Drying fibre papers with heat?

[thefizz]

I know putting fibre prints through one of those roller dryers used for RC is not advised but is there any issues drying fibre papers with hot air, such as a hair dryer? Obviously there is a lot of curl but that doesn't bother me.

 

[tkamiya]

I do it all the time but for test prints only. For one, the curling is severe. For two, the dryer basically sprays the wet print with dust.... For three, the print does not dry completely, so air dry time is still necessary.

You didn't ask this but trying to dry FB in hot press doesn't work either. Because the print is wet, it picks up texture from boards and release paper. These marks will never go away even if you re-wet it and dry it right.

 

[Slixtiesix]

I ran recommend the following method for further testing: Let the FB print air dry for about 1 hour, then put it between bedsheets and gently use a flat iron at the lowest degree of heat. The print mustn´t come in direct contact with the flat iron of course! Do not press it for too long, otherwise it will curl.

 

[Pasto]

I dry test prints and strips in a RC print dryer. Even when I'm printing 20x24 my tests are small enough to fit in the dryer. It dries very quickly this way and I can them move on to the next print. However, I found that FB (MGIV) prints that dry with hot air are not the same color as those left to air dry. All my finished prints are air dried on fiberglass screens.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

The way I dry my fiber prints is at room temperature. If you heat dry them, you'll spend time flattening them. They'll curl really bad.

 

[aleksmiesak]

There is a 15 page sticky thread on FB prints at the top of this forum. I recommend you read that when you get a chance. it's about drying and keeping them flat and there is a lot of things in there worth trying out.

 

[pbromaghin]

St. Ansel dried them in the microwave.

 

[Photo Engineer]

Way back in the dark ages at the beginning of analog photography, hot roller dryers were used to dry FB prints in all photofinishing shops. Home heated dryers were available at most all photo stores.

PE

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

Sort of

St. Ansel dried them in the microwave.

I'm sure a lot of Ansel Adam print collectors will be horrified he dried his final prints in the microwave. He used the microwave for test prints checking for dry down.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

I was there

Way back in the dark ages at the beginning of analog photography, hot roller dryers were used to dry FB prints in all photofinishing shops. Home heated dryers were available at most all photo stores.

PE

I remember my first college photo class. The lab had a huge ferrotyping print dryer. If you wanted glossy, you put them face up. Put them face down for matt. Not too many of those machines survived. The smell I remembered was like ironing clothes from the canvas belt that wrapped around that polished chrome drum.

 

[Bob Carnie]

I was there too.. but dark ages , really Ron .

I remember my first college photo class. The lab had a huge ferrotyping print dryer. If you wanted glossy, you put them face up. Put them face down for matt. Not too many of those machines survived. The smell I remembered was like ironing clothes from the canvas belt that wrapped around that polished chrome drum.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

Just to one up ya, our was coal fired

 

[Bob Carnie]

what is fire? we used falling water.

Just to one up ya, our was coal fired

 

[thefizz]

I normally hang them to dry but on occasion (such as in workshops) I need to dry them quickly, so if the only concern is curling, dust and colour change, then thats fine, thanks all.

 

[Photo Engineer]

I was there too.. but dark ages , really Ron .

All analog photography was carried out in the dark. Thus "the dark ages" appellation used to describe those days!

ALL production prints were dried with heat. Oh, and developed and printed in the dark!

PE

 

[DREW WILEY]

I have a little toaster oven just outside the darkroom and use it for judging drydown effect on fiber
based test strips. It works great as long as the timer is set for only about 20 sec - otherwise, all
prints look the same - charcoal black, once the smoke clears! For color C prints I use a heat gun
at a very low setting, much like a hair dryer. All keeper prints are air dried on fiberglass screens.
In the dark ages, as you call them, my brother would ferrotype dye transfer prints, and wow did they
look nice. I was into Cibachromes and one didn't dare do anything to them - just let em dry on their
own and judged them the next day.

 

[spijker]

I often blow dry my (glossy) FB prints. I use a darkroom at the photoclub and don't want to leave my prints there to dry. So if I have only produced one or two FB prints that I want to bring home, I pull out the blow dryer. I put the print face up on some paper towel and set the blow dryer to high. The thing I'm using is a cheap 1200W dryer with just a high/off/low setting. I keep moving the dryer constantly over the print at a 30.. 50 cm distance (guess). When the print starts to curl up, I flip it over face down and blow dry the back. The paper now initially flattens and then curls up again. By flipping it over and back during the blow drying I get a print that is dry enough to transport home in the box and is actually flatter then when air dried laying face up on a screen. I haven't seen any detrimental side effects due to the blow drying. No extra dust or paper towel fiber glued into the surface.

 

[mooseontheloose]

At Tim Rudman's workshops we wiped down the prints with paper towels before blow-drying them front and back (as spijker, although I tend to just hold the print in hand). Works great, dries much flatter than air-dried, and is good for checking dry-down and test prints. That being said, I still let my final prints dry the old-fashioned way.

 

[Prof_Pixel]

Home heated dryers were available at most all photo stores.

I have one down in my basement that I used with FB paper for years. It will dry up to 11x14 prints.

 

[thefizz]

At Tim Rudman's workshops we wiped down the prints with paper towels before blow-drying them front and back (as spijker, although I tend to just hold the print in hand). Works great, dries much flatter than air-dried, and is good for checking dry-down and test prints. That being said, I still let my final prints dry the old-fashioned way.

Yea that's what I have been doing at workshops also. Just wondered if the heat would do any harm but looks like it's fine.

 

[Bruce Osgood]

I've been using a drum dryer for years. Fiber based papers. It takes about 7 minutes to run a print through and it comes out dry, flat, no curl and as far as I can tell, no alteration of image.

 

[cmacd123]

The canvas belts are also kmown as a great place to pick up fixer stains unless you never have anyone else use your equipment. You can proably find a print dryer on e-bay of any sellers know what it is enough to list it as other than a cooking appliance.

In fact you can even get a new one!
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/130522416556

 

[cmacd123]

Gee, You can even find ferrotype plates of you like your photos Glossy.
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/261055595156

Remeber to use Bon Ami Soap (Has'ent Scratched Yet) to clean them.

 

[pbromaghin]

That dryer is $130 or so at Freestyle.