In dry mounting, a photo is bonded to a mat board by melting adhesive tissue sandwiched between them. Photo shops sell special tools-a tacking iron to fix the tissue to the photo and board, and a heating press to seal the layers together-but they’re expensive. A regular iron will do, but experiment first with a disposable print to determine the exact temperature setting. You will also need mat board and dry-mounting tissue (both available from photo shops), brown wrapping or heavy tracing paper, a steel ruler, and a utility knife.
Set the iron on Synthetics (about 230F). Place the photo, faceup, on a clean surface and cover it with wrapping paper. Gently iron the photo and then the mat to dry them completely. Wipe photo, mat, and mounting tissue free of dust.
Turn the photo facedown and place the mounting tissue on top. Tack the tissue to the back of the photo by touching the center with the tip of the iron. Using the ruler and utility knife, trim the tissue to the size of the photo.
Position the photo faceup on the mat. Carefully lift two corners of the photo and tack the tissue to the mat with the iron. The tissue should lie smooth. Cover the photo with wrapping paper and gently iron, from the center out, to seal.
Let the photo cool. Trim the mat to the size of the photo or leave a margin.