You don't need anything special. I find a bath towel works very well. A squeegee doesn't work any better, if not worse.
Do I just lay the prints on the towel and fold the towel over the prints and just damp lightly? Or can I just use the towel and wipe down carefully? Thanks
I just fold the towel over the print and pat the towel. It gets rid of the surface water and then I hang the prints up by the corner with a Paterson clip to dry. I lay large prints face-up on the bedroom carpet to dry.
I wouldn't personally use a towel to dry prints, unless you're sure it's made from something that won't leave lint or other bits of material on the paper surface - even if you only wipe the non-emulsion side.
Moved to the general B&W: Film, Paper and Chemistry sub-forum.
The "Feedback and Discussion" sub-forum is for discussing how the site itself functions.
No problem though - welcome to Photrio.
For RC, I air dry my prints by standing them in racks. You can also roll them on to a smooth surface and let them air dry. Here is my refrigerator performing that task with some submissions for a Postcard exchange from a few years ago.:
View attachment 345682
I also use a car windshield wiper blade.... widely available.
Try using a new, high quality auto windscreen wiper to gently wipe your print, usually in one movement, free of standing water.
Use a sheet of clean, angled on its edge, piece of plexiglass or plate glass, with a small towel at the base of the sheet material, to better manage accumulated H²O, before it spreads.
For smaller prints I use a good quality windscreen squeezie, made with square cut 90° angles on the wiping blade, again on a
I use this squeegee:
You can save some money by going with the 9" version:
Legacy Pro Tube Squeegee (9")
Buy Legacy Pro Tube Squeegee (9") featuring Remove Excess Water from Darkroom Prints, Tube Design Promotes Even Pressure, Soft Rubber Blade. Review Legacy Pro nullwww.bhphotovideo.com
I wouldn't personally use a towel to dry prints, unless you're sure it's made from something that won't leave lint or other bits of material on the paper surface - even if you only wipe the non-emulsion side.
Moved to the general B&W: Film, Paper and Chemistry sub-forum.
The "Feedback and Discussion" sub-forum is for discussing how the site itself functions.
No problem though - welcome to Photrio.
For RC, I air dry my prints by standing them in racks. You can also roll them on to a smooth surface and let them air dry. Here is my refrigerator performing that task with some submissions for a Postcard exchange from a few years ago.:
View attachment 345682
Moved to the general B&W: Film, Paper and Chemistry sub-forum.
The "Feedback and Discussion" sub-forum is for discussing how the site itself functions.
No problem though - welcome to Photrio.
For RC, I air dry my prints by standing them in racks. You can also roll them on to a smooth surface and let them air dry. Here is my refrigerator performing that task with some submissions for a Postcard exchange from a few years ago.:
View attachment 345682
Deep breath.
A squeegee, I use a Libman window squeegee, about 5 bucks. Don't use directly on the print face, I have a poly squeegee board, lay the print face down then squeegee it from the backside, keep your fingers ahold of a corner to keep the print from sticking.
Then use a rack or hang dry. I have an Ilfospeed dryer that will dry an 8x10 in about 10 seconds, pretty slick.
As far as a squeegee board goes, it needs to be immaculately clean, able to take pressure. Matt's fridge worked, needs to be smooth not textured metal, glass window would work, or maybe a sliding glass door. Again I don't leave the prints stuck to anything.
For color prints back in the day I used a blow dryer, took 3 or 4 minutes
Deep breath.
A squeegee, I use a Libman window squeegee, about 5 bucks. Don't use directly on the print face, I have a poly squeegee board, lay the print face down then squeegee it from the backside, keep your fingers ahold of a corner to keep the print from sticking.
Then use a rack or hang dry. I have an Ilfospeed dryer that will dry an 8x10 in about 10 seconds, pretty slick.
As far as a squeegee board goes, it needs to be immaculately clean, able to take pressure. Matt's fridge worked, needs to be smooth not textured metal, glass window would work, or maybe a sliding glass door. Again I don't leave the prints stuck to anything.
For color prints back in the day I used a blow dryer, took 3 or 4 minutes.
I bought a white dry eraser board to put my prints on to squeegee the water off.
For fiber paper I squeegee both front and back of the print using a car windscreen squeegee. Something like this. I use the sink splashback (backsplash for you Americans) as I have my sink surrounded by PVC sheeting but your dry eraser board will work. I then place face down on 'flyscreen' drying racks. The various methods of drying fiber prints is really about how flat they are afterwards. Mine dry pretty flat but they need to be dry-mounted for complete flatness in my experience (not saying others can't do better!). Leave them in a stack of prints for several years and they flatten out too.
For RC prints, I use paper racks. Like this. Stand a piece up in each segment and they'll dry perfectly. No squeegeeing needed.
For some questions, there really are multiple answers, pick one that works for you.
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