What makes Foamboard the most Preferred Substrate?
It is no surprise that foam boards have become so popular to use by people for both commercial and domestic purposes. The fact that this material is so easily formed into shapes that can be used for interior design and architectural models makes it very flexible and usable. Foam boards or Foam core boards are made of a lightweight material that is easily cut and commonly used for purposes such as mounting of prints and photographs and as backing in picture frames. The structure of this substrate is made with sturdy layers ideally consisting of three layers, an inner layer of polystyrene foam which is neatly placed between two layers of semi-gloss and bleached white clay coated paper. To make it all the more suited to high-end conservation framing, acid free foamboard is available. Foam boards have become quite popular nowadays as an acceptable material for backing picture frames, with archival-quality variants now provided by several manufacturers. The product is great for use in screen printing, die cutting, mounting, framing and prototypes and is available in various sizes for your specific requirements. Apart from that, you will find a variety of foam boards including FomeCor, Acid-Free foam board, self-adhesive foam board and many other varieties. You can get any foam board type of your choice with various options such as self-adhesive, also
called pressure sensitive or heat-activated coatings, which will make your task of mounting quite easy. Some foam boards such as the clay-coated foamcore do not accept certain types of paint and some glues such as superglue, which is not suitable for bonding. Picking such products for binding particular foam boards should be avoided as solvents used in some paints and glues can dissolve the foam center causing weakness and breakdown of the structural integrity of the foamboard.
In the outer layers, if over saturated the fibers can be warped by the use of water-based glues once it has dried. However, this problem can be countered by adhering a coat to the reverse side. In any case, what works best is that double-sided adhesive sheets are used or by pre-coated selfadhesive foamboard is picked, in the case that you want your prints and photographs to be to dry mounted. Once you have mounted your photograph or print onto self-adhesive foamboard, ensure that you allow the required healing time during which you place your mounted work flat to avoid any warping related issues before you place the image in a picture frame. For temporary mounting applications, it is best to use a plain foam board and then apply re-positionable spray adhesive to either of the sides, be it the back of the image or the front side of the board.
Whether your ultimate purpose of employing the use of foam boards is to complete a picture mounting or a craft project, foam boards will never disappoint you because of the sturdiness and long lasting support they provide.