Arrgh...! Curly prints rant....! ;(

[Sim2]

FWIW I too have been a "taper". Initially used it very unscientifically by taking the wet print straight from the washer and "slapped" it on the back of an old mirror, tape round the edges & hey presto flat flat flat prints. On the good ones the tape could tear off inline with the print edge, the tricky ones cut out with a scalpel blade. Problem arose with Ilford Warmtone paper as this stuck fast to the glass - found out from somewhere that the paper layer is unsuitable for this method as it is more prone to glue leaching than multigrade. Don't know the rights or wrongs but stuck fast they were! If the tape left on the print is deemed unsightly, the print could be trimmed using a steel rule or a rotary trimmer.

Currently making life complicated by drying hanging on a clothes line with pegs then when dry steamed over a kettle to remove the curl and then flattened in an old bookbinders press (cheers dad!). Bigger prints will be an issue though.

Sim2.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

If you're good in the woodshop you can make one of these. (there was a url link here which no longer exists)

 

[tomalophicon]

I "always" do it right....
I don't think your images dry too quickly, but it is really important not to make the tape too wet, and on the other hand make sure the dampness is equally spread on the tape.

Also, you have to have at least 1/2cm - 1 cm space to put the tape on (the image). When I print FB papera I always leave space for this space.

Finally; if the paper (image) is too wet - if you havn't got the surface water off, then you have a high risk of the tape not to adhere in time - making weak spots which will destroy the tape during drying time...

To sum up: take you time - be patient, and make sure you do this carefully. Then the paper tape will do the stuff for you.
(Also, if you're impatient, you can heat the glass from behind, using a hair dryer...)

This is a very easy and in my opinion quite beautiful way of drying FB papers. The hanging methods have never worked for me...

______
QUOTE:Gandolfi,

Do you put the tape on the emulsion side then?

yes.

If I wanted to remove the tape from the print, is there any way without damaging the tape?

no! but it is not the tape you should worry about - it's the image.. I always leave the dry tape on the image - a kind of framing and protection against the image to bend/crack - and if you frame it later (with matt), then you'll cover it anyway.

The tape comes in white and brown, so there's a choise.

And... Do you ever have a problem with dust settling on the print surface while it's drying?

no. a little dust can be blown away later..

If you see images by the Czeck photographer Jan Saudek, you'll see big images - most with the brown tape framing them. And with colouring and writing on that tape. He makes this a part of his images.
I kind of like that..

Thanks Gandolfi.

 

[Edward_S]

I "always" do it right....
I don't think your images dry too quickly, but it is really important not to make the tape too wet, and on the other hand make sure the dampness is equally spread on the tape...

Thanks! I'll try harder next time. I think the tape was too wet to start with.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

Has anybody used kodak's print flattening solution before? How well does it work?

 

[removed account4]

i use a nipping press
and a screen beforehand

 

[Sirius Glass]

Has anybody used kodak's print flattening solution before? How well does it work?

No not Kodak's, but I used a lesser known brand that I got from FreeStyle and I worked very well.

Steve