[pure-silver] Re: flattening prints with no dry-mount press

At 06:03 PM 12/10/2005 , >--shannon wrote:

>Hi,  I have to flatten some prints this week, and the university 
>where I usually do this will be closed.  I use Agfa MC FB paper, and 
>it gets curly on the edges for some reason when you flatten with 
>books.  I am wondering what some alternative ways to flatten them 
>might be.  Should I warm them in the oven and then flatten them 
>between pieces of glass or something?  What would be the right 
>temperature to warm them to?  Is it bad to do this in the oven?
>
>--shannon
>========


December 12, 2005, from Lloyd Erlick,

I flatten my prints between large sheets of melamine plastic covered
particle board. This is a cheap alternative to sheets of thick glass, which
I still plan to acquire but am waiting for the dumpster fairy's assistance.
I bought the melamine new, so no one else has had a chance to put anything
weird on or in it. I cleaned each surface meticulously before I used it,
and keep them clean. So I'm not too worried about chemical contamination;
particle board is not at all good for photo materials but it never directly
touches the print. In any case, the prints are dry before they go between
the boards, and they are not there long-term. 

I've found the crucial detail is to avoid stacking the prints on each other
while they are flattening. In other words, I make a series of 'sandwiches'
-- plastic board, one print, another board, another single print, etc. This
tends to flatten those scalloped edges, although occasionally I still get
this effect. It's paper, after all. I never had good success if I stacked
the prints between weighted boards.


I have enough to contain a few more prints than I am usually capable of
making in a single darkroom session (twelve or so).

The stack of boards is very heavy by itself. The prints near the bottom of
the stack have plenty of weight, and to ensure plenty on the top prints, I
weight the stack. I have a pair of flat granite slabs (thanks to the
dumpster fairy, who probably deserves to be capitalized) that are
surprisingly heavy. On top of the granite I place an old bookbinder's press
that previously had had only decorative use (in my lifetime, anyway). This
one is a real exercise for the old spinal column.

Usually I leave prints this way for at least twenty-four hours, but I've
found twelve hours is more or less OK. Two weeks under weights seems to be
no improvement.

My prints are always fully dry before flattening. I usually use Ilford
Warmtone FB material (designated MGW), but I've found other papers flatten
well this way too (such as Agfa Portriga, Ilford FB, some Bergger, Kodak
Ektalure).

Personally, I don't care for prints that are absolutely laser flat (I got
that expression from a camera shop sales person). I'm not fond of the look
of a flat dry mounted presentation. I like my prints held to the back board
of a mount by photo corners and window mount. I like paper, and I expect it
to be not-flat. In fact, I like the three dimensional quality of a sheet of
paper that has art on it. Water color art has this quality very clearly.
Maybe it comes from my conviction that I would never have taken up the
camera if I could only draw. Lots of money saved, and no concern that some
capitalist will cut off my supply just because other people stop buying his
product.

Slightly related: years ago I saw a show of work by a water colorist who
had omitted the water colors. He used plain water on his brush, and
displayed the dried sheets. The 'image' consisted of the resulting changes
in the shape of the sheet's surface, and in the texture where it had been
wet. I know my description fails to get across the way it looked, but it
was not hokey or contrived or 'conceptual-art-ish'. The artist managed to
produce subtle and affecting work. I'm sure the choice of paper was
crucial. Probably the water, too, and the brush! It was work that came from
extensive experience with the media. (In contrast, the local taxpayer
supported art museum has a series of five square canvases painted plain,
featureless white by the artist. I grind my teeth every time I visit. Once,
in my younger, impetuous days, I actually lectured the poor security guard
on using up precious wall space with such precious work!)

regards,
--le
________________________________
Lloyd Erlick Portraits, Toronto.
voice: 416-686-0326
email: portrait@xxxxxxxxxxxx
net: www.heylloyd.com
________________________________
-- 

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