Whenever I printed, matted and framed my photos, they would look fantastic for a week or 2, but would always end up looking like this:

wrinkly prints
My methods were poorly executed and the glue I was using was thicker and foamy like Silly String.

I think I’ve finally figured out how to glue and mount these properly to permanently avoid wrinkles.

Materials:
Materials
I used thin brown craft cardboard(non-corrugated), scotch tape, Scotch Super 77 spray adhesive, and a heavy duty cardboard tube. A wooden dowel would work also.

With the print and cardboard cut to the same size and aligned properly, apply 3 small pieces of scotch tape on the right or left edge to create a hinge.

Hard to see but that rectangle is scotch tape

Hard to see but that rectangle is scotch tape

With newspaper or scrap cardboard placed underneath, fold open the print and cardboard and lay them picture side down.

Spray both cardboard and back of print with adhesive.

Spray both cardboard and back of print with adhesive.

I used to only spray the cardboard and then try to apply the print without them being hinged. One misstep or bad angle and the entire thing is ruined. The key is to press it down starting from the edge that’s hinged and then use a dowel to roll the rest of the print onto the cardboard. Make sure to pull the print up and back as you roll so that it is tight against the dowel. This method has worked every time so far.

Applying print with heavy duty cardboard tube.

Applying print with heavy duty cardboard tube.

My last few have been in a room with huge fluctuations in temperature and they still look perfect.

SentinelFramed