Transporting damp prints

[petemcarthur]

I have a small problem in that my darkroom is about an hour away from my house involving car, train and walking. Up till now I have been using RC paper which drier in minutes, however I have a desire to start using FB paper which of course takes a bit longer.
The darkroom has drying screens but due to the length of the journey involved, leaving them overnight then returning is not really viable.
The only method I can think of to move damp prints is in blotting paper, probably sandwiched between two wooden boards. Is this a possible solution or are there any other methods I could try?

Pete

[andresp]

An hour is nothing. Just keep the prints wet enough so the emulsion will not start sticking together. I would pile them in a plastic bag and, if needed, add something to make the pack stiffer. Rolling is another option.
At home, separate them under water and perhaps rinse them once more before drying.

Andres

[marty]

The boards and blotting paper seem a good solution to me. As you may know wet FB paper is really fragile, you can almost wrinkle it just looking at it ... I would arrange the boards with a coupla hinges on the long side and a small lock and a handle at the opposite, briefcase like. I would rather avoid rolling them for the aforementioned reason.

Cheers, M.

[PaulG]

What size of print are you making? I've transported wet 8x10 prints from London to Cardiff (after a Tim Rudman workshop) in one of those 'Lock and Lock' sandwich boxes. They're pretty much leakproof so I got away with not even having to keep the box flat on the train. The benefit is that you can keep the prints quite wet and the sealed container prevents moisture loss.

When I got home I added some more water to help separate the prints and then just pegged the prints back to back on a drying line hung over the bath. They were dry overnight.

If you can find a big enough box, i guess you can transport bigger prints.

Hope that helps.

[big paul]

what about a plastic cool box with lid fill up to a quarter with water put prints in and close the lid hay presto .........

[Bob]

Blotting paper sounds good as long as it is acid-free and you can arrange that the prints do not slip around. Some people have been known to dry their prints using blotting paper so it's a somewhat tested idea.

[Trevor Crone]

Yes, photographic blotters will be fine. I partially dry my FB prints using archival blotters from Silverprint.

[petemcarthur]

Thanks all, As I aspire to larger prints I think I will go down the blotter route.

Pete

[photomi7ch]

Another blot on the landscape.