darkroom

[baronfoxx]

I usually dry FB papers on a Nova heated dryer at 65 degrees Celcius, and now have a problem with Bergger FB paper which coggles on the edges when dry.
I have dropped the temp down to 40 Deg but it still coggles.
Anyone out there finding drying problems with this paper

 

[RAP]

I personally do not use any heated print dryer. Most recomend using a soft squeege to remove any excess water. Then lay out prints face down on drying screens made from nylon screening to air dry. Also, processing your prints archivally which includes a plain hypo step will reduce any excessive curling. Ansel Adams book, "The Print" is a good reference source to consult.

 

[edbuffaloe]

I too air dry my FB papers, sometimes adding heat from a ceramic heater. The paper always curls, but I flatten it in a dry mount press or under heavy books. I haven't noticed Bergger being any more crinkly than any other paper. I particularly like the double-weight Bergger stock.

 

[William Levitt]

Ditto: air drying on nylon screen face down to prevent as much curl as possible. After they are fully dry, I close a stack of them inside the Seal 210 without heat overnight. Noice and flat the next morning.

 

[dr bob]

After years of experimentation, I have arrived at a procedure which works for me. First, I squeegee the prints front and back with a regular auto windshield wiper assembly. Then I air dry prints in an atmosphere of about 60% RH. (I live in the Maryland swamps . ) When about 85% dry, as observed by a slight curl - about 6-8 hours, I place the prints in a blotter book (kept very clean) and weighted by several large "coffee table" books, making sure there is an Ansel Adams and a Weston among them - this is important!

This takes a bit of time as the prints require about another 24 hours in the blotter books, but the results work and once done they keep their shape throughout the remaining presentation procedures regardless of the intervening time.

Truly, dr bob.

 

[baronfoxx]

my thanks to all who replied to my post on drying FB papers.

having read through the posts and looked at the times and work involved by some of the methods used, I am sure that using the Nova FB dryer is by far the quickest and most convenient way of drying.
30 mins after washing and sqeeging the paper it is dry and flat ready for mounting, furthermore if I use a glazing plate and glazing solution on the dryer I get a very deep gloss finish which looks superb.

The only drawback at the moment is that I have stopped using Berrger paper until I find the cure to the edge crinkling.

 

[SteveGangi]

I use fiberglass screens, and if I am in a hurry I use a hair dryer. But, faster drying means you have more curl.

 

[Aggie]

..

 

[chrisl]

Not sure if this is the 'correct' way, but I lay my wet fb prints face down on a brand clean bath towel. Let dry overnight and peel of towel then. No surface marks, and I clean them after on use so no risk of contamination. Plus, no needed storage space for screens which is a biggie in my massive 950sq. ft home lol

Chris

 

[Donald Miller]

Someone once suggested drying test prints in a microwave. I do that now to be sure that my drydown factor is correct. I dry prints that are intended for display and sale on screens. I then flatten them with either the dry mounting press or with a composite board. The composite board that I use is a cutting board that is sold in kitchen supply centers. The weight is nice and it works very well, although a little slower, when I don't want to heat up the press.

 

[chrisl]

Good idea Donal on using those cutting boards to flatten. I gotta give that a try as I'm short one dry mounting press.

 

[docholliday]

Usually, I lay some white tulle on top of the fiber prints, with white paper towel underneath and IRON it with a clothes iron. Usually about 15 minutes and it's as dry as a bone!. And, FLAT too!
---|
+-------\
|--------\ <Iron
+_____-\

----------------------------- <Tulle
___________________ <Print
------------------------------ < Tulle

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ <Paper town
...................................... <Hard wooden or polished granite table

 

[SteveGangi]

Sounds good, and I'm gonna try it. I absolutely HATE when it curls and then riffles when I try to mount it. The hair dryer works, but does nothing to get rid of curl.

 

[clogz]

Though I have never tried this method of drying FP paper myself, here it is: take two prints, squeegee them, put them back to back and hang them on the clothes line to dry.

 

[fhovie]

Fiber base prints:

Drum dryer for 13 minues - face away from chrome

Seal press for 2 minutes - no pressure - 200F between blotter sheets that were pre heated.

Between 2 sheets of Glass for a minute

Nice and flat for a while.

Mount to 4 ply

Flat forever