Flat Prints

[Jose A Martinez]

I made a search and, unless I didn't make it right, there is no posts about "flat print", so I decided to post this.

I have a recurrent problem to get a "flat print" out of fiber base papers. The question is: there is a way to get a really flat print?

I received a nice print as a present of a friend, really flat. I asked her how she could produce such a nice flat print and answered me that she didn't made it, she ordered to a professional lab.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

I flatten prints in a drymount press.

 

[Claire Senft]

I also use a drymount press. I set the temp to above the boiling point and lightly dampen the backside before pressing.

 

[Ryuji]

If you sleep on a futon on floor, you might want to try this.

Sandwitch your print with a pair of clean cardboards, and place it on your floor (if it's not flat enough, use a plywood or something). Put the sandwitch. Put your futon directly on top of the sandwitch. Sleep overnight. (No exercise please.) The print should be flat when you wake up.

It's a classic (probably historical by now) way for a single man to press trousers without an iron, but I've read in Japanese forums that this works well for fibere prints.

 

[Mark Fisher]

Keep your eye out for an older drymount press. I picked one up on e...y for 150 with shipping. It took a little effort to clean it up, but it is probably ready for another 50 years....not a whole lot to go wrong!

 

[Jim Jones]

Storing prints alternately face up and face down in a tightly packed box will eventually flatten them. Even flat fiber base prints can curl because of changes in humidity.

 

[Dan Henderson]

Have you tried a -1 filter???

 

[leeturner]

Keep your eye out for an older drymount press. I picked one up on e...y for 150 with shipping. It took a little effort to clean it up, but it is probably ready for another 50 years....not a whole lot to go wrong!

Got to agree. Just bought an old Ademco for £20 on ebay and as with Mark will probably have to spend a little time cleaning it up. Still for the cost of 10 beers it's ridiculous.

 

[meltronic]

Sandwitch your print with a pair of clean cardboards, and place it on your floor (if it's not flat enough, use a plywood or something). Put the sandwitch. Put your futon directly on top of the sandwitch. Sleep overnight. (No exercise please.) The print should be flat when you wake up.

Tried it last night, Ryuji. Thanks for the tip. I've been trying to flatten some Fujifilm singleweight paper, and it's really tough. To be honest, I don't think the futon made much difference though. About the same as pressing in a heavy book. I'll give them another night just to be thorough.

Matt

 

[Kvistgaard]

I made a search and, unless I didn't make it right, there is no posts about "flat print", so I decided to post this.

I have a recurrent problem to get a "flat print" out of fiber base papers. The question is: there is a way to get a really flat print?

I received a nice print as a present of a friend, really flat. I asked her how she could produce such a nice flat print and answered me that she didn't made it, she ordered to a professional lab.

Hi Jose,

Try taping your wet prints (face up) to a clean glass surface with water colour tape, which you can get inexpensively at an artists' supply shop. This kind of tape sticks only when wet, and if you tape your print along all four sides, it - the print - will pull itself nice and flat when drying.

One caveat, though: for some reason the print now & then sticks to the glass surface. You can avoid this by sticking a sheet of ordinary typewriter paper between the print and the glass.

Good luck!

/Søren

 

[George Papantoniou]

Hi Jose,

Try taping your wet prints (face up) to a clean glass surface with water colour tape, which you can get inexpensively at an artists' supply shop. This kind of tape sticks only when wet, and if you tape your print along all four sides, it - the print - will pull itself nice and flat when drying.

One caveat, though: for some reason the print now & then sticks to the glass surface. You can avoid this by sticking a sheet of ordinary typewriter paper between the print and the glass.

Good luck!

/Søren

I never had my prints sticking on the glass this way, but I always took care to clean the glass from the glue left on it by older tape stuck on it. This technique gives the best results, easier and cheaper than other ones.

You can use drying screens, but the prints will have to be flattened after drying on them, putting them under weight usually works OK. I use this way of flettening, because I am bored of cleaning the glass from the remains of the tape left after I remove the dried prints... when they're mounted in frames, you don't really see the difference.

A dry mount will do the job, provided the print has been dried on a screen. As Claire has mentioned, wetting the back of the print a little helps it get flatter.

 

[firecracker]

It's always good to make friends at a frame shop if you think they can do you such a small favor.