A lot of various tapes, numerous applications. Here’s a guide to assist you when comparing tapes and adhesives for picture framing.
Adhesive Transfer Tapes
Adhesive transfer tapes are used mostly for sticking double mats together, attaching dust covers, gluing spacers and fillets in place, and mounting artwork to a support board. They are characterized by high preliminary tack (which indicates they grab quickly) and a secure, long-lasting bond. They are used by pushing the tape strongly versus the surface and after that removing the strip of release paper, called the “liner”, that backs the adhesive. When the liner is peeled away, the opposite of the adhesive is exposed, so that a second product (be it a mat blank or dust cover) can be pressed versus it and stick. Due to the fact that both sides of the adhesive are in play these tapes are frequently described as “double sided adhesive transfer tapes.”
ATG Tape
A kind of adhesive transfer tape atg tape and gun where the adhesive is “reverse wound” meaning the adhesive is wound on the outside of the roll, making it troublesome to deal with manually but ideal 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. represents adhesive transfer weapon. To run the ATG weapon you squeeze the trigger, launching the roller and after that push 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. Clean and easy. Find out more
Handheld Adhesive Transfer Tape
This tape is for those who choose to deal with adhesive transfer tape manually. With this tape, the adhesive is “interior wound” which indicates the adhesive is turned to the within as it comes off the roll, making it less of a inconvenience to deal with. Yet, for long term economy there is no real benefit to buying portable adhesive transfer tape except to avoid the one time cost of acquiring a tape applicator weapon, because ATG tape in fact costs a few cents less per yard than portable adhesive transfer tape. Find out more
Acid Free ATG Tape
Acid free ATG tape provides an adhesive which contains no damaging acids. Acid is the bane of artwork. Provided adequate time, in direct sunshine and high humidity, it can trigger a hazy brown result called “acid burn” that can devalue and mess up artwork. But keep in mind, adhesive transfer tape is rarely used to mount artwork to a support board because it creates a permanent bond by sticking the artwork permanently to the support so that it can not be eliminated. The very act of taping artwork permanently to something devalues it. If adhesive transfer tape is used for this purpose it should just be used to mount artwork that is not likely to increase in worth, such as posters or quickly reproduceable photographic prints. Additionally, adhesive transfer tape can just be used in long strips, which indicates the bond will not be uniform across the back of the product to be mounted.
For permanent mounting it’s more suitable to coat the product with adhesive, producing a uniform bond to avoid air pockets and creases. This is much better made with self-adhesive foam board or PMA. So adhesive transfer tape is rarely used for mounting artwork, which can just cause the conclusion that it rarely contacts the artwork, and given that the threat from acid burn takes place when the adhesive touches with the artwork, the requirement for an ATG tape that is acid free is somewhat questionable. Still, if you want to create a frame bundle that is entirely acid free, acid free ATG tape is the response. Find out more
Mounting and Hinging Tapes
Mounting tapes are created specifically for the purpose of mounting artwork to a mat or support board. They are likewise used to connect the mat and the support board together along the leading edge, what is called “hinging”, so that they remain aligned in the frame. Paper mounting and hinging tapes are simply those where the tape itself is made of paper, rather than, state, linen or tissue, which have distinct advantages.
Lineco Linen Hinging Tape
This tape is matched for mounting heavy watercolor paper and large posters. It is preferred for its higher tensile strength as it will withstand tearing under the weight of the artwork. Find out more
Lineco Self-Adhesive Hinging Tissue
This tape is utilized on light-weight or translucent artwork, such as rice paper. Where other types of tape can be seen through the paper, mounting and hinging tissue is virtually undetectable. Find out more
In application, mounting and hinging tapes are generally in contact with the artwork. Because of this, to be safe, the tapes should be pH neutral or acid free, but given that all mounting and hinging tapes are, as a matter of course, pH neutral or acid free, it’s a little like looking for a vehicle with headlights. They all have that feature, so we can take that as a given and move on. The two primary qualities to look for in a mounting tape are ease-of-use and reversibility, and here one quality is frequently compromised versus the other.
Framer’s Tape II
Best when it concerns ease-of-use, Framer’s Tape II framers tape comes off the roll prepared to stick to no frustrating liner to have to peel away, but it is just reversible with heat. Reversibility is the ability to launch the adhesive bond, making it unsticky so it can be peeled away from the artwork without tearing it. If you have to put the mounted artwork in a heat press to reverse the bond, you can not efficiently launch it unless you have a heat press. Nonetheless, if the artwork is reasonably economical and you can not visualize the requirement to reverse the bond and you just desire a fast, simple way to mount it, Framers Tape II is a excellent option. Find out more
Gummed Tape
Gummed tape is just the opposite of Framers Tape II in regards to its qualities. It is not awfully simple to deal with but it reverses quickly. It’s a water activated tape which indicates it will not end up being sticky until you moisten it, and in this way it’s very much like a postage stamp and shares some of the exact same disadvantages. A moistening bottle generally uses too much or too little wetness, so you wind up licking it for finest results. After you have actually licked mounting tape for some time, self-adhesive tapes that come off the roll prepared to stick have an apparent appeal. On the other hand, gummed tapes can be released quickly with water. Just 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 quickly, letting the tape lift away and leaving no adhesive residue on the art. Find out 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 within a banana peel and are extraordinarily strong. Find out more
For more on proper framing using mounting tapes, and what to avoid when applying them, have a look at Vadim Makarov’s short article How Not to Destroy Your Picture 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 opposite of the adhesive so that the needlework can be pressed versus the adhesive and stuck down. Adhering needlework to tape is not the best way to protect it over the long term given 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 method than stretching and pinning the needlework to the substrate. Many professional recommend making use of needlework tape to their clients when the clients balk at the high cost of stretching and pinning, which is so time-consuming to the framer. Well over half the needlework you see mounted is mounted with needlework tape. Find out more
Self-Adhesive Frame Sealing Tape
This is an aluminum backed tape used quality sealing tape to seal the within a wood frame’s rabbet to prevent acid migration. Acid can move from the wood into whatever the wood touches with, and given adequate time, can trigger acid burn in that material. The stack of matboard, foamboard and glass that you place in the recess (the “rabbet”) at the back of the wood frame, contacts the wood along the edges and is for that reason prone to acid contamination. By utilizing Frame Sealing Tape along the rabbet, an aluminum barrier is put in place to contain acid migration and avoid the contents from coming down with acid burn. Find out 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 positioning them in the frame recess. When you place the stack in the recess and press downto insert points or brads, the pressing and launching of the stack can create a bellows result which can suction lint and dust into the frame space. By sealing the edges of the stack with white artists tape or acid free masking tape, you avoid particles from entering the frame space and avoid needing to eliminate the contents to pick out dust and lint from the within the glass. Find out more
Healing Tissue & File Repair Tape
These are used to repair tears in art on paper. The repairing tissue is applied to the face of the art, whereas the repair work tape is used on the back. Find out more
This is an overview of the offered tapes and adhesives you’ll discover at Framing4Yourself. Keep in mind, nobody does more to keep you informed and lead you to the best possible decisions by comparing items like tapes and adhesives in articles like these. At Framing4Yourself we’re your partner in framing.