I do not own a hot press

Nikanon · Aug 11, 2009

I do not own a hot press and some prints i recently did on ilford galerie grade 3 glossy are curling as much as always, what can i do to get them as nice and flat as ones that have been through a nice hot press that i surely cannot afford?

Sirius Glass · Aug 11, 2009

How did you dry them?

Did you squeegee them before drying?

I have a drum print dryer and the prints were not flat even with print flattener. I was told to lower the temperature. When I did, the prints came out flatter.

Steve

nsurit · Aug 11, 2009

With patience a hot press can be found for a reasonable number. I bought the smaller seal dry mount and an archival washer for a total $125 from craigslist and missed out on the 500 series press at $100 because I could get to it for a couple of days. I think a dry mount press is a good answer. With more and more folks getting out of the wet lab production business there should be the perfect press in your future.

Perhaps the answer resides in what you say about your ability to afford one. Words are powerful . . . they help to create our reality. Bill Barber

dpurdy · Aug 11, 2009

I have found with 16x20 prints, which are too large for my press, can be flattened by putting them on a very flat surface face down and then putting a sheet of plate glass on top and then weighting that down with several large books. That would be cold press I guess but it seems to work. It just takes about 3 days instead of 30 seconds.
Dennis

Nikanon · Aug 11, 2009

well, i mean i cant afford one in terms of my budget is about -20,000$ due to college , so im trying to find some home way to hot press them, and now i dont even have a way to dry them semi flat since my dad thinks water will destroy his window screens

Nikanon · Aug 11, 2009

thanks dpurdy ill give that a try

DLM · Aug 11, 2009

I also don't have a press. I just get two pieces of cardboard/matboard, and sandwich the print in there, then iron it on a medium/low setting. Then I just stick it under some heavy books and start on the next one. Usually by the time the next one's ready to stop ironing, the previous one has cooled. It's been working great for me.

jp80874 · Aug 11, 2009

Nikanon said:
....my dad thinks water will destroy his window screens

Gosh it must never rain where you live.

A pair of window screens is much cheaper than a press. Find a way to budget a pair that is the right size for your prints, one or several prints. Buy the screens with thin metal frames so there is little space between the two, ¼ inch max. If fiber paper, squeegee the prints on a smooth surface. Place image side down on the screen. Some people believe image side up, so it may not matter.

Let dry slowly over night. I find the faster they dry, the more they curl. If they dry too fast between the screens find some way to enclose the screens a bit with a box so the water doesn't evaporate as quickly. Kentmere Fineprine FBVC dries so flat this way that I often do not need to flatten. You can do a little flattening with books on top of glass as needed.

John Powers

fschifano · Aug 11, 2009

Heck man, a few pieces of 1x3 lumber, some fiberglass screen, and a few staples is all you need to build a drying screen. All of it comes from Home Depot. Bet you don't spend $30 and you have enough to make several in the size you need.

resummerfield · Aug 11, 2009

DLM said:
I also don't have a press. I just get two pieces of cardboard/matboard, and sandwich the print in there, then iron it on a medium/low setting. Then I just stick it under some heavy books and start on the next one. Usually by the time the next one's ready to stop ironing, the previous one has cooled. It's been working great for me.

That's exactly what I did before I got my press. Works great!

Curt · Aug 12, 2009

Heck man, a few pieces of 1x3 lumber, some fiberglass screen, and a few staples is all you need to build a drying screen. All of it comes from Home Depot. Bet you don't spend $30 and you have enough to make several in the size you need.

In a pinch just the screen is purchased, stretch out the screen between two chairs with books on the screen and you have it. That's what I did in college and it works fine. The screens don't have to be stretched taunt on frames, that comes later when you have a permanent darkroom and some of that stuff they call money.

Good luck,
Curt

I do not own a hot press

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