Getting Fiber Based Paper Flat

[Tref Hopkins]

I've also hear old print rats talk about adding glycerine to final wash and pegging back to back. Tried in college days and decided it made little difference to the normal-ish DW FB (MCC118 actually) I was using. No idea waht long term effect if any the glycerine might have.

Archival print blotter stacks supposedly work quite well!

Short of the breaking the print's back over a drawer/ruler/etc technique I don't think I've come across a truly successful method that doesn't involve heat somewhere along the line!

Tried stacks of books again, as a student, and gave up on it as folklore after a week or so...

If only RC papers looked as nice. They're a sight easier to handle! ^_^

[dancqu]

h
Short of the breaking the print's back over a drawer/
ruler/ etc technique I don't think I've come across a
truly successful method that doesn't involve heat
somewhere along the line!

I've detailed eleven times this thread a way to flat
and dry, in one operation, without heat. A few others
have posted one or more ways to flat and dry, without
heat, in one operation. Dan

[Lew1716]

You may also have to watch the amount of hardener in your fixer. Too little and the print may never come off, too much and the print won't take the gloss from the plate. Also, if you have a mind, you can try other mirror surfaces - like a plate of glass - I think the ferrotype plates were originally used because they are thinner than glass and don't break.

[Colin Corneau]

I use a non-hardening fixer with FB paper - it helps with toning and will also prevent problems that Lew mentions above.

[Janos]

We used to squugee them flat, with the image facing outwards, on a clean piece of glass, like a window.
They drop off when perfectly dry, so make sure they fall onto something clean. Naturally there is still a slight curl towards the image side, but no buckles or bumps. Ferrotyping is great if the plate is perfect and you like the mirror gloss- still beats the mirror gloss of any RC paper, but the nicest in unglazed glossy, as favoured by the great Ansell Adams, and many of his contemporaries.
Otherwise, squeegweeing off the excessw and then laying flat onstretched flyscreen material, (fibreglass, of course, not metal, and they dry naturally, but need to be flattened. This is best done against blotting paper in a dry-mounting press. This is the best use for such a press, as actually using it for mounting somehow reduces the beauty of a naked FB print.

[kerrpanda]

I will squeegee the print and dry it on a screen. When dry, I will place all the prints on a flat, smooth surface, put an empty photo paper box over them, place a heavy book of Ansel Adams' photographs (that fits perfectly) into the box, put a few more things on top and look in a couple of days later. Flat as can be. No heat necessary.

[cqphotography]

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[fotch]

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[tvora]

Can you please advise what is the best way drying your FB prints, I don't have spacial drying unit or press.
I'm going through little problem at the moment as I was trying to dray my FB glossy prints face down on super clean sheet of glass and now they are half stuck on it and I am not sure if I will be able to take them off with ruining the emulsion. :?
Thanks.

[Neal]

Dear tvora,

There are many ways to dry your FB prints as I'm sure you've read in this thread. If you want to get that super gloss without a special print dryer, look here: http://www.w7wwg.com/prints.htm. I've never tried it so if you do all I can say is good luck and post your results.

With luck you can get the prints off by soaking them with water, but I think you are going to have to reprint them.

Neal Wydra