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> FB Print Drying problems |
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#11
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But also, I'm sure I've read in the really distant past, of also doing it the other way around, with the FB print surface being placed against the (very clean) window, to get a really high sheen to the FB glossy paper? Does anyone else know about this, before I do a test print both ways and end up with a print stuck to my window?... Terry S |
#12
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I now dry my prints in an old Paterson drying rack and when dry, flatten them in a press that is made from two 4cm thick slabs of wood. It works fine and the prints are perfectly flat.
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#13
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That press looks excellent. I am now thinking about making something similar. Thanks for posting the picture. Alex. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro |
#14
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Terry S |
#15
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Hi Terry.
I always tape mine image OUT (back to glass). Yes indeed, you can do it the other way, image-to-glass which apparently produces a higher gloss on the print. Never tried it, after a friend recounted his tale of having to scrape a load of 16x20 prints off his windows after they glued themselves in place. |
#16
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In the seventies and eighties fibre based was the only paper I used.
I would dry the prints on a flat bed glazing press. It has a chrome plated loose sheet of metal that was kept scrupulously clean and looked like a silver metal mirror. The print was thoroughly washed and then a few drops of glazing solution were dropped onto the print surface and gently spread over the print face with the finger tips. Very, very gently. The print was carefully lowered onto the plate face down, one corner first and then slowly and lightly pressed into full contact using a rubber roller on the back. To remove any air bubbles. The plate and print was put onto the hot bed glazer, and the cotton canvas stretched over it all and clipped into position. The heater was switched on and after about an hour the canvas was released and usually, but not always, the print lifted off with a beautiful gloss finish. I also used a few sheets of old green house glass. Same procedure but the glass sheets were put into the top of the airing cupboard above the hot water tank for a day. If they did not lift off of their own accord they were left a bit longer. Any stubborn prints were soaked off and the process repeated. I forget the name of the glazing solution I used to use but its probably no longer made these days anyway. My bottle of Tetenal Mirasol 2000 Antistatic wetting agent reads on the label....1+400 wetting agent......1+40 glazing solution. Never used it for glazing but at least it gets a mention on the label. If all that is a bit long winded, just put the prints in the top of the airing cupboard above the hot water tank. Bad luck if you live in a modern house with no tank, just an instant water heater. Cheers.
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It will all be over by Christmas. |
#17
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Hi Nat-
I remember the print dryer from the old school darkroom. I never used it, as the canvas backing was fifty shades of brown. When you used sheets of glass in the airing cupboard, how did you fix the print down? I'd have imagined they would peel themselves off in slow motion as they dried? |
#18
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I used to wash my FB prints well, and I don't think that my canvas ever got stained. I have thought about using the one I have now, but the price of a new canvas is a ridiculous price, the last time that I looked. As for the time leaving a print on a hot press, if I remember correctly, was only a few minutes and no where near an hour Nat. I'm sure mine would have come out the colour of a sepia chicken, if I'd roasted a print for that long! And although my prints were a really shiny gloss, I always got a slight mottled effect of tiny patches all over the print, that obviously hadn't glazed properly. I do remember that I didn't know or use glazing fluid at the time though, so that may have been the reason and because of this placed future prints facing out towards the canvas for more of a air-dried look. Terry S |
#19
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The glass for print glazing has to be scrupulously clean.
Anything left on the glass - dust/hair/debris - would ruin the finish. Brown paper tape with a water based glue was often used to keep the print held down - emulsion side to the glass of course. I don't remember that you could over-dry your prints but lots were lost when people were impatient. Martin ps - if anyone still has a flat bed dryer with a brown stained cotton sheet - take it off, wash it in bleach, rinse thoroughly with lots of fresh water and allow to dry - it should be good as new. Household bleach eats fixer for breakfast. |
#20
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According to the Ilford manual of Photography, patchy glazing is from using a dirty surface or inadequate squeegeeing, also using partially dry prints.
Sticking is too low a temperature, and flecks could be too high a temperature causing steam on the print. I remember it took a few tries before the glass became seasoned enough to work almost every time. Do not use a hairdryer to speed things up. I cracked a sheet of glass like that and ruined a print. Also it used to cause lines like growth rings on an oyster if I tried to speed things up with the hair dryer. I cannot remember holding down the print with anything whilst it dried. But I do remember you needed patience if just leaving the glass and print in the airing cupboard. I sometimes pegged the prints on a line and dried them with the hair dryer if they had a matt or pearl finish. I have just remembered that old hair dryer I used to use back then. It terminated in a plug that fitted into a mains, bayonet light fitting. A double adaptor was plugged into the light socket, bulb in one side and dryer in the other. Frightening to think how daft we were in those days with mains electricity. No safety earth, wet hair ( I had hair in those days) and damp hands. Same thing with the electric iron. Plugged into the light socket hanging from the ceiling. No earth, the light used to swing about whilst my mum did the ironing. And the television crackled as the iron thermostat twitched on and off. A factory safety officer would have a fit if he saw a set up like that. Cheers.
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