Nuclear Dry-Down

[ann]

one can do RC but only in short burst of time. i.e. 10secs rather than 1 minute.
1 minute times will result, usually in the melting that is mentioned in the above statement.

[colrehogan]

I have read that you don't want to use the same microwave you use for food.

[titrisol]

is there a reason why?

I have read that you don't want to use the same microwave you use for food.

[Andre R. de Avillez]

I would guess that its because of fixer fumes or something like that. I use the same microwave, just put some paper towels under the wet print (and take them off when I'm done). I haven't died yet, but have enough genetic defects that some (more) toxins would just balance the whole mess out :-)

[Joe Symchyshyn]

1 min???

It takes about 10 seconds or so with a hairdryer to dry the emulsion once squeegee'd off of surface water...

joe

[ann]

1 minute was an example, not an absolute

[Flotsam]

1 min???

It takes about 10 seconds or so with a hairdryer to dry the emulsion once squeegee'd off of surface water...

joe

My first time. I set the power to 50%, the 1 minute gave me time to stick my head in the fridge in search of snackage.

The concensus seems to relate dry down to paper shrinkage. Are you certain that just drying the emulsion is giving you the whole effect?

[Andre R. de Avillez]

The concensus seems to relate dry down to paper shrinkage. Are you certain that just drying the emulsion is giving you the whole effect?

Possibly not the whole effect, but very close (at least in my case). I have kept a few microwaved strips and compared them with the air dried prints and could not find a difference. Doesn't mean its not there, just means that its beyond my technical ability anyway.

However, I have found that insufficient washing of a test strip causes excessive warming in the microwave, as does excessive time in there. Microwaved strips look (just slightly) warmer than the final (air dried) print, but since I'm just worried about highlight detail (and overall shading) at that point, it doesn't matter.

[Christopher Colley]

I know I shouldnt tell anyone, but I've been drying 100% of my fiber prints in the house microwave for months..... I have seen no problems arising due to this. I only dry them after theyve been completely washed, and squeegeed, or let to drip dry for about 1 or 2 minutes.

I dont end up with curled up newspaper prints, its much quicker to dry, takes about 10 minutes to dry a whole session of 8x10 prints (one at a time of course)...

It usually takes about 1 minute, I go for 30-40 seconds on each side and place the print on a photowipe face down at first, then face up the rest of the time..

Never had a problem, never tried RC, have done it with glossy and matte fiber without any problems, the prints seem fine months later..... only thing to watch out for is those prints can get REALLY hot!!

(its also really fun to watch how much steam really comes out of a squeegeed print)

[Flotsam]

I know I shouldnt tell anyone, but I've been drying 100% of my fiber prints in the house microwave for months.....

You don't have to keep it a secret from us, but I wouldn't announce it to the folks that heat up their dinners in that particular appliance .