Old Seal press operation

[Mark Fisher]

I have not dry mounted anything for 20 years (long hiatus from photography and too cheap to buy one!), but I'm tired of curled and wavy prints so I got an old Seal press. I don't see a number but it a gray painted massive casting with a red and a green light with a thermostat. It did not seem to heat, but I removed the knob and moved the thermostat and it heated up. Seems good so far. When I plug it in and put the platen down, the red light blinks and the green stays on steady if the thermostat is turned up high enough. What I want to know is what do the lights mean?
I'll figure out how to get the temp right by trial and error. If I remember correctly, colormount is pretty sensitive to temperature. I'm planning on leaving the platen as is and use a piece of 2ply matt board in between. If I use the 2 ply, is there any reason to deal with release paper ? Any other questions I should be asking, but don't know enough to ask?

Thanks - - Mark

 

[Dan Henderson]

my old Seal dry mount press has a toggle type power switch with a red indicator when it is turned on. It also has an orange indicator light that is on until the press reaches the temperature set on the dial, at which point it cycles on and off with the heater to maintain that temperature.

 

[glbeas]

I have one of those grey monsters, pretty solid beasts. If the green light is not cycling on and off the thermostat may be defective. Need to check that.

 

[Mark Fisher]

Thanks for the replies. The red light pulses and the green light is steady when the platen is heating. I'm assuming the green light cycles at the thermostat set point (I probably did not let it stay on long enough to do that). If that is right, I'm still wondering why it has the red light then.

 

[Mike A]

Mark I've been using same exact beast you describe here for about five years now and I too scratched my head wondering why the idiot light stays on. Well, I've never ruined a print yet and the stupid light has yet to go off, so I would just roll with it.
Mike A

 

[David Brown]

I have an ancient "200". These are the instructions that have been affixed to it for years:

Seal 200 Commercial

Open top to heat up.

The green light on this press goes off when it reaches the chosen temperature.

The red light is on and begins to flash at one second intervals when press is closed.

Hope that helps.

David

 

[Bob Carnie]

I do not have the same press, but the one we have , the temp indicator dial works so we know what temp we are at but it does not stabalize but continues up.( we turn it on and off as temp is met)
If after reaching your desired temp, the unit does not keep on heating up I think you are ok.
A fibre print to matt board with Seal drymounting tissue should adhere within 45 seconds. If longer your press is to cold.
A fibre print should flatten out nicely within 40-70 seconds between two archival boards with moderate pressure when you push down the handle.

If you smell the press or your boards are brown after short usages the press is too hot.

We are about to have our press overhauled.. $750.00
But it has faithfully done its job for 15 years and I think its time for its manicure.

 

[noseoil]

Have the same beast. Had to replace wire connector ends under the cover plate (light cover) due to old age and corrosion. Tightened everything up and it is fine now. Also had to replace the toggle switch with a similar hardware store variety. Make sure current (amps) is adequate for new switch. Mine works like a champ. Used a kitchen thermometer for setting the heat control. Set it and forget it. Mine set to 190f. tim

 

[Mark Fisher]

Thanks all. I think I have everything I need to mount with confidence.

 

[winger]

I just got a Seal 200 and wondered what temp and time work for flattening fiber prints. I don't want to fry them, but I'd like them to be flat. I have 2 sheets of 2ply matboard to protect the prints. And, if I dry-mount any, does the tissue come with temp and time instructions? The last time I dry mounted a print was college and someone else set stuff up.

 

[agGNOME]

Bethe,
Using the 2, two-ply board scheme, I heat the press between 225-250 degrees and 'press' the prints for two minutes. After that they go under a weight(books, or whatever) until they cool. Mounting tissue should have the instructions you need.
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David Brown's instrucions on the functioning of the lights for this generation of seal press' is accurate.

 

[L Gebhardt]

Bethe,

On the press you have I set the temp at 225 to flatten the prints. I gave them about 1 minute each.

Dry mount tissue comes with temp recomendations. If you use ColorMount I think it is around 180, which is about all the RC papers can take. I have some Archival Mount for Fiber and it takes 225.

Larry

 

[winger]

Thanks all! I did leave the temp where it was (about 225) - I was just unsure about how long was safe. Now I know!