after drymount press?

Sean · May 31, 2004

Last time I did drymounting at college I had a seal press, would perform the mounting, then place the print in another drymount press which was turned off so the print could cool under pressure. I don't want to buy another drymount press for this and am wondering what different things people here do to cool their materials after a press. I suppose I could build a contraption containing a few boards with weight on top of it, as long as it's easy to raise and lower that should be good enough..

ann · May 31, 2004

i have a large metal plate from light impressions and a large 3/4 inch piece of plywood with a mounting board clued on one side and a drawer pull on the other for lifting purposes. Both work well, one is much more expensive than the other.

THe plate from light impressions is made so you can stack more than one on top of the other. This of course is for the "rich" who can afford more than one plate

David R Munson · May 31, 2004

While I'm not positive about current availability, I think Seal at least used to make big metal platens with a handle on the back for putting weight on a freshly mounted print as it was cooling. If you can't find something like this commercially made, it would be pretty easy to have one made. Just go to a local machine shop, have them weld a handle to the back of a piece of 1/4" steel at the size of your liking, and voila - you're in business.

George Losse · May 31, 2004

Sean,

I use a flat metal plate like the one here from Light Impressions.

http://www.lightimpressionsdirect.c...CR=30000:250000:252000:252200&IID=2741&R=2239

As soon as the first print comes out of the press, it goes under the plate. When the second print is coming out of the press the first one is usually cooled off enough to remove it.

Flotsam · May 31, 2004

Yeah Sean, I'd say that buying a second press solely for the purpose of weighing down prints while they cool _might_ be considered just bit extravagant.

I know that Seal makes (made?) a heavy metal plate with handles for that purpose but it seems that you could come up with something that would serve that task with a little imagination. Anything flat and heavy, with an adequate surface area would work.

Sean · May 31, 2004

sounds good, will have a look at the hardware store this weekend

lee · May 31, 2004

In all the years I have dry mounted, I have never had another press or a metal platen to allow cooling of the print. Suffice to say, all you need to do is have a clean place for the print and mat board to lay upside down. The print will cool very quickly and in my opinion the metal platen is just one more thing to buy and is just not necessary.

lee\c

blansky · May 31, 2004

I do almost the same as Lee.

I will give a detailed description:

1. I take the print out of the press.

2. I set it on a table face up.

3. I pour a glass of Merlot.

3. The most important part. I drink it.

If I have a number of prints to do, I will probably pour a glass of Cabernet.

Proper drymounting should always, in my opinion, include the use of alcohol.

Just because.

Michael MCBlane

Flotsam · May 31, 2004

lee said:
In all the years I have dry mounted, I have never had another press or a metal platen to allow cooling of the print. Suffice to say, all you need to do is have a clean place for the print and mat board to lay upside down. The print will cool very quickly and in my opinion the metal platen is just one more thing to buy and is just not necessary.

lee\c

I have to say, my personal experience is the same as Lee's. Although I could see how differences in materials and perhaps humidity could affect individual results. Maybe you should wait and see if you really need another big, heavy object laying around the darkroom.

removed account4 · May 31, 2004

i have used a regular old piece of thick glass, but i like Michael MCBlane's suggestion best.

KenM · May 31, 2004

lee said:
In all the years I have dry mounted, I have never had another press or a metal platen to allow cooling of the print. Suffice to say, all you need to do is have a clean place for the print and mat board to lay upside down. The print will cool very quickly and in my opinion the metal platen is just one more thing to buy and is just not necessary.

lee\c

Yup, I'm with Lee. I have never, ever, placed anything on top of the print while it's cooling - doing so is just another opportunity for damage to occur.

I have a couple of sticks that I place on a flat surface (a table!), and put the print face up on these sticks, allowing air to reach both surfaces - this allows for more even cooling.

So, save your money, and as Michael suggests, drink some wine you purchased with your savings

fred · Jun 1, 2004

Sean,

Depending on what climate circumstances you are working, You can cool your prints against the (cleaned) glass of the window... or, I guess, also on a marble block.
On "window glass" is the way we do it at the academy of Hasselt Belgium.

Fred
btw: Who is selling in Europe the Seal drymounting presses??

Flotsam · Jun 1, 2004

Through careful empirical testing this evening I have determined that the Blansky method also works with Bloody Marys. Forget the weight, invest in a pitcher.

Ole · Jun 1, 2004

fred said:
btw: Who is selling in Europe the Seal drymounting presses??

Try the German http://www.monochrom.com. It's the first place I would look for anything to do with mounting and archiving. Then I'd probably decide that a drymount press is too heavy to ship to Norway, and that I wouldn't have a place to put it if I had one.

127 · Jun 1, 2004

blansky said:
I do almost the same as Lee.

...

3. I pour a glass of Merlot.
...
If I have a number of prints to do, I will probably pour a glass of Cabernet.

Should that be instead of or in addition to the Merlot?

I'd really hate to be doing this wrong. Perhaps I should try both ways and see which works best - I'm sure I can find some test prints to experiment on...

Have you tried printing with Shiraz or Zinfandel? Does the extra weight add anything to the outcome?

Ian

KenM · Jun 1, 2004

As with anything, practice makes perfect.

blansky · Jun 1, 2004

In my experience, you match the drink with the thickness of the mountboard and/or the thickness of the print. If using a single weight print and a matt, I suggest using a Pinot Noir.

If using double weight and/or fomecore use a Merlot, and if doing more than one print use a cabernet. Or even a Shiraz or Zinfandel.

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER. use a white zinfandel. This is not even made for human consumption. It is made strickly for pouring on icy sidewalks or to kill weeds.

I have also heard that single malt scotch works well too.

Caution. Only use any of these things after the drymounting is done and you are waiting for it to cool. Never before, or you will experience a chemical reaction and the print won't adhere in the correct place.

And as a wise man on this site once mentioned, that beer can be used for this process as well, since beer, as he pointed out can be used for everything.

Happy dry mounting.

Michael

Ole · Jun 1, 2004

blansky said:
In my experience, you match the drink with the thickness of the mountboard and/or the thickness of the print. If using a single weight print and a matt, I suggest using a Pinot Noir.

...snip...

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER. use a white zinfandel. This is not even made for human consumption. It is made strickly for pouring on icy sidewalks or to kill weeds.
...snip...

Michael

While Pinot Noir is very appropriate for mounting silver prints, most other red wines simply do not match. While I do not dry mount, I drink Riesling or Gewürztraminer when ironing my prints

Tom Hoskinson · Jun 1, 2004

I also use a thick piece of glass, but I have questions for Blansky.

What is the Cabernet threshold? - - How many prints is enough?

Is a Santa Ynez Cabernet ok?

blansky · Jun 1, 2004

3 prints per glass, is maximum.

Santa Ynez, hmmm, it's a tough call. You may be flirting with disaster.

Michael

Jim Chinn · Jun 1, 2004

I find climatic conditions on the Great Plains favors smoking a Cohiba Churchhill and having a glass of scotch in fall and winter, and Cohiba and a beer in spring and summer.

Now that I think about it, I guess that happens regardless if I am mounting prints or not.

after drymount press?

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