RC prints with an IR dryer and FB prints in the microwave

I'm setting up my first home darkroom after using highschool and college darkrooms for years now, and had a few questions. before I left college, I was using a kreonite dry to dry processor with IR dryer, and the RC prints that I put through would come out with a very nice gloss, just like fuji crystal archive glossy from the lab. I was comparing them to some older prints I had made in high school when all we did to dry prints was stick them on the wall, and these old prints were definately glossy, but the blacks definately weren't as black and they exhibited blooming or haze in the shadows. (exact same photo paper). I also dug up some prints that I had made at another darkroom with an ilford dryer, and these too had the same really glossy sheen to them. Is there a way to get this nice glossy sheen on RC glossy paper at home without having an expensive IR dryer? I see some on ebay but generally they look pretty old and beat up, plus shipping is really high for these huge units.

I'm also interested in different ways of drying FB prints. Sometimes I like the pearl quality that glossy FB paper gets when air dried on racks, but I've read on this forum that when microwaved, FB glossy prints retain their gloss a bit better. I couldn't find much to follow up on this, but was wondering if anyone else dried their finished FB glossy prints in the microwave to retain a better gloss?

I've also read about ferrotyping and glazing but I've read enough to know that these methods usually don't work out too well.

I've only ever used a microwave for drying FB test strips, I've never heard of drying prints that way and wouldn't do it myself - but I'm generally over careful so might be wrong!

Cate

rjas. Can only cover one part of your question connected to RC prints. On a nightschool course I had access to an Ilford mechanised roller dryer which would do soaking wet to dry flat prints in seconds without affecting the gloss finish. Since then I do my own darkroom prints and use a heated rack dryer which blows hot air across the prints and dries them in about a minute or so to the same standard as the mechanised roller dryer. Equally my dryer can be set just to blow ambient air and again,although slower, dries the prints equally well. In fact I have used Paterson racks in which the prints simply dry in the still air - still to the same gloss standard.

I couldn't detect any difference in the quality of the gloss whichever method I used - only a difference in speed of drying. If I use the heating element in my dryer which has no rollers the prints will bend slightly and it helps to finish off with just blowing ambient air.

pentaxuser

I also use a microwave to dry test strips, not prints. The curl increases with the drying speed. In other words, FB prints dried in a microwave curl like crazy. I have, however, dried 4x5 sheet film in a microwave with success within 60s. It works. Nevertheless, I would recommend this technique as a standard procedure, because I'm not sure of the side effects.

Dear rjas,

I have run into the same problem. It is described as "veiling" in "Post Exposure". I use a hair dryer on my final RC prints to get rid of it but you must be careful. Kodak paper was bulletproof, but I find that I can get the plastic base to bubble up on every other brand I've tried. If you practice a few times, you will get the hang of it. If you like to do a lot of RC printing for your finished photos, I'll bet you can find an IR dryer on ebay for a reasonable price.

Neal Wydra

Thanks for all the responses. I probably will end up getting an IR dryer and just sucking up the shipping prices.

What happened to just using a hair dryer for test strips and small prints? That way your prints dont smell like frozen pizza.