Printing large

Peter de Groot · Jun 7, 2018

I have printed large a couple of times in the darkroom of my artschool. However now I have started to set this up in my own darkroom. With this setup I can print up to 6 feet tall. 1,80x1,27m. However I don't have the stand ready for the paper. I did make some testprints. In my blogpost and video you can see how I go about it.

https://allthingsanalogue.weebly.com/blog/printing-large

Eric Rose · Jun 7, 2018

Cool. I did a mult-section b&w print in a blacked out gym once. Lots of fun.

M Carter · Jun 7, 2018

Are you using RC paper? All of my musing about printing big leads me to washing large fiber prints; I think I'll just need to make a big tray, I can't imagine washing rolled up fiber for 30-40 minutes would be very effective!

Neal · Jun 8, 2018

Sweet!

Lachlan Young · Jun 8, 2018

M Carter said:
Are you using RC paper? All of my musing about printing big leads me to washing large fiber prints; I think I'll just need to make a big tray, I can't imagine washing rolled up fiber for 30-40 minutes would be very effective!

DeVille make a powered washer for their bobinor roller system - can't speak to effectiveness, given that I use a 4x6ft sink to wash big prints in.

Peter de Groot · Jun 8, 2018

I have gotten 2 rolls of fibre based paper and one roll of rc paper. For now it is testing and I wash in a tray which is not ideal. But I have to ask someone very nice to get a bigger tray to do the washing in. That would be 2,5 tray wide from what I have now. But I don't know if he wants to sell one. The prints I make now don't need to be archival anyway so I am not to worried yet.

Although my darkroom is a decent size I would have trouble fitting in a 4 x 6 feet tray haha.

M Carter · Jun 8, 2018

Peter de Groot said:
I have gotten 2 rolls of fibre based paper and one roll of rc paper. For now it is testing and I wash in a tray which is not ideal. But I have to ask someone very nice to get a bigger tray to do the washing in. That would be 2,5 tray wide from what I have now. But I don't know if he wants to sell one. The prints I make now don't need to be archival anyway so I am not to worried yet.

Although my darkroom is a decent size I would have trouble fitting in a 4 x 6 feet tray haha.

Remember that you can wash outside, in a bathroom, whatever, doesn't need to be dark. I found a big tray and made some wooden slats to hold it over the bathtub for instance.

Many folks here have made sinks and trays from plywood with porch paint, varnish, epoxy coatings, or even fiberglass resin. I expect I'll do a plywood and porch pain tray at some point.

Peter de Groot · Jun 9, 2018

Well I don't have an outside with a fosset. Or I need to bring the wet print to my house and wash it there in the bathroom. But that is a 5 minute ride which seems not ideal. But with a bigger tray a hose I can connect to my tap and maybe hypo claer or something like that I should be able to think of a good and fairly archival workflow. If not I had a blast and leave the big prints up to the actual professionals

awty · Jun 9, 2018

Very impressive work.
As M carter has mentioned you can make a tray or sink from form ply and water proof paint. Thats how I made my sink.
Another option might be using large diameter PVC pipe (like a open ended drum roller) and some form of rotary in a wide narrow bath to use less room.

mshchem · Jun 9, 2018

Better to dare mighty things......
Keep it going!

Peter de Groot · Jun 10, 2018

Peter de Groot said:
Well I don't have an outside with a fosset. Or I need to bring the wet print to my house and wash it there in the bathroom. But that is a 5 minute ride which seems not ideal. But with a bigger tray a hose I can connect to my tap and maybe hypo claer or something like that I should be able to think of a good and fairly archival workflow. If not I had a blast and leave the big prints up to the actual professionals

Yeah I hope to get my hands on a wider sink So I can rinse the paper much better.

Bob Carnie · Jun 10, 2018

Peter If you know how to plastic weld or know someone who does you can build a big archival washer, vertical think someone who has Aquarium building skills with darkroom. I am going to make a very large unit within the next couple of years that will be able to handle very large prints.

this unit would not take up a lot of space in what I see in your darkroom, will need a floor drain to empty the sucker but worth considering.

Bob

Peter de Groot · Jun 10, 2018

Peter de Groot said:
Yeah I hope to get my hands on a wider sink So I can rinse the paper much better.

At the moment I have one sink that doesn't drain very well. However when that is fixed I might be able to think of something to get a good wash with continues flow of water. It will keep me busy for a while haha. Thanks for the tis. Appreciated.

M. Axel Wikstrom · Jun 10, 2018

You can make a temporary large tray using wood to frame the outside and plastic sheeting to hold the water in. Drape the plastic sheeting over the frame and fill. The floor, or paved driveway/patio, form the bottom.

M Carter · Jun 11, 2018

M. Axel Wikstrom said:
You can make a temporary large tray using wood to frame the outside and plastic sheeting to hold the water in. Drape the plastic sheeting over the frame and fill. The floor, or paved driveway/patio, form the bottom.

I've considered this, but porch paint seems less fiddly - as long as you're going to be making a sink-like frame anyway, you won't deal with billowing plastic and being unable to add a drain and so on. It's not like a boat or something - assemble using good plywood and screws and poly glue tempered with a spray of water, several coats and you should be good. If holds water a few hours and then dries out.

Of course, "many roads lead to Rome", not knocking plastic, just seems more fiddly to me.

Ai Print · Oct 1, 2018

Lachlan Young said:
DeVille make a powered washer for their bobinor roller system - can't speak to effectiveness, given that I use a 4x6ft sink to wash big prints in.

I have been trying for two months now to get a proper quote from Deville via Fotoimpex for a full kit. They seem to be on the European schedule of we'll get to it when we get to it. If I can't get their roller system for some reason I am going to have to design my own from the ground up.....this is delaying the last phase of my darkroom build darn it.

Lachlan Young · Oct 2, 2018

Ai Print said:
I have been trying for two months now to get a proper quote from Deville via Fotoimpex for a full kit. They seem to be on the European schedule of we'll get to it when we get to it. If I can't get their roller system for some reason I am going to have to design my own from the ground up.....this is delaying the last phase of my darkroom build darn it.

Possibly worth trying one of the other re-sellers & seeing if they can supply? Firstcall in the UK are usually pretty easy to deal with. Alternatively, contact@plastique-deville.com should probably work - I imagine that they can correspond in English to a reasonable extent, given that they export reasonably widely. And if you can make direct contact, I also suspect that it should be possible to get the machine customised to whatever width you need.

Ai Print · Oct 2, 2018

Lachlan Young said:
Possibly worth trying one of the other re-sellers & seeing if they can supply? Firstcall in the UK are usually pretty easy to deal with. Alternatively, contact@plastique-deville.com should probably work - I imagine that they can correspond in English to a reasonable extent, given that they export reasonably widely. And if you can make direct contact, I also suspect that it should be possible to get the machine customised to whatever width you need.

Thanks, I did try the direct contact form but did not hear back, I'll try again with the direct email. I'll try First Call, if they are anything like Second Hand Darkroom ( RH Designs ) it will be a pleasure to deal with them.

bunip · Oct 3, 2018

did you try a diy drum? you can spare a lot of chemicals and it's cheap/easy to do it.

Ai Print · Oct 8, 2018

Both Fotoimpex and Deville got back to me last week, they are trying to source a 110V motor vs the standard 220V one that I can't use in my darkroom. I know this will not be cheap but it will be well worth it.

Lachlan Young · Oct 8, 2018

Ai Print said:
Both Fotoimpex and Deville got back to me last week, they are trying to source a 110V motor vs the standard 220V one that I can't use in my darkroom. I know this will not be cheap but it will be well worth it.

I presume there's a reason why a transformer won't work in this situation?

Ai Print · Oct 14, 2018

Lachlan Young said:
I presume there's a reason why a transformer won't work in this situation?

We are figuring it out. Close to having a P.O. made and placing an order....

Ai Print · Oct 19, 2018

Due to cost, I decided to skip the washer tray and motor and will build my own mural print washer. But....I just placed my order for the Deville Bobinoir paper winder and a half dozen trays.

Bob Carnie · Oct 20, 2018

Ai Print said:
Due to cost, I decided to skip the washer tray and motor and will build my own mural print washer. But....I just placed my order for the Deville Bobinoir paper winder and a half dozen trays.

Could you describe your Mural Washer design - I too am wanting to make one - on my bucket list.

Michael Firstlight · Oct 20, 2018

I wonder if one could use a motorized portrait background stand with a wide narrow trough?

MFL

Printing large

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