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FAQs – Slide Mounting

1 – Sometimes it appears that the glasses, mostly on older mounts, have a grey coating. Why is this and how can I clean the glass?
The grey coating you see on the glass is probably calcium-carbonate crystals emerging from a chemical reaction between the carbon-dioxide (CO2) in the air and the Calcium (Ca) in the glass. This can sometimes be seen as a grey haze on the surface of the glass.

It is a phenomenon that occurs with all glass materials, from the finest wineglasses on the shelf at home to normal windowpanes. After a period of time a grey surface appears which naturally has to be washed off to become clean again.

This problem is known among all glass manufacturers and they are, of course, trying to find a permanent solution to it, but so far they have only managed to delay the reaction.

It is difficult to determine how long a period of time it is before this greyish surface occurs, however, it is important to store the slide mounts in stable conditions, preferably dry and at a constant temperature. However, these crystals are not dangerous or harmful to the slide film, as it remains on the glass and does not transfer to the film.

A recommended method of cleaning glass slide mounts is to use a liquid lens cleaner and a smooth lens cleaning cloth.

2 – I used to mark my slides with my name and copyright using small labels. I now find it difficult to obtain these labels. Do you supply labels? Or is there a better way to ID the mounts?  

If you want to put the same text on every mount there is a safer and simpler way than using labels and that is to use the Gepe Printer 55. This is a special stamp specifically designed for printing on slide mounts using a quick drying ink which etches the colour into the surface. It is very easy to use and gives a nice, clean, professional look to your mounts.

The problem with some labels has been the tendency for them to come loose with the risk of sticking in the projector. However, Avery has a special label for 35 mm slides which can also be laser printed.

3 – Do you produce a slide mount suitable for use with the 24mm x 65mm format for the Hasselblad XPan camera?  

Gepe manufacture a full sized glass panoramic mount with an aperture size of 22x64mm (Art. 2702) with outside dimensions of 85x85mm suitable for the Hasselblad Xpan camera. Gepe also produce an alternative glass mount with an aperture size of 22x54mm (Art. 2603) with outside dimensions of 7x7cm. However this would mean that the picture would need to be cropped a little.

If you only want to use a 6×6 projector then you must use a mount with outer measurements of 7x7cm and therefore the 24x65mm format slides could not fit.

4 – I would like to scan my 35mm slides in the mount. Is it better to use the Plain Glass mounts or the Anti-Newton Glass mounts? Or does it even matter?  

It would depend upon which scanner and what software you use. Make test scans and check if the Anti-Newton treatment is visible on the scanned images (some software can actually eliminate the effect of the anti-newton treatment). If the results are not satisfactory then you should use plain glass slide mounts. However, if there are noticeable Newton-rings then you should use glass less mounts with a metal mask, as they are able to hold the slide film better.

A new product in the Gepe sortiment is the article 7012, the PRO Scan Mount. It is a glassless mount with a full format metall mask and thickness of 2.0 mm. With these features the PRO Scan Mount is the best solution for scanning needs as well as for projection.

5 – I travel around quite a lot with my slides and sometimes the slide film moves inside the mount. Which mount do you recommend for better fixation of the slide?  

You can try our special “Film Stop” mounts, Art. 2011 or Art. 6017,they have two pins at each short end of the slide mount which prevents the film from slipping. As it is important that the slide film is cut exactly 38 mm in length a useful accessory is the film cutter Art. 8008.

Another possibility is the PRO VR mount, for which you would need the VR hole punch to make two small holes in the slide film, which then fits onto the corresponding pins within the slide mount and secures the film frame in position.