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Fibre Print Drying, An Alternate Approach
Fibre Print Drying, An Alternate Approach
Dave Miller
Published by Dave miller
27th November 2008
Default Fibre Print Drying, An Alternate Approach

When we work on fibre paper prints we sometimes have difficulty in obtaining a completely flat print. The drying method described here, which guarantees a flat print, is one that I came across some years ago, and I’m no longer sure where, possibly Camera and Darkroom magazine. It’s one that I understand is favoured by watercolour artists who sometimes use it to pretension their paper prior to commencing work. We can make use of the principle, but in reverse.

I should point out that the method is not really suitable if you are making a large number of prints at any one time when traditional methods, drying frames and pressure pads may be a better option for you. As a guide I rarely produce more than five 16” x 12” prints in a session, the method described here suits that sort of through put.

An explanation of what drives the process first. Fibre paper absorbs a lot of water during development. This causes the paper to swell, and expand quite considerably. On drying the paper shrinks back to close to its original size. To illustrate the considerable amount of expansion, and shrinkage involved, carry out a measurement of your handiwork in both its wet and dry state. We can harness this shrinkage to prevent the buckling process that normally accompanies drying and thereby produce the flat prints that we crave. I suspect that this method works in part by slowing the drying of the paper to close to the rate of that of the emulsion since the moisture can only escape through the front of the work.

Prints finished in this way, and left unmounted, will stay flat for many months provided that they are not subjected to high humidity, and are correctly stored. You will however lose a few millimetres off each side of your paper due to the final trimming required. An allowance for this loss, of about ten millimetres on each edge, should be made at the printing stage.

If you wish to try this method then you will require the following materials:

1. A roll of 15 to 20mm wide gummed paper tape. Brown paper parcel tape with a water soluble adhesive is required, not so easy to locate these days, but still available in most stationers or arts and crafts shops, and dare I say it, on eBay.

2. Flat glass or plastic sheets 3 to 6mm thick, whilst these sheets need to be a manageable size they must be at least 10cm larger than your print. I use glass shelves out of old refrigerators. One side of the sheet needs to be smooth, and the sides, and corners should be ground down to remove any sharp edges. Old fridge shelves have the advantage of being made from toughened glass; rigid plastic sheets are also ideal.

3. A good supply of paper hankies, the man-sized version are best. Some prefer a soft damp chamois leather kept specifically for the task of mopping surplus water off your print.

Commence by taking your processed, well washed fibre print, and lay it face down on your glass. Gently wipe off excess water with soft tissues, or chamois, lift the print, wipe the glass, lay the print on it, face up this time, and repeat the process. The idea is to remove as much surplus water as possible. Be careful not to stress the print surface. One could use a squeegee for this purpose if preferred, but remember wet emulsion is delicate.

Now lay the print, face up, on a dry sheet, and press it down using a clean, dry tissue. Remove any trapped air from underneath it. Tear off four strips of paper tape, each a little longer than the length of your prints edges. Moisten these in turn with a wet tissue, and stick your print to the glass with them. The tape should overlap the print edge by about 4mm, press it down firmly with a tissue.

Set the assembly aside and leave it to dry overnight in a clean environment, don't try and rush things by heating it. Here I must confess to having made use of our clothes airing cupboard on occasions where time was short, but I cannot recommend it to start with, too fluffy by far!

Next day you will be greeted by a drum-tight print. Take a sharp knife, and slice through the tape around the edge of the print to release it from the glass. Trim off the edge of the print to get rid of the remnants of the paper tape. Matt print, job done!

What can go wrong? Well, until you are practiced in this method, a couple of things.

You may find that the paper tape has torn or lifted along one or more sides as the print dries. This is normally due to the tape not having adhered to the glass, or print properly, usually because it wasn't quite wet enough.

Conversely, when you cut the tape you may find that the print will not release from the glass, possibly over it's whole area or perhaps just an edge or corner. This is because either the tape, or the print was too wet, allowing some of the dissolved tape adhesive to wick under the paper and stick it down to the glass.

In either case immerse the sheet in water for about half and hour, until the tape floats off the print. Give the print a further five minute wash to remove all traces of adhesive, wash and dry the glass, and start again.

The procedure will soon become second nature and will not normally occupy more than a few minutes, much less time than the traditional method since the need to flatten the print is removed.

Before closing there are a number of other factors to consider:
The first is drydown, this is the difference in contrast and dmax of a wet and dry print. This will change with this drying method so whatever method of compensation you use must change too, probably by a reduction in the exposure allowance that you make.

Another is print size. With normal drying methods you will end up with an image close to the projected dimensions. With the method described above your picture will be slightly larger than projected, do some before and after measurements to establish this change if you consider it important. I have the bulk of my matts cut for me by Carters Mounts, and prefer to mount with a small border showing around the image, therefore I make an adjustment by reducing the projected image size, so that the dry size fits the matt; a complication some may not wish for.

There are, of course, two sides to a sheet of glass, but here, in case you get any ideas may I remind you that, as in the rest of life, it’s better to learn to walk before attempting to sprint.
__________________
Regards
Dave
www.davids.org.uk
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