Mounting Paper Prints to Wooden Boards

Grounded - solo exhibition by Kim Herringe

Framing work can be costly, but presenting your work ‘framed’ creates a whole new perspective of the work and allows for hanging on a wall.

I set about to find a way to present my paper-based art prints for sale and hanging, but without the need nor expense of matting and framing behind glass. I had a few small cradle boards stored away in the studio which gave me the idea to mount the paper prints to the board, varnish, then attach a hanging system.

After research and testing a several different applications, I’m sharing the materials I use to mount, then varnish, my prints to board.

This is a very simple way to present your work. Easy enough to do yourself to give your work as a gift to family or friend, or present for exhibition and sale.

There are essentially four steps:

  1. prepare your artwork
  2. mount (glue) your artwork to a board
  3. varnish or seal your work – you need to do this as your artwork is on paper and it will weather and degrade without something to seal it
  4. present your piece ready for display and/or to hang

Click here to see the boards I buy to mount my gel prints from The Sydney Art Store. Most art stores sell boards that you can use, in different sizes, different brands and different price points.

I use the Matisse Mid-viscosity binder medium (a medium used in painting but also an excellent adhesive for collage, paper pulp and paper-mache) to stick the paper to the board. There are other similar products from other brands available. You’ve looking for a ‘binding medium’. You can use an acid-free PVA glue. Here are some similar products you can search for:

  • Atelier Binder Medium (Officeworks sell Atelier products so may have this in stock)
  • Chroma – Cc Binder Medium
  • there are others – ask in-store at any art store, or ask Google-God

Then Micador ‘For Artists’ spray varnish to seal the work. I like a matt or satin finish – that is personal preference. But I recommend using a gloss finish if you have any metallics (golds, pearl) in your work. A Matt varnish can dull the sheen in metallic pigments. I have also used my Mid-viscosity binder medium as a varnish/sealer for the work. Again, there are other products and brands, wet and spray. For example:

  • Atelier Universal Satin Varnish

Below is a series of videos from my new online workshop that demonstrate my process for mounting my work.

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