Help me stick things to other things

July 21, 2024 10:49 AM

I'm printing images onto 8.5 x 11 photo paper, then peeling off the back and sticking them to 8.5 x 11 pieces of cardboard. I would like to get 100% accuracy (paper lined up exactly, no cardboard showing) but for dexterity reasons I frequently end up rotating the paper by a fractional degree. What's your secret?
posted by Tell Me No Lies to Media & Arts (13 answers total)

Best answer: Slightly larger piece of cardboard, then exacto-knife to remove excess?
posted by mmf at 11:11 AM on July 21 [4 favorites]

Best answer: I was going to say something similar but different. Trim the final composite to a slightly smaller rectangle that fits. In completely dissimilar media I sometimes have to make a slight sacrifice of overall size for [less im-] perfection. Once you let goof the idea that it has to be perfect it can be easier to reach less-imperfect. Good luck.
posted by Gilgamesh's Chauffeur at 11:18 AM on July 21

And the inverse of the@mmf suggests. If the paper can be larger than 8.5x11, glue then cut the paper\
Also, some glues allow time for adjusting position
posted by falsedmitri at 11:47 AM on July 21

May or may not work depending on the type of glue and cardboard but:
- peel off only part of the backing (e.g. one corner)
- lightly stick down the one corner and readjust to get it aligned
- once you're satisfied, really press down the sticky corner
- peel off the rest of the backing and stick the whole thing down
posted by mskyle at 11:55 AM on July 21 [2 favorites]

find flat surface, w/edges: match together slowly
posted by HearHere at 1:30 PM on July 21

If I was doing a lot of this, I'd make a frame to line everything up. Like those plastic frames you get with phone screen protectors.
posted by pipeski at 1:32 PM on July 21 [5 favorites]

I did a similar project recently and I did it the way mskyle describes, a couple of comments above. I’m not even very crafty and it worked!
posted by Knowyournuts at 2:10 PM on July 21

Also, if your current method is taking the (slightly floppy) adhesive photo paper and trying to precisely place it onto the (more rigid) cardboard, try the reverse: Lay down the image with the sticky side up, and then carefully lower the cardboard onto it. You'll have more control that way.
posted by lisa g at 2:21 PM on July 21 [3 favorites]

Peel away just a thin strip of the backing, then orient with the still-backed side and section. Once in place, apply pressure to the thin-strip area, and once attached pull back the photo and peel away the rest of the backing, ideally rolling it onto the photo as you go.
posted by Rash at 3:28 PM on July 21 [1 favorite]

I would make a jig similar to what pipeski said.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 4:13 PM on July 21 [1 favorite]

pipeski: I'd make a frame to line everything up.

Or just find anything with square corners and straight-up sides, like a serving tray or a larger picture frame. Slide unpeeled photo paper and the backing cardboard into that corner, then remove a strip that originates at the diagonally opposite corner and continue as per Rash above.
posted by Stoneshop at 5:36 AM on July 22 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I used to run a print shop, and for applications like this, we'd just run the print, and mount it on slightly oversize backer, say 9x12 for your case, and then trim it down to 8.5 x 11. We had a large RotaTrim that made trimming to a line easy, but for smaller volume, you could do with a straightedge and xacto knife or hand-held rotary trimmer. This was so much faster, as we didn't have to be as careful with alignment, and it gave us cleaner mounting as all we had to worry about was getting it down flat, instead of down flat and perfectly aligned.

Also, even with precut paper, cardboard, chipboard, etc. you can't assume it will always be cut exactly to dimension. It may only be a few hundredths of an inch long or short, or not quite square, but when it's not 100% perfect it absolutely will show. That's the biggest reason we chose to mount on oversize and then trim down to flush. Even with a well-made jig and perfect alignment, if your paper or your cardboard is even slightly off-dimension or out of square, it will show.
posted by xedrik at 12:21 PM on July 22 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: I made a go of it with various framing methods but I still only managed about a 50% success rate. Next time I will go with concentrating on getting the print down flat and trim the edges afterwards.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 5:43 PM on July 24