Drying Screens

Chuck_P · Dec 10, 2011

I've always used blotter paper to dry my prints but now will be using screens to lay them on....can the screen material be metal, or does it need to be fiberglass, does it matter?

thanks
Chuck

eddie · Dec 10, 2011

Fiberglass.

Wade D · Dec 10, 2011

Fiberglass for sure. Aluminum screen will corrode over time and get all over your prints.

Roger Thoms · Dec 10, 2011

Fiberglass.

Chuck_P · Dec 10, 2011

Ok-------I was wandering because I found some screens at Home Depot that would be just right in size but they were not fiberglass.

Edwardv · Dec 10, 2011

I have been using several large white towels for drying my fiber paper. Before using them wash the towels several time in hot water with bleach and don't use fabric softener to remove the flint. I lay the prints between the towel on top of one another. When the prints are almost dry I move them out of the towels. Another way is to buy heavy canvas; place the prints between the canvas and the canvas between the towels. Remove the prints when they are almost dry. Good luck.

GeorgesGiralt · Dec 11, 2011

Hello !
Making screens is easy.
Go to an art store and buy canvas chassis the dimension you want (they come unmounted in a lot of varied dimensions, in very strong wood with smooth profile. And of course without canvas on them...
Then go to the hardware store and look for fiberglass mosquito net ad to the cart stainless steel tackles and the device to punch them and you're done.
Mine are years old, darn cheap, easy to clean because dirt and contaminants can't go into the fiberglass which does not drink water so dry quite instantly.
Hope this helps

Dave Ludwig · Dec 11, 2011

Go to a Habitat for Humanity Resale store, or similar, and find some fiberglass window screens. Bought 6 full window screens for 12 bucks.

ic-racer · Dec 11, 2011

CPorter said:
Ok-------I was wandering because I found some screens at Home Depot that would be just right in size but they were not fiberglass.

They are pretty easy to make. Home Depot has all the stuff you need. Frame w 4 plastic connectors, rubber inset and a roll of plastic screen.

bdial · Dec 11, 2011

+ 1 on the Home Depot stuff (or Lowes presumably), very easy, and you can make them any size that suits you.

Chuck_P · Dec 11, 2011

Thanks everybody for your information..........

Jim Jones · Dec 11, 2011

Edwardv said:
I have been using several large white towels for drying my fiber paper. Before using them wash the towels several time in hot water with bleach and don't use fabric softener to remove the flint. I lay the prints between the towel on top of one another. When the prints are almost dry I move them out of the towels. Another way is to buy heavy canvas; place the prints between the canvas and the canvas between the towels. Remove the prints when they are almost dry. Good luck.

When stationed at a Navy base I could put fiber prints between clean sheets on my bed and weigh them down with a blanket. In a few hours they were dry and fairly flat. Storing them face to face and back to back in tightly packed boxes completed the flattening process.

Drying Screens

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