I have had no luck in my search for another (faster?) way to dry my fiber base prints. I am currently hanging prints to air dry. The biggest problem being the curling of the prints. I am considering building a cabinet with mesh screens to dry prints. I understand that if you keep the screens clean you can dry prints face down, which helps with the curling. Is this the way to go or is there a print drying machine that I can't find?

-- Greg Corp (jgfilmimages@home.com), May 12, 2001

Answers

Hey, I have two old electric drum dryers that take six 8x10 prints at a time. They're free for the taking. Come get them! As for curling, keeping the prints flat or curved emulsion-out around the drum during drying minimizes curling, but unmounted prints will curl some anyway pretty soon.

-- Keith Nichols (knichols@iopener.net), May 12, 2001.

Have you tried using a blotter book?

-- Steven Fisher (srf@srf.com), May 12, 2001.

Curling comes from the difference between the drying properties of the emulsion and the paper. To minimize curling, try to keep the paper from drying too fast. I hang my 11x14 and 16x20 prints on a line in my darkroom overnight. My humidity is around 40% in there. Before they are completely dry(while the backs of the prints are still slightly damp to the touch)I lay them under a pile of books for a couple of hours. They dry nice and flat. Then I mount them on archival mounting board and matt them. Just be sure that you keep them drying slowly. If you live in a really dry place, put a pan of boiling water under them as they hang to help keep the humidity up. If you need the prints fast, switch to RC. James

-- james (james_mickelson@hotmail.com), May 12, 2001.

Greg, I partially dry my FB prints on a print dryer (the type with a cloth apron) on a low heat for no more then 3 min. While they are still damp I place them face down between photographic blotters overnight. Next day I change the blotters and the prints are left to dry slowly over several days with weights (boxes of matted prints) placed on the blotters. The prints are quite flat using this method. I never mix the first time bloters with the second. Good luck,

-- Trevor Crone (trevor.crone@uk.dreamcast.com), May 13, 2001.

the best way to handle fiber papers is to dry on screens then flatten in a heated dry mount press between two sheets of clean matt board.

-- (ricardo_spanks@yahoo.com), May 14, 2001.

Is there a search function on this site? Seems we've answered this many times.

The best method is to prints on a screen, face up and then flatten in a drymount press. Drying unhardened prints face down risks the screen embossing the emulsion. Drying between two mat boards in a 200 degree press will get FB as about as flat as anything. The only permanent cure for curling FB prints is drymounting. The adhesive mounts (3M, etc) work ok with RC papers, but not very well with FB papers.

-- Gene Crumpler (nikonguy@att.net), May 15, 2001.

Since I now print almost exclusively on fiber paper, getting flat prints is always a challenge. I have discovered one method which seems to work the best for me.

After you squeegy off the prints, put them in a blotter book. Curl the book into a cylinder with the emulsion or print side of the paper facing the outside, and put a rubber band or two around the blotter book to keep it curled. This will start the drying process in a manner that works against the natural curl of fiber paper. After about 12 to 24 hours, lay them flat with even pressure on them with items like books, bricks, etc. Two white melanine shelves you can get at any large hardward/lumber store to sandwich the prints between is a good option and helps keep pressure even. Since the prints may still be damp, keep them in a dry blotter book for this process or use water color or similar paper between the prints so that they will not stick together and get ruined.

Also, I have found that a regular blotter books tends to leave particles of lint on the prints. I have used paper cut to size from a water color tablet inside the blotter book so that the emulsion side of the print is in contact with the water color paper and not the blotter paper. (I am curious to find out if other people have this lint problem with blotter books. Before I used this process I found myself re-washing too many prints.)

I am sure that following up this process with pressure and low heat from a dry mounting press would help, but I generally don't have access to one when I need it. Dry mounting the prints themselves is of course a solution to keep the paper flat, but this is often not practical as most people tend to keep loose prints unless they are framed immediately.

Also, when I have large prints (e.g., 16 x 20 or larger), I just use a large water color tablet and curl it, keeping it in a cylinder shape with rubber bands. Then I just follow the same process as with smaller prints.

Another hint: With smaller prints, after they dry try storing them between the pages of a large book like a dictionary on a shelve. (Of course, they must be completely dry before you do this.) After a week or so, 5 x 7's and 8 x 10's will store relative flat.

-- Jim Rock (jameswrock@aol.com), May 24, 2001.

Before I got the dry mount press, I did the following:

Normal air drying with the big curl. I then took a damp, not wet, towel and wiped the back of each print just enough to make them limp after sitting about a minute or two. Then I placed up to 1/2 dozen all facing in the same direction and placed between mat boards and then placed about a dozen Nat. Georgaphics on top. Leave for 16 to 24 hours and the prints will be pretty flat.

-- Gene Crumpler (nikonguy@att.net), May 25, 2001.