how to dry fibre-based prints?

[pai]

i've been printing on RC paper, but am thinking of giving FB a try.

what's the best way to dry the FB stuff, since it takes much longer?

i usually hang my RC prints up and let them drip dry, but i heard FB tends to curl. i've read about using drying screens, but don't recall them being sold here.

any suggestions? thanks.

 

[Anjinnete Ross]

A photographer taught me to just leave the prints on the floor, on top of some wrinkled up papers. Of course it is nice to have drying screens. But leaving them on floors works fine anyway.

 

[greg]

i've been printing on RC paper, but am thinking of giving FB a try.

what's the best way to dry the FB stuff, since it takes much longer?

i usually hang my RC prints up and let them drip dry, but i heard FB tends to curl. i've read about using drying screens, but don't recall them being sold here.

any suggestions? thanks.

you're right about the curling, so if you print FB at Safra, never put it through the print dryer w/o risking jamming it. Leave the print over flat table, you can easily flatten it after it's dried by piling weight on it.

 

[enivre]

lay them over newspaper.. I've heard this works quite well..

But for me they still curled, so I had to weigh them down with books after they dried.

 

[pai]

newspaper won't stain?

actually, why put on paper instead of just direct on the flat surface? it'll stick a bit when dried, but shouldn't be too hard to peel off right?

 

[waileong]

Believe it or not, in a wet environment.

Specifically, in a humid place. The theory being that the slower the print dries, the flatter they are.

I just did some 16x20 prints last night and dried my prints in the cool air outside after the rain. They dried beautifully, with minimal curl.

Now flattening the print under glass.

i've been printing on RC paper, but am thinking of giving FB a try.

what's the best way to dry the FB stuff, since it takes much longer?

i usually hang my RC prints up and let them drip dry, but i heard FB tends to curl. i've read about using drying screens, but don't recall them being sold here.

any suggestions? thanks.

 

[enivre]

newspaper won't stain?

actually, why put on paper instead of just direct on the flat surface? it'll stick a bit when dried, but shouldn't be too hard to peel off right?

I can't remember if I used newspaper.. been a while since I did FB (all that washing really puts me off!).. but I remember that's what I was told... You can try paper towels if you are afraid of the staining.

As to why on paper, it's coz the paper helps to absorb the water. Well that's the theroy at least..

 

[waileong]

I can't remember if I used newspaper.. been a while since I did FB (all that washing really puts me off!).. but I remember that's what I was told... You can try paper towels if you are afraid of the staining.

As to why on paper, it's coz the paper helps to absorb the water. Well that's the theroy at least..

The purpose of all your washing is to get rid of the fixer and also to make the print archival. If you put it in contact with newspaper, paper towels, etc-- unless these are acid free newspaper or towels-- you're going to introduce acids that will make your prints non-archival.

 

[pai]

thanks for all the advice. wah now itching to try... wonder if the quality is worth all that extra wet time...

 

[waileong]

Fibre looks different from RC, that's all. RC looks plasticky, but I've always felt it had the edge for high gloss prints. Fibre has a track record for archival quality if one knows how to wash it properly. It's just flattening it is a pain.

 

[greg]

thanks for all the advice. wah now itching to try... wonder if the quality is worth all that extra wet time...

to see what papers give what result, why not visit this exhibition http://forums.clubsnap.org/showthread.php?t=319269 a rare chance to see for yourselves other than RC and FB, how other great prints were made?

 

[canturn]

Believe it or not, in a wet environment.

Specifically, in a humid place. The theory being that the slower the print dries, the flatter they are.

I just did some 16x20 prints last night and dried my prints in the cool air outside after the rain. They dried beautifully, with minimal curl.

Now flattening the print under glass.

Yes, never dry your prints in air-con or windy places, the FB prints will curl like anything.

Not sure if glazing machine will actually help, heard it'll dry and flatten the print for you, if you have the space for one

 

[enivre]

The purpose of all your washing is to get rid of the fixer and also to make the print archival. If you put it in contact with newspaper, paper towels, etc-- unless these are acid free newspaper or towels-- you're going to introduce acids that will make your prints non-archival.

That makes good sense.. So dry it on a piece of glass or something?

 

[waileong]

That makes good sense.. So dry it on a piece of glass or something?

They make acid-free blotter books for those who like to dry their prints by contact.

 

[Anjinnete Ross]

That makes good sense.. So dry it on a piece of glass or something?

My mentor showed me a simple method. I just put the prints on some crumpled sheets of white tissue papers (big ones!). That allow air to flow underneath the prints. I also dry the prints in an aircond environment. The prints do curl up a little, but nothing major. It is not like they rolled up like toilet rolls!

Nothing that cannot be fixed by putting the prints under some heavy books for a couple of days. But for absolute flatness, one will have to use dedicated equipments.

 

[jtb]

Another suggestion that I have tried was using cloth baby napkins as they tend to have less fiber and less cost. Can be bought in a pack of ten. Anyway I placed 2 pieces of this cloth and sandwiched with the paper dryer that has a low heater.

My mentor showed me a simple method. I just put the prints on some crumpled sheets of white tissue papers (big ones!). That allow air to flow underneath the prints. I also dry the prints in an aircond environment. The prints do curl up a little, but nothing major. It is not like they rolled up like toilet rolls!

Nothing that cannot be fixed by putting the prints under some heavy books for a couple of days. But for absolute flatness, one will have to use dedicated equipments.

 

[iggy]

Guys, two ways:

1. Just hand them to dry. Yes, they may curl a little, but you can always weigh the corners down. This is pretty effective for large or very large prints. I have dried exhibition prints up to 5.5' this way. Note though, with very large prints dried this way, you'd need to get as much of the access water out or the paper will rip under all the weight.

2. Squeegee them, then lay them face down on fibreglass screens. They'll be dried in a few hours.

 

[pai]

2. Squeegee them, then lay them face down on fibreglass screens.
They'll be dried in a few hours.

where to find these screens?

 

[iggy]

where to find these screens?

You can use the same fibreglass ones that are used to keep mosquitoes out of homes - the grey (not green) ones.

 

[pai]

You can use the same fibreglass ones that are used to keep mosquitoes out of homes - the grey (not green) ones.

cool. sorry one more question - haven't seen these around, what shops sell them?