Your print washer?

[Roger Thoms]

I'm using a Versalab and am quite happy with it. Very bullet proof and the price for a new one is quite reasonable. I have the 11x14 which is the smallest one they make. The Versalab can be used on the counter or in the sink.

Roger

[MattKing]

Two trays. One of them is on a rack on the edge of a bathtub, while the other is on the floor of the bathtub.

The water flows into the top one first, which has holes drilled in the side. The water drains out of the holes and down into the second, lower tray.

Prints start in the lower tray, and are transferred into the top tray 1/2 of the way through.

Matt

[vdoak]

Amazing! I visited your site and really was amazed at your inventiveness. Nice work.

Thank you.

[Maris]

I use a Paterson Major archival washer. It holds two dozen 8x10's or 12 bigger pictures up to 12"x16". Standard archival wash is 45 minutes for photographs that have been through hypo-clear.

A garden tap-timer controls the water flow so the only work is loading and unloading the washer itself.

[wildbill]

And how do you hold your prints?

I used a coping saw to cut 1/8" notches in the tank trim ever 3/4". then cut 1/8" plexiglass (can be cut with sharp knife) for the dividers. You could also cut matching pieces to hold the plexi on the bottom but I didn't, the plexi moves around a bit.

[Blighty]

Silverprint 16x20" archival washer. Based on Nova's design. Only 6 slot though, 'coz I couldn't afford the 12 slot jobby. Still, it's a big inducement to try and get the perfect print in 6 goes! Wash, soak and dump method using lukewarm water (typically around 30c) for an hour. All preceded with a dip in HCA.

[jgjbowen]

Zone VI 16x20. I mainly shoot 8x10 or 7x17 and contact print. I haven't make a 16x20 print in over 20 years. I can get 30 8x10s or 15 7x17s in this beast. It's a dream when processing lots of 8x10s following a photographic trip.

[jnanian]

i have a "oriental" print washer that i used once in a while for 11x14 and smaller ..
now i just use trays .. i back to back / front to front the prints and fill/ shuffle and dump the water
then let them soak
then fill shuffle and dump the prints
then let them soak

i never use the oriental ( i used it maybe 5 times tops )
and have been thinking of selling it for 20 years, but never got around to it ...

[grahamp]

I have a Versalab 11x14, which does all I need. I have a couple of sheets of flexible acrylic that I use to wash two sheets of 20x16. The standard rack comes out and the two 'U's of acrylic go in in its place.

[Neal]

Dear Dali,

Yes, and I made my own. The only reason it was economical to make my own was that I was given a bunch of free material. When I was looking, the only downside to the Versalab was the physical size.

Neal Wydra