Big print washer, small prints

[pdccamerqs]

HI all,

I recently acquired a very nice Nova System Promaster Archival Print Washer. It works very well for 11"x14" prints, but since the wash chamber is about 14"X16" small prints like 5"x7", and even 8"X10" have a tendency to slip down into the narrow slots, making them difficult to pull out. Has anyone with archival washers like this or similar devised some clever workarounds to pull out smaller prints when they are done washing?

Thanks,

Paul

 

[ic-racer]

I ran into this issue when I got my Nova 20x24 about 20 years ago. I use this long grasper.

However, it seems in recent times most paper I use will float.

 

[pdccamerqs]

I ran into this issue when I got my Nova 20x24 about 20 years ago. I use this long grasper.

However, it seems in recent times most paper I use will float.

Great idea IC!

I couldn't find exactly the type of grabber, but I did find these 15" hemostats on Amazon, which should work in a similar manner - thank you!

Paul

 

[AnselMortensen]

A plastic rod with a small piece of surgical tubing covering 1/2" of one end made a good tool for lifting prints up the slots.
That's what I used back in the day, when dinosaurs roamed the earth...

 

[mshchem]

A plastic rod with a small piece of surgical tubing covering 1/2" of one end made a good tool for lifting prints up the slots.
That's what I used back in the day, when dinosaurs roamed the earth...

+1!

 

[brian steinberger]

A plastic rod with a small piece of surgical tubing covering 1/2" of one end made a good tool for lifting prints up the slots.
That's what I used back in the day, when dinosaurs roamed the earth...

My washer came with one of these.

 

[jvo]

A plastic rod with a small piece of surgical tubing covering 1/2" of one end made a good tool for lifting prints up the slots.
That's what I used back in the day, when dinosaurs roamed the earth...

+2

 

[pdccamerqs]

A plastic rod with a small piece of surgical tubing covering 1/2" of one end made a good tool for lifting prints up the slots.
That's what I used back in the day, when dinosaurs roamed the earth...

Hi Ansel and others,

I like this idea as well! -very simple and straightforward! Thanks for the great advice.

Paul

 

[Rob Skeoch]

Hey guys, just a side comment. I used a vertical washer for years, it was a different brand. Often the prints would stick to the dividers and it turned out there wasn't much washing going on when this happened. Within a couple years many of the prints were yellowed because of poor washing. Not sure how to avoid this and your mileage may vary.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I use a glass rod with a rubber tip to draw the smaller prints out of my vertical print washer.

 

[ic-racer]

The textured surface on the Nova/Promaster dividers is supposed to minimize prints sticking. I found out the hard way that the textured surface scratches 8x10 film when I tried using mine as a film washer.

 

[George Collier]

Gravity Works washers came with a plastic rod with a small piece of surgical tubing covering 1/2" of one end also.