Rippled edges

[Pieter12]

Every so often, the edges of some of my fiber prints turn out rippled (usually along the long dimension) after pressing them for 2 minutes in a dry mount press set to 180º to flatten them. I will then leave them under a sheet of 1/4" acrylic, either under a stack of large, heavy books or a sandbag overnight, but the ripples are still there. No sweat if I end up dry mounting the prints, but that is not always the case. Am I doing something wrong? Is there a solution beyond resoaking, drying the prints and trying again?

 

[koraks]

I think this is one of the challenges of fiber based paper. I would suspect that if you can apply nore pressure, the problem should be reduced. I personally do not own a dry mount press and therefore resort to the old technique of taping the prints to a mirror using gummed tape. I'm left with prints with a narrow piece of tape along all borders, but they are perfectly flat. It's a bit more work than with a press, but the result is more than adequate for me.

A friend of mine does use a press and his prints are perfectly flat right to the edge, so it should be possible.

Oh, and it probably helps if the prints are slightly damp as they go into the press; I don't think it's very feasible to get bone dry prints to flatten out perfectly.

 

[guangong]

I use dry mount press. Yes, helps if print is not bone dry. Also a higher temperature may help. I set my Seal at 240F for what it's worth.