DIY print washer

[Woodturner-fran]

I thought I'd share a short video of a diy print washer I made based on the versalab system.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDWN...e_gdata_player


It might be of some use to someone thinking of doing something similar.

Fran

[jb7]

Looks very good Fran, not often you see Woodies mentioned here-

I built one something similar a while ago, but without the hi-tech pluming - so I do have a couple of observations-

I wonder if the outlet pipe inside the tank should be shortened? so that it picks up the water from higher up in the tank? this would ensure that the water inlets from the bottom, and outlets from the top, which is more usual-

How are the dividers working? Do the prints come in contact with them? This would lead to inefficiencies in the washing too. I used vertical rods in mine to separate the prints, which allows a clear flow all round. I also use mine for large sheet film, so I was a bit concerned about this aspect.

If I decide to upgrade my one, I'll definitely be taking your lead on a few details- thanks for posting-

[Woodturner-fran]

Hi JB7,

I left the outlet pipe near the bottom for 2 reasons:

1. Makes it easy to empty the tank through the siphon
2. I had read around stuff about chemicals concentrating at the bottom, which sounding a bit like bunkum to me as once chemicals are in solution, they don't "sink" to the bottom. However, when you look at the commercial offerings, some of them do feed from the bottom.

RE the dividers - open rods might well be better alright! My only test for whether something is washed properly or not is whether any fix-toner staining is evident. I got a couple of instances of this before I started using the washer, but none since I used it. My next test is to put some dye into the washer and see how it clears. In use, there is a decent circular flow around the washer. Versalab have a system where the water is squirted into each slot - thats another option too. The white pipe is all just push fit, so its easy to modify if needs be.

Fran