The Craft

Getting started & alternatives

Get the most out of these instructions		What & Why
		This is it. This is where you'll get careful step by step instructions for making a stereograph. I'm going to teach you my way. There are other ways. Techniques differ but you should understand that all techniques are based on a few immutable principles. The stereo window is the stereo window no matter what cutting tool you use to make it. And swapping left and right images will always give you a jarring pseudoscopic image, regardless of what glue you use. So most sections here have a What part and a Why part. What gives you useful hands on techniques you can copy blindly to make your own stereographs. Why helps you understand the principles behind the technique. You can and should experiment with improving the Whats -- after you understand the Whys.

Alternatives
		Q-Vu mounts One convenient alternative to gluing you prints to the front of a stereo card is to fold them into a ready-made Q-Vu stereograph mount. Cost, about 35 cents per card. Advantages quick and easy look good trimming accurately less important, you adjust to the stereo window by sliding prints in the mount Where to buy Q-Vu Stereo Mounts 817 E 8 th St. Holtville, CA 92250   Trimming I suggest trimming your prints with a matte cutter because it's quick, easy and above all very accurate. Unfortunately an adequate matte cutter costs about $130. There are plenty of affordable alternatives. Some folks trim their prints with scissors or an exacto knife. Beats me how, but they get good clean cuts. APEC's own RJ Thorpe has a nice web site explaining another popular method: how to combine an exacto knife with an acrylic template. You can also trim your prints with a guillotine paper cutter. Cost about $20. I find it difficult to get straight cuts with one of these, but with care and time you can come pretty close.   Gluing I use 3M Photo Mount Spray Adhesive. $ 12 per can. Any 'photo safe,' permanent sticky stuff will do. Whatever you use, do be sure it's photo safe -- otherwise within a few years your prints will fade. APECs Carole Honingsfled swears by her dry mount press. Unfortunately a dry mount press sells for $400 or more.

Alternatives		APEC members share their own techniques
		Gluing I use a parallel bar attached to my drawing table from the days of yore when drafting was done with pencils and not a mouse. After lining them up on the board, I secure the photos with artist tape. This is a removable tape that doesn't stay semi permanently attached like most tapes do. When I get a pile of views done I take them down into the basement where I can get messy with a spray can, and gas everyone in the house too. I flip the photos onto their backs and spray them with adhesive, then I just flip them back onto the card. Remove the tape and Voila! Images already aligned and no L/R mix-ups. (unless you forgot to check R/L when you taped them down.) Affordabe matte board And now a money $aving tip: I think most of you use matte board. This has a colored (in our case white) surface and a white center. My frame store also has a board with a gray center that is a couple of bucks cheaper a board. Same white outside, same weight. Since we don't usually cut a rectangle in the center, the gray doesn't matter. -Peter Smakula

Help us get better		Thank you!
		Comments, suggestions? Have you spotted a mistake? Have a stereograph making tip to share? We'd like to hear from you.  This page: Getting started and alternatives Interested in finding out about our stereograph exchange club?

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