Drying prints in a convection oven

[John_A]

I have a cooking fan oven that ranges from 80-250C. Would it make sense using it to speed up RC paper drying? FB paper would require some kind of press or the prints will likely end up looking like the dead sea scrolls. I suspect that you would also need a material that could transport away the vaporized water.

Thoughts?

 

[cliveh]

Why do you need to speed up the drying process? Let them dry in ambient temperature. Patience is a virtue.

 

[Rich Ullsmith]

I dunno. Just wondering if the RC prints will end up dripping down like Salvador Dali's clocks.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

Remember. RC prints have a plastic layer. You can blister your print if you set your oven too high. Besides, RC prints dry fast anyway. No need for a convection oven. Just get a Patterson drying rack and a print squeegee.

 

[M Carter]

I've actually used my oven to superdry bromoil matrices (bleached fiber prints). I heat it to about 175 F, turn it off, and set the print on a mesh rack with a couple paper towels on it.

My two conclusions: if the print is damp and I want to get right to inking... the heat really distorts the print and any droplets that don't steam off right away sort of bubble up. And the print just curls into a ball.

And... if the print is dry, a blowdryer is less hassle and seems to do just as well without risking the print. (I am talking fiber though, RC I just leave on a screen with no heat).

Now, I have heated some matte board in the oven, popped it out hot, and put a damp fiber print wrapped in blotter paper between the warm boards and tossed a big book on top. That does give you a pretty flat print if you don't own a drymount press.

Even better is one of those 70's era "plate warmers", though you're limited to about 11x14 - get it very warm, turn it off, then stack matte board, paper, print (damp or dry spritzed with a mister), paper, matte board, and a dev. tray full of warm water on top (big flat weight). Leave it for a day or so.

I got a hell of a burn the fist time I messed with a plate warmer - I imagine that's why they're not made anymore, couldn't imagine a surface you'd put out at a party (next to the liquor and cocaine no less) would get that hot! Medium heat is all you need, whether drying prints or warming up a tray of lith.

 

[John_A]

Patience is a virtue.

Yes, it is.
Impatience is a result of three kids and short weekends though.

 

[tkamiya]

There are RC dryers that use heated rollers. Basically, a paper passes through in between rollers that are heated, just like an old fashion cloth wringer does.

When I work on RC, I squeegee excess water and lay them flat, face up. They dry pretty quickly. If I'm in particular hurry, I use hair dryer. I would think, your method won't work well because temperature control in a typical house hold oven isn't that great. If you are curious, why don't you try it and watch it closely while you do so.

 

[gone]

Blow dryer and earplugs. Very fast. Keep it moving and on the lowest setting, but it is still gonna curl some.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I use a 28" wide Arkay drum print dryer for my RC and FB prints.

 

[MattKing]

I roll them emulsion up on to a cleaned, smooth surface - my refrigerator works great.

Once the emulsion has air dried, I stand them in an air drying rack.

 

[Slixtiesix]

I would not use the oven either. RC gets dry pretty fast. If you want to speed it up, use a hair dryer on the lowest temperature or non-heating mode.