Getting Fiber Based Paper Flat

[rwyoung]

I tried it once with limited success for 16x20 where you hang two of them clipped back to back on a line. Worked OK but they were kinda "ripply".

Anybody do that method?

[dancqu]

I use blotter rolls, but I don't think you can buy them
any more. This is two sheets of blotter paper between
sheets of soft corragated cardboard.

Corrugated Board is correct; just in case somebody is
interested in this superior method of achieving dry and
flat in one move. I used blotter rolls many years ago
when doing up to dozens of prints; Sorority and
Fraternity work.

Now days I use a flat version of the roll. I refer to it as
a Corrugated Board Stack dryer as blotters are not used.
Blotters are an absorbent material. Rather than that I use
separator sheets of non-woven polyester, a non-absorbent
hydorphobic material.

Corrugated Board Blotter Roll and Stack dryers were quite
popular years ago. Besides Kodak and their roll there were
Salthill, Burk & James, and others who made available the
stack type. The Luminos site had a page detailing the
method for really FLAT and, I should add, DRY.

A DIY Corrugated Stack dryer can be extremely inexpensive,
light weight, compact, and have little to great capacity. The
prints dry slowly, gently. Not for the impatient. Dan

[dancqu]

I don't know why pre-drying with a squeegee is so popular.
Close quarters lead me to use a sponge. A sponge literally
draws water from a surface unto itself; no water running
here and there. Dryer prints to start.

Tight quarters or spacious I think the sponge must have
the squeegee beat. Has a careful comparison ever been
made? I've two sizes of photo grade sponges and now
tempted to buy a print squeegee. Tests of the two
twixt each other should be of interest. Are there
squeegees then there are squeegees?
Recommendations? Dan

[George Collier]

To rwyoung - I do the back to back hanging thing for all my prints (no matter what size), with all four corners clothespin clipped, the top 2 on the line. They dry flat enough, less so in dryer times of the year. I wash them back to back (but in separate compartments) in a Gravity Works washer, then I pull them out just an inch or so, line up the top corners with the separator in between, then pull both out together and hang together.
I don't squeegee them (too much risk for me) and I suspect that the curling happens in the final stages of drying, so squeegeeing might help shorten the drying time, but I think relative humidity has more to do with the amount of curl, or "frilling" of the edges than anything.
I have tried all of the suggested methods, and for years, blotters, with the corragated separators, which produced the flattest prints, by far, but I got tired of worrying about lint and accumulated contamination, careful as I am.
Screens were ok, but often left a pattern, also need to be cleaned, and had curl.
The back to back hanging is the simplest and works best for me.
I just now did a search on Google for "photo blotters" and found this article - which aligns with most of my experiences - http://www.heylloyd.com/technicl/drying.htm.
In any case, my experience is that no matter how flat they are (even if I flatten with a dry mount press after drying), if I store them in archival boxes, or old paper packets, the relative humidity the day I take them out to mount them is what really matters. Prints that were once perfectly flat might not be the day I take them out to frame them, so - I just hang them as described, and deal with whatever they are on the day I frame them.

[Jim Jones]

Decades ago, before RC paper and in a location where the best available paper was Mitsubishi Gekko, I dried prints between two sheets and under a blanket in a bed. This reduced, but didn't eliminate, the curl. Prints were then stored alternately face up and face down in tightly packed photo paper boxes. Complete flattening took a long time, but they are still flat.

[dancqu]

I think relative humidity has more to do with the amount
of "frilling" of the edges than anything.
I have tried all of the suggested methods, and for years, blotters,
with the corragated separators, which produced the flattest prints,
by far, but I got tired of worrying about lint and accumulated
contamination, careful as I am.

Your method of pulling and hanging wet prints reminds me
of a wheat or rice glue method of mounting prints. A same
but blank or waste print, also wet glued, is mounted on the
back of the mount board. Two wets = no warp.

To level the playing field, lint, dust, and chemical
contamination are of concern what ever the method of
drying. I think my adoption of a water repellent hydrophobic
non-woven material an improvement over the usual absorbent
blotters. I believe it leaves NO lint of itself and being water
repellent it should need no more cleaning then screens of
any same synthetic fabric. The non-woven polyester is
called interfacing and is available from any well
stocked fabric store. Very inexpensive. Dan

[jnanian]

Has anyone ever tried a book press?

yes, and it works very well for things that aren't too big.
the trick is to put them face to face and back to back
(between masonite or clean boards)
when the prints aren't tacky to the touch, so they won't glue themselves together.

i use a nipping press and i use that from time to time,
and i also have a book press i got from pottery barn ( yes its true! )
and a small one i got from gaylord brothers.

for big things, i back to back face to face them, and put them between sheets of matboard and under countertop.
a bookbinder i worked with used to have heavy glass block ( ww2 navy warplane ) windshield. it worked great! he wasn't making photographs flat, but things he pasted/glued. kind of sort of the same thing...

[George Collier]

Dan - I realized I didn't read your post carefully. What is the "water repellent hydrophobic non-woven material" called and where do you get it? (and where do you get the corrugated separators?) Sounds like this method is worth a try, as I am not the impatient type.

[dancqu]

Dan - I realized I didn't read your post carefully.
What is the "water repellent hydrophobic non-woven
material" called and where do you get it? (and where
do you get the corrugated separators?) Sounds like this
method is worth a try, as I am not the impatient type.

I've not been very specific. The non-woven hydrophobic
material is of polyester and is available at fabric outlets.
I've tested at least four of these thin sheet materials. The
most recent has some body making it easy to handle. It
also is calendered so has none of the fuzz some do.
I can recommend it but will need to pin down it's
identity. Some thing I forgot to do my last
visit to the store.

The corrugated board separators came from Forestry
Suppliers. A dozen, 12 x 18 inch, cost under $10 + S&H.
A search of Google for, plant presses, or, corrugated
ventilators, will bring up quite a few sources.

I've been investigating the corrugated board supplies.
I'm looking for a source of the same board but in
larger size. The above size is good at most to
11 x ?. I believe that specific board is water
resistant; it resists deformation.

I'll PM with in the next few days with that polyesters
exact identity. If you drop by a fabric shop ask to
see their interfacing. If you've a mind, order
a dozen of those ventilator boards. Dan

[jmal]

Dan,

Do us all a favor and post the specifics here rather than in a PM. I'm interested. Also, are the corrugated boards simply cardboard or are they something more sophisticated?