Drying Fiber Based Paper on Screens

[photobackpacker]

Between the squeegeeing and the drying face down, my prints normally dry quite flat, unless they dry too fast. Then they curl like the dickens.

I have had a problem with the edges drying in a ruffled fashion where the print will actually develop a crease in the drymount press. This, too, comes from drying too fast. I spray the back of the print lightly with distilled water, let it soak in and then go to the drymount press. This avoids fixes the problem.

[dancqu]

I am getting frustrated with my print drying screens.

I'll suggest a less used and much less mentioned
alternate approach. Old Timers may have used Burke
& James's stack dryers. Some may have read the article
Drying Fiber Base Prints Flat at www.luminos.com The twists
included below are technique of my own invention.

Sponge dry the print on a clean counter. Keep a sponge
or sponges just for the purpose. Pre-wet the sponge with
tap water then rinse with distilled. Squeeze dry. Draw the
sponge first over one side then flip the print and repeat.
Do once again both sides. Draw slowly so as to pull
moisture from the print. A sponge will preferably
draw the water rather than squeeze the
water from a print.

The print or prints will be sooner out of the stack if they
are given several minutes of free air drying. Do place
them in the stack prior to warping.

Do not do as Luminos suggests. Use A flute corrugated
board and hydrophobic separator sheets. The term Luminos
uses is "sandwich". From bottom up the "sandwich" is built
corrugated, separator, print, separator, corrugated. The
completed stack must have some weight placed on top.
Few or many prints may be dried Flat with little space
taken up. No sheets of glass or heated presses are
needed. The entire assembly is very light weight.
Setting it out of the way is no problem.

Thin hydrophobic material is available at any fabric store.
That A Flute Ventilator Corrugated Board is another matter.
I've only found it to size 12 x 18; 12 sheets $6.95 from
www.forestry-suppliers.com . I'll try to track down
it's source. Dan

[lloydapug]

I am getting frustrated with my print drying screens.

January 1, 2006, from Lloyd Erlick,

I got so frustrated with my screens I threw them away.

I decided to follow a 'no touch' policy with all my photosensitive materials. While my prints are wet, their image areas are touched by *nothing*. (Well, they're touched by solutions and water, but you get the idea...).

I dry my FB prints by hanging from a line. The last thing I do after hanging them is to sluice distilled water down both sides of the sheet. After that they air dry.

I've put a much more detailed description of what I do on my website (www.heylloyd.com). Click the 'technical' button in the table of contents.

regards,
--le
________________________________
Lloyd Erlick Portraits, Toronto.
voice: 416-686-0326
email: portrait@heylloyd.com
net: www.heylloyd.com
________________________________
--

[Dave Miller]

An excellent, and interesting article Lloyd. Coincidentally the method you describe is the very one I have used for some time; and have been trying to improve on – with no success whatsoever I might add. So maybe I will stick with the plastic clothes pegs after all.