improper Framing.
Other Tapes
Acid Free Stitchery Tape
This is a double sided tape with a release paper liner for the quick and simple mounting of stitchery and needlework. It is applied to a mounting board and the release paper is peeled off to expose the other side of the adhesive so that the needlework can be pushed versus the adhesive and stuck down. Sticking needlework to tape is not the best way to maintain it over the long term considering that needlework gain from air blood circulation through its fibers, but for needlework that is not likely to increase in worth gradually, it’s a much faster and much easier approach than extending and pinning the needlework to the substrate. Lots of professional recommend using needlework tape to their clients when the clients balk at the high expense of extending and pinning, which is so lengthy to the framer. Well over half the needlework you see installed is installed with needlework tape. Read more
Self-Adhesive Frame Sealing Tape
This is an aluminum backed tape used quality sealing tape to seal the inside of a wood frame’s rabbet to prevent acid migration. Acid can move from the wood into whatever the wood is in contact with, and provided adequate time, can trigger acid burn because product. The stack of matboard, foamboard and glass that you put in the recess (the “rabbet”) at the back of the wood frame, contacts the wood along the edges and is for that reason vulnerable to acid contamination. By using Frame Sealing Tape along the rabbet, an aluminum barrier is put in place to contain acid migration and prevent the contents from falling victim to acid burn. Read more
White Artist’s Tape & Acid Free Masking Tape
These are best used to seal the edges of the stack of matboard, foamboard and glass prior to putting them in the frame recess. When you put the stack in the recess and press downto insert points or brads, the pressing and releasing of the stack can develop a bellows impact which can suction lint and dust into the frame space. By sealing the edges of the stack with white artists tape or acid totally free masking tape, you prevent particles from going into the frame space and avoid having to get rid of the contents to pick out dust and lint from the inside of the glass. Read more
Mending Tissue & Document Repair Tape
These are used to fix tears in art on paper. The healing tissue is applied to the face of the art, whereas the repair work tape is used on the back. Read more
This is an overview of the readily available tapes and adhesives you’ll discover at Framing4Yourself. Remember, nobody does more to keep you informed and lead you to the best possible choices by comparing products like tapes and adhesives in posts like these. At Framing4Yourself we’re your partner in framing.
