Photograph Paper Indentations

I am preparing to show some of my shots for the first time and noticed that the first several photographs I've mounted have slight indentations in the paper. The prints are sized from 12 x 18 to 30 x 40 and mounted in a frame with mat board. So far, I've been using Costco to do my printing. When I pick up the prints are coming rolled up in a plastic tube. I'm fairly certain the "kinks" are coming from me trying to get the curl out of the paper, but I'm not 100% sure, and will be more thorough in examining the prints when I pick them up. One problem is the mars are so slight I only notice them once the work is behind glass and even then after a day or so. Almost as if the paper relaxes into shape before the damage appears.

If it matters when I mount the prints I'm taping the top edge in two places (three for the large ones) to the backing board and then letting it hang loose under the mat board. The mat board is fixed to the backing board with two way tape.

I've been working on a device to remove the curl from the paper which is a cardboard tube with cloth rolled around. The idea is to unroll the cloth and reroll it up with the print inside. This helped quite a bit over the first ones done by hand, but there are still subtle marks in the last round of prints. Since these were done, I've modified the cloth by adding a layer of plastic. I'm fairly sure this will work to eliminate future problems which I believe is caused by the leading edge of the paper as it rolls against the adjacent layers.

Before I break out the iron and hair dryer and start winging it, does anyone know a way to remove these slight indentations from the paper?

I know I'm bound to get a number of remarks about Costco and it may be that they are part of the problem. But at this point, I'm fairly certain the problem here is operator error.

The reality is that these dings happen even to the top-end commercial labs and you need to take a "no prisoners" approach to your print quality. A good lab's QA department will bounce a damaged print. Carefully inspect the work when you receive it to verify color and density is correct and no damage. Don't accept (or return when an online/mail order) damaged prints and let management know they are shipping bad product so if it happens again with that lab you can let that be a factor in choosing a new lab. Allow yourself time for redos. Don't let yourself get stuck with bad product because you waited till the last minute.

Re your specific issue, you can place a straight edge along one end and place it under pressure as you unroll to inspect. Large pieces of gator foam under weight could help remove/lessen curl.

Dings might be removed when laminated to a hard substrate, or they might not. You never know till you ruin the print and substrate. Just learn to say No to bad quality.

Given current economic conditions it should be easy to find 1) businesses motivated enough to keep their customers 2) businesses willing to find the best people to do the work and get rid of the uncaring slackers.

Thanks J Michael. As I said above I am going to start being much more thorough in my reviews when I pick these up from now on. And I believe that the plastic addition on my decurler will eliminate future problems from my end. Still leaves me with the problem of fixing the current shots though.

I could laminate the plots to a board, but thought that generally this isn't done. Am I wrong about this? I would think for both longevity and print value it's better to not laminate it to a board.

It seems funny to me that this appears to be a common problem, but it's not getting the normal flooding of responses which I've come to enjoy at POTN. Might be that I should have posted it in the printing section?

J-Blake wrote in post #11160441
I could laminate the plots to a board, but thought that generally this isn't done. Am I wrong about this? I would think for both longevity and print value it's better to not laminate it to a board.

I think it kind of depends on the final use for the print (e.g. commercial vs. fine art). I know for a fact that fine art prints are being laminated to aluminum and plastic substrates and hanging in galleries and museums. Face mounting to plexiglass with a clear adhesive is also done. It takes a lot of skill to get it right which is why mounting is so expensive. And the folks mounting it can screw it up too, so you're usually better off getting printed and mounted by the same place, if possible.

The variables associated with your particular issue are hardness of the substrate, thickness of the adhesive, mounting pressure, material being mounted, etc. so no way to predict an outcome, e.g. the ding might show a bit but only if you look for it.