For the same kind of money you could get a Mohr, or perhaps other brand, of print processor. Dry to dry in 2 minutes. You'd be limited to the size of the processor you get of course. ________________________________ From: John Bower <john@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Friday, April 24, 2009 7:34:43 AM Subject: [pure-silver] RC print dryer (was prints curling) I tend to have a lot of ventilation air moving through my darkroom, so low humidity could easily be the culprit. I don't have room to hang up my prints, but I have considered an Ilford 1250 infrared print dryer. For two reasons: 1) keeping prints flat, and 2) because it will increase d-max. However, I've read that it's a high-maintenance piece of equipment (as well as very large and heavy). Does anyone know of a similar dryer by another manufacturer? Thanks. John Bower On Apr 23, 2009, at 11:53 PM, Richard Knoppow wrote: > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Bower" <john@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> > To: "Silver Silver" <pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> > Sent: Thursday, April 23, 2009 7:35 AM > Subject: [pure-silver] rc prints curling > > >> Ever since I started printing (~8 years ago) my RC prints (Ilford >> Multigrade IV, pearl finish) develop a slight curl when drying (the corners >> turn up, so the print has a slight bowl shape). After rinsing for 3-4 >> minutes, I squeegee them on each side, then place them on fiberglass >> screens, and they always have the curl when dry. Why? Shouldn't RC prints >> dry perfectly flat? >> John Bower >> > Both prints and films curl for the same reason: the emulsion shrinks at a > different rate than the support. Since RC support can not absorb water it is > the emulsion side that is causing the curl. When gelatin dries it shrinks and > expands again when it absorbs water from the air. I've found that mostly RC > prints dry pretty flat but when it gets really dry here (was 7% two days ago) > they curl so strongly that they will peel right off mounts if spray-on > adhesive is used. Dry mount won't peel off but can actually curl cardboard > mounts. I suppose the application of a humectant such as glycerine might help > but anti print curling solutions are supposed to be a bad idea from the > archival standpoint (can support fungus growth). I suspect steaming the > emulsion side would take the curl out, at least temporarily. > Fiber also curls because the emulsion shrinks faster than the support. > The idea of drying on screens emulsion side down is to keep some moisture in > the emulsion while allowing the support side to dry. I've never found this to > work particularly well. Blotter books have a layer of non-absorbent material > on one side again to prevent the emulsion side from drying out too fast. The > only method I've ever found that gives me reasonably flat fiber prints is to > treat them in a dry mounting press. That works well but should not be > necessary for RC prints. > BTW I also dry RC by hanging it like film. > > -- > Richard Knoppow > Los Angeles, CA, USA > dickburk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > ============================================================================================================= > To unsubscribe from this list, go to www.freelists.org and logon to your > account (the same e-mail address and password you set-up when you > subscribed,) and unsubscribe from there. > ============================================================================================================= To unsubscribe from this list, go to www.freelists.org and logon to your account (the same e-mail address and password you set-up when you subscribed,) and unsubscribe from there.