pro. lott rotary print dryer help

[photofreak223]

Hi, I'm kind of new here. My dad first turned me on to this site about 6 months ago and i finally registered.

First off, this is a wonderful site.

OK, now for the question. Not to long ago my dad and I built a darkroom and bought a durst laborator 1200 enlarger with an ilford multigrade 500h head. From what I've read, (on this site and others) this is a winning combination. We're still working on finding both 4x5 and 35mm negative carriers for it, so i still use my beseler vc67.

sorry that wasn't really a question. here it is:

On a lott rotary print dryer, which side does the emulsion of the print face, towards the metal, or towards the canvas?

i think that it might have something to do with the curl in prints (due to different drying times of emultion and back of paper).

does it matter which paper i use, resin or fiber?

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

I don't know this particular model, but normally with a drum print dryer, the print faces the canvas for a matt finish, and if the drum is polished and you use ferrotyping solution before drying like Pakosol (is it still made anymore?), you can get a glossy print by squeegeeing it face down to the metal. Again, the drum has to be polished, and there can be no air bubbles between the print and the drum, or you'll get unglossed spots.

Drum dryers are generally used for fiber prints only. RC prints can be air dried easily, and the heat of a drum dryer might not be good for them.

 

[photofreak223]

thanks so much that makes alot of sense. now i think i am going to experiment with some shot i took recently

 

[photofreak223]

update.... yeah the print dryer works well on both resin and fiber based paper. however, i tried to dry glossy paper on it facing the metal, and squeegee-ing..... happily only half of the print fuzed to the drum.

409 will take it off though, im just waiting for it to cool.... lol...

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Was it RC or FB? RC doesn't ferrotype, so if you do use it with RC, it should be facing the canvas. With FB, you need the ferrotyping solution and glossy paper (which won't be glossy unless it is ferrotyped), and when it's dry it usually pops off the drum.

 

[Whatadame]

Can you tell me more about ferrotyping solution, please?

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

I'm not sure what it was other than "Pakosol." Here's the MSDS--

http://www.hazard.com/msds/f2/bfv/bfvdj.html

I don't know what the alternatives are, or if it's made anymore. B&H doesn't have it.

 

[Whatadame]

Thanks. I have a rotary dryer sitting in the garage and had no idea of how to use it.