A Foolproof Way to Assemble Self Mount Albums
Many photographers stay clear of self mount albums for fear of making a mistake while placing the imageson the page. Once you let the pictures adhere to the adhesive good luck getting it off without damaging the album and the image. In this post I’m going to show you a little trick that will take 99% of the fear out of self mounts. I like to keep TAP 4×6 and 5×7 albums in my storage closet ready to go. I buy them by the dozen from Rice Studio Supply . They are great to have if you need an album in a hurry and don’t have time to wait for a custom album to be made. They come in a limited number of colors and sizes but for boudoir black is a popular album color so they work for me.
Things you need to know…
Don’t be distracted when you put one of these together! Make sure you have a sharp razor blade on hand and a silky piece of material to smooth the image onto the page. This helps to remove any air bubbles and keeps finger prints off the images. Also make sure you are not inserting the image upside down! I check before I insert each image. Better safe than sorry!
#1
Use a razor blade to score the protective sheet covering the adhesive. I usually cut a 1/2 inch strip out of the center of the page. You don’t want to cut deeply into your album page. 
#2
Peel the strip off.
#3
Slide your image onto the page. Check to make sure it isn’t upside down!
#4
Your photo will glide over the cut out portion without sticking as long as you don’t press down on that area. Take your time and get the image positioned just right.
#5
Once you get the image in the perfect spot on the page use your silky material to firmly push the image onto the 1/2 inch cut out area. Now your photograph is firmly in place. Use the cloth to smooth the image down.
#6
Gently pull back one side of your image and remove the protective paper. Take your time and don’t pull the image too far back. You don’t want to bend or crease the photo.
#7
Use your cloth and from the center of the photo slowly smooth the image onto the page. Push from the center outward. This helps remove air bubbles.
#8
Repeat this process on the opposite side.
And that’s it! I hope this helps some of you!
Robin Owen
2368 total views, 2 so far today
One Response to “A Foolproof Way to Assemble Self Mount Albums”