Best way to Dry Prints

Kate Mocak · Nov 14, 2004

naaldvoerder said:
FB prints will dry perfectly flat if you tape them to a glas sheet with tape that aquarelpainters use to tape their paper. I t can be bought in art supplyshops.
You lose a bit of paper because you have to cut the edges though.

Jaap Jan

I just did what you suggested. The print got perfectly flat but stuck to the glass and I couldn't get it down. Had to put it into the tub of water to release it. (Both the print and the glass were clean so I don't understand this.) Did I do something wrong?

Tom Stanworth · Nov 14, 2004

Kate,

I've never used glass, but you should either dry totally face up or only face down when no suggestions of surface 'tack' remains on the emulsion side . Is this what you did?

does anyone know what paper manufactureres use when producing their samples as these tend to have slightly more gloss than mine (Air dried using mesh screens). I assume they use heat?

For anyone thinking of making screens, I have used the following materials:

Fine mesh used for making mesh skirts (ballet etc). This is very cheap, but fragile. Unless you intend to chuck the frames about it is OK. Mine are 2 years old.

Fibreglass mesh (looks like plastic to me). I bought a little from Silverprint in the UK for lots of money then happened to see the same stuff in a builders merchant in Spain for 10x less. Bought about 10 metres that time! So as we all know, once the word 'phiotography' is removed from a product it suddenly becomes sensibly priced.

My frames are rubbish (badly made from softwood), so I think time invested doing it properly is worth it (find someone who knows basic carpentry skills !). I will wait until I can make a good frame before chopping up my posh mesh.

Tom

Kate Mocak · Nov 14, 2004

Tom Stanworth said:
Kate,

I've never used glass, but you should either dry totally face up or only face down when no suggestions of surface 'tack' remains on the emulsion side . Is this what you did?

Tom, I'm not sure I understand what you mean by 'surface tack' and drying only face up or face down. What I did was that I squeegeed the back side, then face side, placed it (face up) on the sheet of glass, and taped the edges with a paper tape.

Should I rather use a plexiglass? Should I squeegee only the face side or only the back side? I'm puzzled.

Kate

Tom Stanworth · Nov 14, 2004

If the back was squeegeed and placed against the glass, I cannot think why it stuck. The emulsion side will of course stick to glass. It wont if it is surface dry. You know when paper feels dry on the surface but is still a bit floppy and the emulsion is no longer soft (dry to the touch), this is what I mean by no surface tack (stickiness). As I say, I do not use glass, so cannot comment on using plexi. I would assime that as both are totally smooth and non porous, both will be similar to identical.

I know a bloke who leaves his prints to go fairly dry (no surface tack remaining in teh emulsion) and then dries them face down on plastic. He has no problems.

Mesh screens is easy with no problems and when dried face down, only a little curling at the edges. Cheap and do not require you to rotate etc as per blotters.

Tom

Kate Mocak · Nov 15, 2004

Tom,
thanks for the explanation. I will also try mesh screens. (If those which I have on the windows as a protection against moskytoes are OK, then my problem will be easily solved.)

K.

Huram · Nov 16, 2004

Thanks all for the helpful suggestions! I love this site for the vast array of suggestions it offers! Great tool for people new to the art.

mobtown_4x5 · Nov 16, 2004

The taping them to the glass method works great, but if you do enough printing you will eventually have to bite the bullet and get a press. I just got one from ebay and I am using it to mount my prints for the exchange (I'm probably the last slacker that still hasn't sent out round 2 yet- sorry guys they are on the way I swear!)- once you get a press you will be glad you did!

Matt

rogueish · Nov 16, 2004

Tom Stanworth said:
Kate,
does anyone know what paper manufactureres use when producing their samples as these tend to have slightly more gloss than mine (Air dried using mesh screens). I assume they use heat?

Tom

I believe I read a post here about holding a print over a steaming kettle will affect the gloss. Now don't shot me if I'm wrong but am thinking it was Les and it was in a post about drying prints from a few months ago?

Sjixxxy · Nov 21, 2004

A quicky drying question. I always see using a microwave in relation to test prints to check drydown. Is there something inherently wrong with using them dry a fully washed final print? Just looking at the full 8x10s I did to night, the work prints that came out of the microwave are the flattest fiber prints I've ever had. Is there something being unsaid that the microwave negatively does to the prints that people only seem to utilize them for work prints & test strips?

dancqu · Nov 21, 2004

rogueish said:
I've never heard of a bloting "cloth" but I do have
a blotting "paper" book. It worked fine the first time I used each page,
but the print emulsion started to stick to the page after that.
Turned out to be more of a pain in the a** than helpful.

Blotter books are worthless though blotter stacks are a boon if
you're not in a hurry. Stacks use very little space, no power,
and they are easily out of the way when not being used.

I've a stack built up from A flute ventilation corrugated board and
hydrophobic separator sheets. That last, an innovation on my part.
Quite a few layers may make-up a stack; lots of prints. I suggest
a separator sheet front and back; that is two sheets each layer.

I save up prints needing a flat dry. They are rewetted, sponge
dried, then given a few minutes of screen drying prior to placing in
the stack. After loading the stack is weighted. Two to four days
drying will be needed depending on humidity and air circulation.

www.forestry-suppliers.com has the A flute ventilators. Search
there for, A flute . 12 sheets, 12x18, $6.85 plus S&H. Dan

dancqu · Nov 22, 2004

RE: Best way to dry prints:

One added note: Blotter Rolls, which I used in the early 60s, are
no longer available. They worked quite well. Also, Burke and James
did produce forced air blotter stack equipment and likely others
did also. Now they are gone. More expensive, time consuming
methods have been found. Dan

Shmoo · Nov 22, 2004

I don't know if my method is "against code" but I squeegee back and front of a fiber print, set on a screen and let it dry until the surface of the print is dry and the back is ever so slightly damp. then I sandwich the print between 2 sheets of clean dry matboard and weight it down. The print finishes drying between the mat board and it comes out flat. No ironing.

Lee Shively · Nov 23, 2004

For RC and fiber, I squeegee them off and lay them face up on the bed in the spare bedroom, turn on the ceiling fan and leave them there until dry. The RC prints are flat, the fiber prints get flattened under Janson's "History of Art". A larger book is needed for 11x14's but Janson's is still used on top to add the weight of culture.

removed account4 · Nov 23, 2004

Shmoo said:
I don't know if my method is "against code" but I squeegee back and front of a fiber print, set on a screen and let it dry until the surface of the print is dry and the back is ever so slightly damp. then I sandwich the print between 2 sheets of clean dry matboard and weight it down. The print finishes drying between the mat board and it comes out flat. No ironing.

not against my code shmoo. this method works great with regular paper and single wieght paper too. i also have a bookbinders press, but don't use it as much as just "something heavy" ...

lee · Nov 23, 2004

the relative humidity of the drying room has a lot to do with how flat the paper drys. Out in the desert the papers (especially Azo single weight) will curl no matter how you dry it. Where I live (FtWorth, TX) I do like Shmoo but I just leave the prints on the screen until dry. That is generally the last thing I do and I don't fool with them for at least 12 hours. I place them face down.

lee\c

Jeanne · Nov 23, 2004

Kate Mocak said:
I just did what you suggested. The print got perfectly flat but stuck to the glass and I couldn't get it down. Had to put it into the tub of water to release it. (Both the print and the glass were clean so I don't understand this.) Did I do something wrong?

Hi Kate!
I dry everything taped to glass, and this has happened to me only once. I think it happened because there was too much water left on the print, and the water and gum from the tape ran together under the print.

Now I just hang the prints and let the excess water drip off for a few minutes before lying them on the glass, and it hasn't happened again. I'm also careful about not getting the tape too wet, and don't stand the glass upright until the prints are nearly dry.

Maybe one of those things will help?

juan · Nov 23, 2004

I, too, have dried work prints in the microwave for years - but I never considered drying a fine print that way. I always assumed the process would hurt something over the years, but I have nothing to base that assumption on. Does anyone have any fully processed and washed prints they dried in a microwave years ago? What's the result?

If not, maybe I'll do one tonight and report back in 25-years.
juan

Eric Rose · Nov 23, 2004

I just lay them out on the carpet, face down. In the morning they are all dry with minimal curl. I live in a VERY dry climate.

geraldatwork · Nov 23, 2004

Eric, that's what I do. Lay them face down on the carpet after squeegeeing both sides. They get fairly flat that way.

g0tr00t · Nov 23, 2004

For RC, I squeegee back first, then front and lay it on the oven rack face up with the door open. I get no spots and no dust in there. Oven light keeps it a little warm in there....

Ok, I know what some of you are thinking. Yes I tried to quicken the process by turning on the oven, it wasn't my fault the dogs ran in the house covered in mud and made me forget about my prints in there....

Now I see where Dali might have gotten his inspiration.... LOL

Paul Ozzello · Nov 23, 2004

Tumble dry, low heat, works like a charm.

Craig · Nov 24, 2004

EricR said:
I just lay them out on the carpet, face down. In the morning they are all dry with minimal curl. I live in a VERY dry climate.

Don't you get bits of carpet fibre stuck to the prints? I've never been able to get dust free FB prints by letting them dry on the floor.

geraldatwork · Nov 24, 2004

I have a vacuum cleaner that really sucks (thats a good thing for a vacuum) and I make sure I give the area where I am going to rest my prints a through going over, maybe 5 or 6 times. I also squeegee the prints fairly well on both sides whether that helps or not I can't tell. To those that are skeptical about drying on the carpet just try an "off" print to see how it does.

rbarker · Nov 24, 2004

fatso said:
Tumble dry, low heat, works like a charm.

Works for film, too. ;-)
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Ed Sukach · Nov 24, 2004

Hey!!! NIICE photograph!! Love the tones... How you do that?

Best way to Dry Prints

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