I've no way to check but I'm sure it's dry down here judging by how fast prints dry and how quickly they get to that bone dry state where it's inadvisable to put them in the press. Drying takes place outside of the darkroom. I never thought I'd be using a humidifier down here and turned it on yesterday. I was mostly surprised that the shrinkage was enough so that it was kind of pointless to try and re-align on the easel and just eyeballed it from what I'd done before. It wasn't critical to match prints size-wise but it was interesting to find out about this in this process. ________________________________ From: Eric Neilsen Photo <ej@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Sun, February 6, 2011 10:17:12 AM Subject: [pure-silver] Re: Print Shrinkage & Paper Quality I'd check the RH of your room again. I doubt you'll see it grow, but have you tried re wetting a print/ Also what wash temp are you using? cold contracts so if your having an issue with shrinkage, consider all the temp and rh the paper is being exposed to along the way. When printing on a 16x20 piece of MG VI paper, I would allow for at least an 1/8" or up to 3/16" long dimension and perhaps 1/32+ on the short. Eric Neilsen Eric Neilsen Photography 4101 Commerce Street, Suite 9 Dallas, TX 75226 www.ericneilsenphotography.com skype me with ejprinter www.ericneilsenphotography.com/forum1 Let's Talk Photography ________________________________ From:pure-silver-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:pure-silver-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Eric Nelson Sent: Saturday, February 05, 2011 3:50 PM To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [pure-silver] Re: Print Shrinkage & Paper Quality Ilford Multi FB 16x20. ________________________________ From:Eric Neilsen Photo < ej@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Sat, February 5, 2011 1:43:53 PM Subject: [pure-silver] Re: Print Shrinkage & Paper Quality What brand is shrinking in both direction? Eric Neilsen Eric Neilsen Photography 4101 Commerce Street, Suite 9 Dallas, TX 75226 www.ericneilsenphotography.com skype me with ejprinter www.ericneilsenphotography.com/forum1 Let's Talk Photography ________________________________ From:pure-silver-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:pure-silver-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Eric Nelson Sent: Saturday, February 05, 2011 11:07 AM To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [pure-silver] Re: Print Shrinkage & Paper Quality I air dry everything but prints do go into a hot press of course to be flattened. It's dang dry in here for being below ground! Eric ________________________________ From:Eric Neilsen Photo < ej@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Fri, February 4, 2011 10:03:24 PM Subject: [pure-silver] Re: Print Shrinkage & Paper Quality I have noticed paper shrinkage mostly, and that means almost all, on the long edge of the paper. If there were shorter dimensions on two sides, I'd suspect TOO high a local drying temp. Air dry only . But with the cold and need for heat the RH may be really low right now? Eric Neilsen Eric Neilsen Photography 4101 Commerce Street, Suite 9 Dallas, TX 75226 www.ericneilsenphotography.com skype me with ejprinter www.ericneilsenphotography.com/forum1 Let's Talk Photography ________________________________ From:pure-silver-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:pure-silver-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Eric Nelson Sent: Friday, February 04, 2011 7:25 PM To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [pure-silver] Re: Print Shrinkage & Paper Quality Thanks Harry. It looked on my easel to be even all the way 'round and I measured the space on each dimension. Also, I trying to match a print of unknown age, (drymounted w/tissue showing) and I didn't see the range in the print I was able to pull from the same neg using a common English made fiber paper. The older print, although nothing spectacular on it's own, seemed to have a greater range of tones... or I just really suck as a printer! One wouldn't have noticed the difference unless side by side but sometimes when printing nowadays it seems like I am working w/paper w/the tonality range of digital. =\ Eric ________________________________ From:harry kalish <hksvk@xxxxxxxxxxx> To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Thu, February 3, 2011 8:50:51 PM Subject: [pure-silver] Re: Print Shrinkage Question and Adhesive Advice Yes, I have tried the same thing, and that much shrinkage sounds about what I have noted. But shrinkage should be more in one dimension than the other because of how the paper fibers are aligned. I would try rubber cement on your ruler. Apply a thin, even coat to both members and wait for it to get tacky before putting the cork to the metal. Clamp, but not tight enough to squeeze all the cement out. Harry On 2/3/11 6:16 PM, "Eric Nelson" <emanmb@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: I am doing a re-print and I want to use the unusable dry fiber print to size up with on the easel so it matches what I made yesterday. It seems that the print shrank 2mm in each direction making precise (architectural image) alignment impossible. Is that normal? I knew there was some shrinkage but never noticed this much. It's a 16x20 print. I have a cork backed ruler and the cork is separating from the ruler. Would contact cement be a good choice to re-adhere the portion coming off? It's a 15" ruler so it's has some flex to it. Thanks Eric