DIY Dryer

[Sundowner]

Did some searching and didn't come up with much; maybe that should tell me something...

I'm looking for a FB drying-time solution for a ridiculously small and ad-hoc darkroom; I used to have plenty of space and time for window screens in my old darkroom, but I don't have that space (or much space at all) in the house that we're in now, and I do have lots of dust...so I'm thinking on a powered drying box/cabinet that would keep the prints protected while the water evaporates.

I've used larger commercial devices of this nature in the past and they seemed to work well, so I'm thinking that a small version might work for my closet-sized space...but most of the actual print dryers that I see for sale are pretty clapped-out, and they're pricey for what they are. So: is there any good reason that I can't just filter the air intake of a basic dehydrator cabinet and run it on a low setting? A decent one will go down to 70° or so and come with a pile of stainless racks that should be non-harmful to the paper, and they're less expensive than actual print dryers...so, why wouldn't that work?

It seems like such an easy repurpose; I'm not sure why I haven't found much on the idea. Maybe I suck harder at Google than I thought.

Opinions and ideas welcome.

 

[Paul Howell]

I don't see why not, I use a set of fiberglass window screens that I stack one on top of the other on my patio table, living in the low desert I can use them year around. I have a set of 4. I also have an old fashion 2 sided dryer that I on occasion use when I want a glossy FB print.

 

[Sundowner]

Yep; that's the same kind of screen I used to use, Paul. They worked really well for me, but I also had them a 12' by 12' space with a solid-surface floor; it was pretty simple to keep things clean and mostly dust-free in there. I just don't have that kind of space anymore, so I'm trying to come up with a way to keep the prints clean in the temporary area I'm setting up.

Thinking back on the big print dryers I used in the past: they basically resembled a commercial dehydrator, albeit one with no bells or whistles. Basically they were a set of screen shelves with a warm, clean air wash flowing over them...and that's about it. Most didn't even have a closure across the front. Seems like a cabinet that's expressly designed to remove moisture would do the same thing, pending that you keep the temps down.

 

[Paul Howell]

Living in the Southwest low desert, today the coldest day of the winter so far it is 66 with 20% humidity a FB print will dry in a few hours. How about a table top dryer, you can have new belt made by a seamstress for little money.

Prinz Automatic Dryer Model JET 260158 with Cover for Darkroom Print Drying V14 | eBay

Click here to see description.

www.ebay.com

 

[MattKing]

What is the maximum size of print that you seek to dry?

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

When I lived in a small apartment I would dry prints by placing them face-up on the living room carpet. Worked about as well as drying screens.

If you aren't willing to turn the living room into a giant print dryer, well, I don't know - traditional photography demands commitment, after all.

 

[mshchem]

A forced air oven set to 150-170°F with prints between blotter papers.

I use meticulously clean Pako belt dryers. Emulsion side towards the belt. Requires a hardener, usually in the fixer, to keep prints from sticking. This means Kodak Hypo clearing agent, and archival wash.

When I was a kid my Dad would roll up our DW Medalist prints in a Kodak blotter roll and sit on the floor heat register, still took overnight to dry.

 

[mshchem]

When I lived in a small apartment I would dry prints by placing them face-up on the living room carpet. Worked about as well as drying screens.

If you aren't willing to turn the living room into a giant print dryer, well, I don't know - traditional photography demands commitment, after all.

I have a friend who would do this with hundreds of postcard prints, worked great.

 

[Pieter12]

Did some searching and didn't come up with much; maybe that should tell me something...

I'm looking for a FB drying-time solution for a ridiculously small and ad-hoc darkroom; I used to have plenty of space and time for window screens in my old darkroom, but I don't have that space (or much space at all) in the house that we're in now, and I do have lots of dust...so I'm thinking on a powered drying box/cabinet that would keep the prints protected while the water evaporates.

I've used larger commercial devices of this nature in the past and they seemed to work well, so I'm thinking that a small version might work for my closet-sized space...but most of the actual print dryers that I see for sale are pretty clapped-out, and they're pricey for what they are. So: is there any good reason that I can't just filter the air intake of a basic dehydrator cabinet and run it on a low setting? A decent one will go down to 70° or so and come with a pile of stainless racks that should be non-harmful to the paper, and they're less expensive than actual print dryers...so, why wouldn't that work?

It seems like such an easy repurpose; I'm not sure why I haven't found much on the idea. Maybe I suck harder at Google than I thought.

Opinions and ideas welcome.

Sound like a great idea. Let us know if you follow through and what you got.

 

[Sundowner]

Living in the Southwest low desert, today the coldest day of the winter so far it is 66 with 20% humidity a FB print will dry in a few hours. How about a table top dryer, you can have new belt made by a seamstress for little money.

Not a bad thought, Paul... it's just twice the money as a makeshift solution, and I have to fix it when I get it. But you're definitely not wrong about the form factor: I need something with about that much of a footprint.

What is the maximum size of print that you seek to dry?

I print small; mostly 8" by 8" or so if I enlarge a 6x6 neg. I can think of exactly one print that I ever did that was on 11" by 14" paper, and it was terrible so I never did it again.

But for seriously: I mostly use cut-down sheets of 8" by 10". I don't usually work large.

When I lived in a small apartment I would dry prints by placing them face-up on the living room carpet. Worked about as well as drying screens.

If you aren't willing to turn the living room into a giant print dryer, well, I don't know - traditional photography demands commitment, after all.

Well the only problem with that is that I don't have carpet in the living room, but I do have a twelve-pound rabbit that thinks of anything 1) made of a paper product, and 2) within her reach, as a chew toy...and she's very committed to that viewpoint.

A forced air oven set to 150-170°F with prints between blotter papers.

I use meticulously clean Pako belt dryers. Emulsion side towards the belt. Requires a hardener, usually in the fixer, to keep prints from sticking. This means Kodak Hypo clearing agent, and archival wash.

When I was a kid my Dad would roll up our DW Medalist prints in a Kodak blotter roll and sit on the floor heat register, still took overnight to dry.

Hmmm...hotter than I would've thought, but if it works, it works.

I have a friend who would do this with hundreds of postcard prints, worked great.

I do that when I print quarter-sized sheets and need to pick through them to assemble a set. Good times. Make sure to keep the bunny in her house, though, or it's a free-for-all when she runs away with the exact print you belatedly realized that you needed.

Sound like a great idea. Let us know if you follow through and what you got.

I will certainly do so. I'm looking at some inexpensive models online right now - $150 or less - to see if it looks like they'll do what I want. I know I could build exactly what I need, but Rule #1 of engineering is to never build what you can easily buy.

 

[Sundowner]

Also, thank you to everyone for replying! It's really helpful to hear the different input; I get lost in my own ideas, and it's very nice to hear different voices.

 

[MattKing]

For small prints, something like this might work:
https://www.temu.com/ul/kuiper/un9....VfGUP31pqzS6q1qrvvew0hBj5EuYZMrUaAvQcEALw_wcB
I'm not sure whether it would spook a 12 pound rabbit.

 

[Sundowner]

For small prints, something like this might work...

Not a bad idea! I'll have to give that some serious thought!

 

[Sundowner]

So, I've been researching, and a few interesting facts have arisen:

• Most of the small dehydrators on the market are functionally identical to the print dryers that use a fan and heater element: both are essentially boxes with wire/plastic trays, a fan, some kind of heating element, and a thermostat. I suppose this is because there are only so many ways to build a box that removes the moisture from things that are flat and somewhat saturated with a fluid.
• Dehydrators often have the same kind of internal materials as print dryers of that type: both are essentially designed to be resistant to chemicals and possibly-corrosive materials. Dehydrators do use chrome-plated racks in some models, which seems like a recipe for rust...but the plastic- and stainless-rack models wouldn't have that issue.
• Dehydrators are possibly a bit lower in power consumption than print dryers, in general: 600W seems to be a low threshold for many models, and small ones seem to go up to the 1200-1500W range. Fan-circulation print dryers have wattages that are all over the place, and heated-platen dryers are very high in wattage...which makes sense.
• Dehydrators are almost all EXACTLY the wrong size: the biggest racks that I've found are about 15" by 15", so while 11" by 14" could easily be done, you can't stack two 8" by 10" sheets on the same rack. Even worse: as the dryer increases in capacity, it basically grows to that size rack and then simply gets taller, so you don't get much more than a single additional print per additional rack (given the above sizing). Print dryers aren't much better in their dimensionality, but you can often double smaller sheet sizes on the rack of a larger unit.
• Dehydrators are very cheap on the used market, and often in pretty good shape. Print dryers are expensive, and often look like they've not been used for a few decades after having been abused for just as long.

So, I think I'm going to look around and try to pick up something that'll work, at least as a proof of concept: I haven't yet found a model that will take two 8"by 10" prints on one rack, but I can find used machines with 5 to 10 racks for less than $100. I can also find lightly-used commercial machines for about three times that much, but with a sink project and an enlarger stand also in the works, I'm not wanting to drop a ton into this.

Also, one further point: machines with a fully-removable door seem like they'd be the most useful...and many of the RC print dryers I've found are open-front, so there's likely a hint present, there. We'll see what happens. If I can't find anything I like, I guess I could build something, but 1) I'm lazy, and 2) the first rule of engineering is to never custom-build anything that you can buy within budget. So, yeah, time to start looking for used stuffs.

 

[Paul Howell]

Well, do you need a print in a hurry? As you print small, buy a set of 10X10 picture frames recycle the glass and use a stapler to attach fiberglass screen to the frame. then glue a 1/4 inch square maybe 1 inch by 1 inch at each of the cornores for air flow. Just let the prints air dry. If you need a test print to see how dry down affects the final print use a microwave.

 

[AERO]

Back in the early 60s I used a low power clothes airer/drier to dry my prints. It was steel box about 4ft high with wooden lathes on edge across the top to drape small items on....Had an aluminium cover. A heater was at the bottom. Dried the kids napkins etc a treat I I used to slap wet print on the painted side. As they dried they fell off... It also produced a glossy surface as well - if gloss paper used (and the sides kept clean).
Uk oldies may well remember the unit..It was called a FLATLEY. (It was a best seller at the time|)....

I suppose similar could be made from wood and use a heating pad in the bottom and have shelves with holes in to allow heated air to pass thro'. The heated pads are in various low wattages....
(The usual Chinese venue sells them at a reasonable price.)

 

[AERO]

Well, do you need a print in a hurry? As you print small, buy a set of 10X10 picture frames recycle the glass and use a stapler to attach fiberglass screen to the frame. then glue a 1/4 inch square maybe 1 inch by 1 inch at each of the cornores for air flow. Just let the prints air dry. If you need a test print to see how dry down affects the final print use a microwave.

These can be bought ready made as similar is used to make your own paper...Its a wooden frame similar to an enlarger easel with perforated screen. They come singly or as pack of four the largest being 10x8 from Amazon....

 

[Paul Howell]

I hadn't thought of that.

 

[AERO]

I hadn't thought of that.

I bought a pack of mixed sizes and some small right angled brackets (ex China-again!) as a belt and bracers..Just awaiting 2mm diam screws for the brackets...I will use the frames for photo printing with magnets inserted in the frame to hold the top down firmly......blow paying an arm and a leg for a a metal easel..
.Last of the big spenders..thats me......

 

[Dr. no]

My dehydrator is four feet from the darkroom…I’ll try it next time I print. But since I’m in the high desert I just hang pints over the sink.

 

[Pieter12]

Excuse my ignorance but where are you seeing photo print dryers with a fan and heating element? I only know of the kind for ferrying with a heated plate and cloth cover.

 

[Dr. no]

About 5 minutes in the dehydrator. Still curly...

 

[ic-racer]

I found this at Home Depot. It was supposed to hold some trays or baskets. I made some window screens for it and have used it as my print dryer.

BTW, the heated dryer is just for the test prints.

 

[AERO]

Print dryers? I remember when I worked on a newspaper late 40s the photogs dried their photos over a gas burner ring plugged into the gas system of the building via rubber tube!! photos were held over the flames by tongs... The only place with a drier was the newspaper library where they filed all used/unused photos.. The had a very large drum drier/glazer and it was used after photos came baclkfrom editorial after use/unuse. The prints were dumped in a sink to wet them and then whacked onto the drum... fell off the drum dried flat (ish) and filed for poss future use...
My late wife who was a commercial artist with the paper worked on the top floor and had to pack in drawing as the building was so old it shook at the 5th floor (top) when the presses started