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Questions on dry mount press

LarsAC

Member
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Jun 1, 2013
Messages
296
Location
Darkroom in Germany
Format
Medium Format
Hello,

I bought a used dry mount press (Seal Masterpiece 500T) and it is finally in place. I have some questions to get started, for sure some APUGers have experience in this:

1. upon heating, the left and right third seem to warm up far quicker than the middle third. Is that expected? Waiting longer, the middle warms up, too.

2. three rolls of tissue came with the device. One is waxy on one side, paper-like on the other and rather thick. Is this release paper?

3. another roll has rastered / dotted blue tissue on it. It does not melt / glue at 75C. Any idea what this is?

4. how can I clean the press surface ? There is some sticky dirt on it (small spots).

Thanks in advance,
Lars
 
Lars,

below a link to the manual of this press, in PDF

I have had the 500, now I have the 210 and a larger Büscher. For me the 500 was too large, I only use these machines to flatten fiber prints up to 50X60cm.

The irregular heating up I have not experienced, but I have also never tried to understand. I would just try to use it and see if it works.

All in all mine take about 15 minutes to reach about 90 degrees, the 210 is quite a bit faster than the older Büscher. I am not very good understanding the electricity of machines like this, the way they work. But I have been in touch with people who do understand and who managed to fix issues themselves. Apparently these machines are not complicated. Also, many of the parts are still available. I have gotten parts in the US. Maybe there's someone in Germany who used to import these and still has parts?

Your questions re the glewing tissue I can't answer, I never used it. I have cleaned the surface of the press' platen with a single blade knife that I use in my mat cutter. You open the press as far as it goes, and very carefully scrape off anything irregular . . . rather like removing dry paint from glass.

http://www.thepaperframer.com/manuals/Seal500TX-210m-210m-x=160mManual.pdf

Good luck, Michael
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Rather than clean my platen surface, I use thin mat board between it and the photos being mounted.
 
Yes, using acid free boards is the way to go, for dry mounting or for just flattening prints.

But I can imagine, having just gotten his press, Lars wants to give it a cleaning !
 
Lars,

I happen to have the same press that I mainly use for flattening prints. I heats up pretty evenly. I believe there are three heating elements in there. One might be broken in your case.

The way to go for flattening prints is to use two pieces of clean acid free matt board. No need to use release paper.

Last year I had a problem with my press, it wouldn't stop heating after it had reached the set temperature. This is a common problem and due to a broken relay. After a lot of searching I came across the following troubleshooting guide that proved invaluable for fixing the problem.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vphxqsor8lsue7k/MECHANICAL_PRESS_TROUBLE_SHOOTING_MANUAL.pdf?dl=0

There is al kinds of other very useful info in there that will allow you to do most any repair yourself. Very useful for anybody owning a Seal press I think.

Hope this helps!

Douwe
 
All, Thanks for the various answers. I did not really care about the cleaning any further. Some of you pointed out a work around which will be fine for the moment.

Instead, I spent more time to deal with the heating issue. Douwe's posting was very helpful, especially the reference to the troubleshooting guide.

After reading, I disassembled the name plate and found that the resistance of the heating element is more like 35 Ohm, instead of the 13 Ohm specified in the guide. It seems, the heater itself is the cause of the uneven heating.

B&H lists a replacement part here, shipping to Europe is 55 USD which seems even reasonable if the figure is correct. Will investigate further and see whether I can find some spare parts here in Germany.

Regards,
Lars
 
Douwe,

Thanks for that troubleshooting guide - great information!

To the OP:

1.) The temp should be fairly consistent, but there will always be hot spots. I check with a laser thermometer, which isn't perfectly accurate, but does give you an idea of what is happening heat wise. One of the reasons I use an acid free board "sandwich" to flatten/mount with is that I think it disperses the heat a bit more evenly.

2.) See if the rolls peel apart. Some brands - I think the Drytac removable one - came with the release paper attached to the actual substrate. It was a good system. To determine if it is a release paper or not, use a tacking iron (or regular iron) on high and see if it turns to goo. If it does, it's tissue. If it doesn't it's probably release paper.

3.) Some tissues need 195F to release. Personally, unless I knew what the materials were, I would chuck them and get a known commodity. Guesswork is no fun if you're being serious.

4.) You can buy platen cleaner, although I've never used it. Using an acid free "sandwich" makes the cleanliness of my platen a non issue.

Have fun!
 
In 2013 D&K in the US wrote me: You may wish to check with our division in Europe, robin@dkeurope.co.uk
and or bill@dkeurope.co.uk . . . not sure if that will still work, but if they have the part(s) in the Uk it could be good !
 
Thanks, this is a good hint. I emailed them and got an almost immediate reply. Will keep you updated on progress.

Regards,
Lars
 
That odd heating element may be a replacement. Does that part of the platten eventually get as hot as the rest?

225°f is what I set mine using a laser thermometer because I use the older MT5 tissue that is very thin glassine tan color type paper.

Always use matt board to sandwich your mounts so they stay nice n clean. Also be sure to heat the print, matt boards, platten boards up before mounting with tissue to avoid bubbles due to moisture trapped in anything. Then tack your tissue n press for a few minutes.

To clean the old crud off my plattens, Ive used laquer thinner. It disolves wax and grease and will leave your plattens like new again. DO THIS COLD!

Enjoy your press, I cant live without mine.
 
Jim Jones said:
Rather than clean my platen surface, I use thin mat board between it and the photos being mounted.
Click to expand...

+1 on the boards. Might try cleaning w alcohol or another solvent just make sure the platen is cold.
 
I considered it, because I initially thought I had a broken thermostat. As it turned out it was a faulty relay, so I never got around to it. Should be easy enough to do though.
 
New heater element arrived today. D&K shipped it from US to UK on of their containers and sent it from UK to Germany last week. Communication with them was very good.

Will report about replacing the heater in the next couple of weeks, I do not have much spare time at the moment.

Lars
 
Yes, acid free matboard is best, I like two sheets on top, it takes a little longer, maybe 90s or so at what my dial says 210f.
Seems like longer presses with two boards above give more consistent results. Also take to nipping a tiny nip from each corner, it is not noticeable and this is where the problems usually are. You have got to run tests to see what works.

Also, unless you live in Arizona, you have to drive the humidity off the print first. Press it and count to five, raise the platt and vent the print for about a ten count. Or else you will glue the emulsion to the matboard. Trust me on this.
 
In Irish humidity, more like 15-30 sec to pre-dry the print, and 40s-1min for the board. Mount within 30 mins.
 
I'm sorry to hijack this thread, but I've a question for those who use mat board when flattening prints in a seal press. How do you avoid the print sticking to the mat board? I tried drying a squeegeed print on Fomabrom by placing it with the image side against the mat board and the back towards the metal ferrotyping plate, and the emulsion and paper fused with the mat board :/ The guy at the darkroom tells me that I shouldn't use Foma paper, but it's seems like an unsatisfactory answer.
 
You said "squeegeed" so it sounds like you put a wet print in the dry mount press. The top of the dry mount press is a platen, not a ferrotype plate -- prints need to be dry before flattening in the press! You are lucky you didn't bond the emulsion to the platen and ruin your press. Fomabrom is a fiber paper so no reason not to use it.
 

Huh, that makes sense...Although the plate I referred to is located on the bottom of the press. So I should air-dry the prints first then flatten them I take it? How can I avoid that the prints are damaged by the press, since they're so curled up when air dried it seems like they would be pressed into that curled shape rather than flat.
 
Alternatively,You can use iron cleaner,which you get at Joan Fabrics or the Grocery store.ask a wman of your choice;It's usually done hot!
 
You should have a pad on the bottom, not metal. After air drying the prints, draw the back gently over an edge such as the edge of a table. That will straighten the curl enough.
Juan
 
The heating element is enclosed in the top casting, there is a soft pad on top of the lower casting. A print dryer is not a dry mount press.
If your paper is severely curled, just put it between two mat boards, then insert the entire sandwich into the mount press.
 
I air dry them with weights hanging on them from the bottom.Thry are never too curled to fit into the press.Otherwiseput them under a couple of books overnight or at least for a few hours to grt them more managable.
 
  • ScottLacey
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