I think I'm going to go w/the dishwashing detergent + water mix for my plastic screens.

I would love to air dry the prints if I only had the space!  I have room to dry 32-11x14's on the racks, but only one hanging.  I have a teeny film-drying cabinet because when I built the room I thought print drying space was more necessary.

I know all the books say to dry FB w/the emulsion side down, but it just seems like asking for trouble...so I bought a used dry mount press on ebay to deal w/the curl.

Thanks!

-Adrienne

>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Adrienne Moumin" <photowonder2010@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>To: <pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Sent: Sunday, June 19, 2005 5:26 PM
>Subject: [pure-silver] Cleaning Drying Screens
>
>
> > It looks like this may soon be a moot point, but I still
> > have about 25 units left of Agfa Sistan, so here goes:
> > how does one clean the print drying screens from treated
> > prints, since it is not to be rinsed off?
> >
> > I am wondering whether thorough rinsing of the screens is
> > sufficient, or should I scrub each one down w/Photofinish
> > (which I believe is designed for solid surfaces) and rinse
> > till the cows come home?
> >
> > I'd appreciate any suggestions from anyone on this.
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Adrienne Moumin
> >
> This is one of those unanswerable questions because one
>would have to know the amount of residue left on the screen,
>the amount of such residue a subsequent print would absorb,
>and the effect on the life of the print of the absorbed
>residue.
> Since too much Sistan can cause trouble it seems
>reasonable to rinse the screens. If you are using plastic
>window screen it won't absorb the Sistan, it will only be on
>the surface. Probably a simple rinse with warm water is
>enough. BUT- I don't know how to test for the presense of
>the residue.
> AFAIK, Photofinish is a mild abrasive. I suspect that if
>warm water by itself is not enough that the addition of a
>little dishwashing detergent will get anything off the
>surface of the screens.
> Sistan is a mixture of Potassium thiocyanate and a
>wetting agent similar to one of the ingredients in Kodak
>Photo Flo.
> An alternative is to air dry the prints. Screens are
>supposed to minimise curl by slowing down the drying of the
>emulsion side (which is against the screen) in comparison to
>the support. Curling is caused by the differential shrinking
>of the emulsion vs: the support. The Gelatin tends to shrink
>more than the support so slowing its drying rate down tends
>to equalize the two somewhat. I've tried drying fiber prints
>by hanging them with light weights at the bottom, like film,
>and it works pretty well.
>
>---
>Richard Knoppow
>Los Angeles, CA, USA
>dickburk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>
>
>------------------------------
>
>End of pure-silver Digest V2 #164
>*********************************
>