Print drying

[eclarke]

Question 1. How do you dry your prints?
Question 2. What are the benefits of your method?

Thanks..Evan Clarke

 

[David Brown]

1. fiberglass screens
2. cheap, easy to make (homemade), prints get dry

 

[phaedrus]

1. Blotter book
2. Almost no advantages, they still warp and bend.
Hoping for better ideas in this thread. Anyone have experience with the old "Kindermann" rotating presses?

 

[PHOTOTONE]

I dry my double-weight fibre prints on nylon screens in a dryer that has forced air and mild heat. I don't use the heat. The prints dry warped. After drying I run them through a motorized drum dryer with the belt loose, and the face of the print towards the belt. The additional heat flattens the prints out just fine. Since the prints are already dry, I doubt they pick up much if any contamination from the belt. Over 11x14 (capacity of drum), I use my dry mounting press to flatten.

 

[Alex Hawley]

1. fiberglass screens
2. cheap, easy to make (homemade), prints get dry

Same here. Used a generic replacement window screen kit from the hardware store. One 36x36 inch aluminum-frame screen will hold twelve 8x10 prints or six 11x14 prints. No additional heat applied; they dry at room temperature with maybe some aid of a ceiling fan running at slowest speed.

 

[CraigH]

I still use my trusty Spiratone dryer (holds 4 8x10's) & flatten the most important prints under many books. This works for me.

Craig

 

[KenM]

Dude, you saw my setup - hand-made screens using fiberglass rolls from the local home center. I only squeegee the emulsion side of my fiber based prints, then lay them face down. If I squeegee both surfaces, I find that my prints dry too fast, and they curl. Leaving the base side damp slows the drying process, so I get prints that are 'reasonably' flat. I still need to us ea dry mount press to completely flatten them (well, to a gentle curve, anyways).

I should also mention that the humidity here in Alberta is generally very low, so my technique (probably) won't work in areas of higher humidity.

 

[jeroldharter]

I have experimented with different drying methods for fiber based prints. I stoppped using fiberglass screens because:

• Use up valuable floor space
• Awkward to handle when stacking screens or using racks with large, wet prints.
• Dust. the screens attract dust and must be cleaned.
• Embossing. I randomly experienced embossing when drying them face down. I tried face up and then got some water stains

Now I use a retractable vinyl covered clothes line strung above my sink and another one in the adjacent room. I don't squeegee the prints. I just let the water drain off the corner. No dust, no embossing, no tearing wets sheets of paper, no wasted floor space, increased capacity, easier to assess when drying is complete if I am impatient. If I have alot of prints to dry, I position two prints back-to-back in each clip to double the capacity. Then I use a dry mount press to flatten the prints.

 

[Dave Miller]

I'm with Jerold, except that I attach a plastic clothes peg to each bottom corner of my prints. This stops them curling too much.

 

[matti]

I hang them on cloth pins. Then I put them in a scetch book under a lot of books. Even though they are flat afterwards, they are not that stable if exposed to humidity.
/matti

 

[Flotsam]

Hang 'em by the corner from clotheslines until dry and then a minute in a hot dry mounting press. Very flat, and little actual hands-on time.

 

[climbabout]

unconventional method of drying

Here's a method I learned from a friend of mine - this is for FB paper - I squeegee the prints and hang them by clothespins on a line above my sink in the darkroom - let them air dry for a few minutes - have the oven preheated to about 150-175deg f. Then I bring them into the kitchen and blot any remaining water drops from the face and place them on flat cookie sheets and place in the oven for a few minutes - constantly rotating them every minute or so until dry. I actually take them out before they are completely dry - they curl less that way.
Tim

 

[George Collier]

Ditto Jerold and Dave, hang back to back, clothespins on the bottom corners as well (plastic clothespins at the top - they don't accumulate chemicals and you can clean them with clorox). Also, to reduce curling (never compared with and without to see if it actually works) I put an open tray of lukewarm water under the prints (they hang over the silk) to encourage a little humidity. I also flatten in a dry mount press, but without heat.

 

[dancqu]

Question 1. How do you dry your prints?
Question 2. What are the benefits of your method?
Thanks..Evan Clarke

Prints are Dry And Flat in one operation with my
method. I use a corrugated board stack dryer. Not
exactly the same as the venerable blotter stack
corrugated board dryers of years ago. With my
update hydrophobic sheets replace the water
absorbent blotters.

The benefits: Very small footprint, very light weight,
very low cost, extremely clean prints, very easy to
stow away. A TLC way to Dry and Flat.

For more information from myself and many others
search APUG for, Salthill . Dry-ving is a thread with
much discussion. More from myself and pointers to
sources at Salthill; post 13. Dan

 

[Buster6X6]

Until now I have been using method of hanging my prints from a string over my sink with good results for RC paper but FB paper even when I hang them over my sink or placed them on a screen they curl up. I bought even metal clips with magnet on the bottom to weigh corners down. How about using electric print dryer? Anyway how do you use one if available?

Thanks Greg

 

[Les McLean]

For 25 years I have dried my fibre prints by placing them face down on home made drying racks after squeegeeing the water from both back and front of the print. I place the print face down which allows the weight of the fibre paper base to prevent much of the curl that occurs as the paper dries. Another reason for placing the print face down is that the emulsion dries at a different rate from the paper base. Finally, I have found that drying the print slowly is also a big factor in preventing curl. I leave the prints to dry overnight in an unheated room and have experienced no serious curl. Ken also makes a good point when he mentioned the humidity present in the room used for drying.

 

[Ole]

Face up in a ferrotyping press at 40°C. Works like a dream, and the prints come out uncurled.

All the other methods I've tried, I've rejected due to my oh-so-helpful cats. The drier is placed in a cat-free room.

 

[Flotsam]

How about using electric print dryer? Anyway how do you use one if available?

A big drum dryer is expensive and requires plenty of space. A less expensive flat electric dryer works OK. Put the prints face up on the platens and you generally get prints with a gentle curl [and sometimes wavy edges] that will tend to disappear in time when stored flat long enough. My problem with it is that while all your prints will be dry sooner, you have to be there the whole time to tend to them. Hanging or using screens takes more time but once you squeegee and hang them, you can walk away and do other things before returning to all of your dry prints. I print for pleasure so the extra time is no issue.
Good Luck.

 

[JustK]

To Squeegee or Not To Squeegee???

Thanks Jerold!
I've been wondering about the squeegee-ing! Last night I printed and dried three prints and discovered a line/streak down each and every one, the prints are 11 X 14, but my squeegee is for 8 X 10, and I am guessing that the squeegee is the culprit, so I am going to try your methods, thanks!!!
Cheers, K

 

[Paul Howell]

When I want glossy (non archival) I use a 11X14 Primer electric dryer, for archive matt or simi gloss I use fiberglass screens, I have 1 inch spacers hot glued on each corner of the frame so I can stack one screen on top of the other. I dry my prints on the patio and here in the desert southwest prints dry in less than a 1/2 hour. When not in use to just store the screens in my utility room and hose them off before the next use. I have used drum dryers, but unless you are very careful it is easy to cross contiminate (sp?) the canvas apron.