Platinum Palladium Prints Blow vs Natural Dry

[hiroh]

Do you think that platinum palladium prints will lose a bit of dmax if blowdry vs if left to dry naturally? I'm talking about developed print, not the coated paper.

When I was calibrating my curves, I blowdry them for the speed, but I think that ones that was left to dry naturally has a slightly higher dmax, or the blacks are darker. I didn't measure this, but it looks like to my eye. Also, the ones that I blow dry has a bit brownish blacks, comparing to the other ones. I'm talking about nuances here, barely visible, or visible only on the calibrated light.

Since then, I left my prints to dry naturally, as I don't want to lose dmax if that was true.

What's your experience? Did anyone ever measure this?

 

[faberryman]

Do you think that platinum palladium prints will lose a bit of dmax if blowdry vs if left to dry naturally? I'm talking about developed print, not the coated paper.

When I was calibrating my curves, I blowdry them for the speed, but I think that ones that was left to dry naturally has a slightly higher dmax, or the blacks are darker. I didn't measure this, but it looks like to my eye. Also, the ones that I blow dry has a bit brownish blacks, comparing to the other ones. I'm talking about nuances here, barely visible, or visible only on the calibrated light.

Since then, I left my prints to dry naturally, as I don't want to lose dmax if that was true.

What's your experience? Did anyone ever measure this?

I leave my prints to air dry. I have not blown them dry so I do not know if there is a loss of D-Max using that method.

 

[koraks]

Do you think that platinum palladium prints will lose a bit of dmax if blowdry vs if left to dry naturally?

Not necessarily, but I think that air-drying them will leave a little more moisture in the print, which will help dmax. If you could blow-dry to the same remaining humidity level, the result should be the same. But that's a tricky proposition. You might be able to get close by blow-drying and then afterward breathing onto the sensitizer paper to add some moisture to it, or briefly suspend it over a tray of water to achieve the same.

 

[osella]

It could be possible that the moving air from the hair dryer roughs or otherwise changes the surface vs air drying.

Increased roughness would cause more diffusion of the reflected light off the print causing a perceived change in Dmax

 

[lecarp]

I always air dry, when using quality papers I believe slow natural drying is best.

 

[Ian Leake]

Do you think that platinum palladium prints will lose a bit of dmax if blowdry vs if left to dry naturally? I'm talking about developed print, not the coated paper.

When I was calibrating my curves, I blowdry them for the speed, but I think that ones that was left to dry naturally has a slightly higher dmax, or the blacks are darker. I didn't measure this, but it looks like to my eye. Also, the ones that I blow dry has a bit brownish blacks, comparing to the other ones. I'm talking about nuances here, barely visible, or visible only on the calibrated light.

Since then, I left my prints to dry naturally, as I don't want to lose dmax if that was true.

What's your experience? Did anyone ever measure this?

Yes, this is my experience. I've not measured it, and the could be other factors in play, but I've found that leaving the print to dry naturally seems to give a higher Dmax. My assumption is that blow drying somehow causes the paper fibres to behave differently during the drying.

 

[Alan9940]

I always let the coated paper air dry just until it feels "dry" to the touch, then I expose and process. Years ago, I used a blow dryer but found that occasionally I had minute particles of crap embedded in the emulsion.