Drying screens - screen pattern on paper

[delphine]

Mike, I have been using bloating paper in the past and MGIV always stuck to it. Madness, though I used First call photographic's bloating paper, so the quality of the papers could vary. I use bloating paper for pressing the prints, I'll get my next lot from Silverprint to compare products.
This said I found that MGIV emulsion side down sticks to glass too !

I just woke up and I am just realising that the pattern showed up on a bigger size print that the usual 8x10 that I print. So even though the weight is distributed over a larger surface, there much be a more water retention comparatively, this added to the soft surface of the emulsion could explain why I am getting the screens' imprint. I'll start the drying face up as recommended before turning them down.

Thank you to all for your input. It helps.

Best

Delphine

PS: no problem with my sponge nor the squeegeeing. I am a total freak when it gets handling the prints.

[Mike Crawford]

Mike, I have been using bloating paper in the past and MGIV always stuck to it.

Interesting as I haven't had this with MGIV, but as mentioned, only with MGWT. (Glossy on both.) When dry, I always find the warm tone surface a bit more 'brittle' if that makes sense.

Have just re-read your original post and you mentioned tiny chips on the surface as well as sceen pattern. It's possible, especially when the water is very cold, for bits of the emulsion at the edge of the paper to get damaged and flake off and get dragged onto the emulsion with a squeegee or sponge and then dry onto the paper surface. I've found this frustrating when I squeegee at the end of the day and chip the edge of a print. To avoid this I've adopted a new practise. Will squeege the back of the print, lift it off the glass and squeegee the glass, all as usual. Then when I place the print face up, will squeegee in one direction first, but starting just beyond the edge of the paper, inside the border, and dragging it over the complete print and opposite edge. Then repeat in the other direction again staring just inside the border.The print will be completely squeegeed, but I will not have touched the delicate edges. Blimey, that was a boring description! I'm off to the darkroom.

[Kirk Keyes]

Does "Bloating" paper = blotting paper?

If not, I feel the need to send you some antacids to help with your papers' bloating...

[delphine]

Another catachresis! :o

Hilarious, thank you for correcting my poor spelling Kirk.

[Vaughn]

We just had a student this morning complain about having the screen pattern on her prints -- but when she showed the prints to me, it was no longer there. My guess is that the prints were not completely dry when she removed them from he screens and the emulsion was still a little wet, and therefore still slightly swelled, where the prints touched the actual material of the screens. So once the print completely dried, the "marks" went away.

Vaughn

[BobNewYork]

Had the same problem. I too found that hanging the prints, (regular wooden clothes pegs) for an hour or so before using the screens solved the problem. I suspect that the emulsion is very soft out of the wash and an hour's air drying allows it to harden enough before using the fibreglass screens.

[Photo Engineer]

I was taught to never ever dry prints face down on screens. I dry all prints back side (support) down on my drying screens.

Otherwise, there is great chance of picking up the screen pattern. They might also stick.

PE

[jeroldharter]

Another catachresis! :o

Hilarious, thank you for correcting my poor spelling Kirk.

Since we are correcting, I think it is more like a malapropism than a catachresis.

[delphine]

Technically yes, but I'd argue that as a foreign speaker, and due to my native accent, both bloat and blot sound the same therefore, in my particular case, it did not constitue a malapropism but very much a catachresis indeed. :o

Now, if I was telling you that I will endeavour to use the correct worm in the future, this would indeed constitute a malapropism.

[jeroldharter]

Very good.