My first Fibre prints - Very pleased!!

Matt5791 · Feb 16, 2006

Tried some FB last night with some Forte Polywarmtone and the print washer I recently acquired in an ebay purchase of job lot darkroom stuff.

All I can say is WOW! I am so pleased with the results. Admittedly I chose some decent negatives, but I just love the glossy surface which seems to be somewhere between RC glossy and RC pearl.

On top of this they just seem to have something about them which I cant quite put my finger on yet. They just look superb and exude quality.

The only problem I seem to have had is once dry they have curled up on the corners a bit - anyone know how to sort this or stop it happening in the future? I dried the prints by laying them out flat on some paper towel. Mabey this was not the thing to do?

Matt

reellis67 · Feb 16, 2006

Try drying them on screens, face down, to control the wavyness (a bit) and still allow for air circulation. I would be concerned about paper towels leaving fibers and dust on the print surface, or worse, sticking! They can be flattened once dry as well, by placing weight on them. Just be sure to protect the surface of the print when you do this.

I know what you mean about fiber - I felt the same way when I changed over.

- Randy

mikeg · Feb 16, 2006

The two biggest hassles I find with fibre is the long washing times and the problems getting them flat. It looks like you've got the washing sorted out. The best way to get them flat is probably to dry them on screens and then flatten them using a dry mount press. However, I don't have a press or the room for screens so all I do is dry them face up on a clean surface and them flatten them under piles of heavy books between clean sheets of paper. It can take a few days or a week to get them really flat.

Have a look through previous threads and you'll find loads of techniques and tips, everyone has their own favourite method!

I, like you, love the look and feel of fibre and ultimately I think that all the extra hassle is well worth it.

Mike

Dave Miller · Feb 16, 2006

Drying them facedown on screens is the traditional method, however I hang mine from a line using two plastic clothes pegs with a further peg on each bottom corner. They dry flat enough to handle. I then put them in an artists A3 sketch pad under a glass sheet and weights for a couple of days. I use clear face bags for short term storage to prevent surface marking before they get mounted.

JHannon · Feb 16, 2006

Hi Matt! There was a similar post here about drying fiber prints here, but I can't find the reference to it.

I also switched to fiber recently and can see a great quality difference. It was suggested that you can put two prints back to back and close pin them together while they are hanging to dry. I have tried this and they help to keep each other from bending as much. To get them really flat, I still have to put them in the pages of a large book with weights for a few days... Maybe not the best solution, but it seems to help.

A dry mounting press, can do the job, but they are extremely expensive for some reason.

Earl Dunbar · Feb 16, 2006

Matt: Those of us old enough to have started out on fibre because RC was not invented yet (or was very new and very crappy) welcome you. I've heard RC has advanced over the years, but it doesn't interest me.

Just can't get over that plastic haze look. OK, I'm ready for the hate mail on that comment!

Marco S. · Feb 16, 2006

JHannon said:
A dry mounting press, can do the job, but they are extremely expensive for some reason.

I use an ordinary household clothing iron to flatten my 5x7" fiber prints. I then immediately place them under something heavy. After a day or so they stay pretty flat. I have very low humidity where I live, so they curl badly as they dry.

winger · Feb 17, 2006

If you can find someone who has a dry mount press, they may let you flatten stuff every so often (there's a museum school near me with one). I keep looking on ebay for one, but the shipping will be killer. But this is also why we have coffee table books. They're big enough to cover 11x14 and heavy enough in a small pile. I just put the prints between sheets of 2 ply matboard with the books on top.

FrankB · Feb 17, 2006

Here's a past thread - (there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Especially note the comments from Les McLean. I followed these and found a marked improvement.

JHannon · Feb 17, 2006

FrankB said:
Here's a past thread - (there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Especially note the comments from Les McLean. I followed these and found a marked improvement.

Excellent! Thanks Frank.

dancqu · Feb 17, 2006

mikeg said:
However, I don't have a press or the room for screens so
all I do is dry them face up on a clean surface and them
flatten them under piles of heavy books between clean
sheets of paper. It can take a few days or a week to
get them really flat. Mike

A few times I've mentioned the blotter stack method
for drying. I'm the only person that mentions the
blotter stack method. I don't know why. It is
a very good method. The method will DRY
FB prints FLAT.

Previous posts can be found by searching APUG for,
"a flute" , and, corrugated hydrophobic .

Some updates to those previous posts:
I use hydrophobic blotters but the more usual paper
blotters should do. Some fabric for that matter
likely would work well.

I just checked at www.forestry-suppliers.com . They
still carry the A Flute Standard Ventilators; a special
corrugated board suited to the purpose of flat drying.
$7.50 plus S&H for one dozen 12 x 18 inch sheets.
I've still to locate a source of larger sheets.

Central Camera, www.central-camera.com , carries
Photo Grade sponges. Sponges draw water from paper.

The procedure remains the same; drain, sponge,
pre-dry, then the stack. Pre-dry only until the
commencement of deformation.

Place some weight on top. Allow 48 - 72 hours.
When not in use the stack is easily placed
else where. Dan

dphphoto · Feb 18, 2006

Earl Dunbar said:
Matt: Those of us old enough to have started out on fibre because RC was not invented yet (or was very new and very crappy) welcome you. I've heard RC has advanced over the years, but it doesn't interest me.

Just can't get over that plastic haze look. OK, I'm ready for the hate mail on that comment!

I'm with you. There was no RC when I started out, and when it did come out I couldn't be bothered with it. I only used for contact proofs, and now that I can scan negs I don't bother with it at all.
There was a thread up recently debating the relative merits of fibre vs. RC. I can't even believe someone would bother with RC after using fibre. And I'll take the hate mail. Dean

My first Fibre prints - Very pleased!!

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