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Thread: Large print dryer???

  1. #1

    Large print dryer???

    I'm always trying to fine one of those big print dryers like they had at my school....the ones you put prints in on canvas and it rolls in & spits it out flat & dry.

    I've found a few for sale in america ...unfortunately I'm in australia.

    I don't know why but I feel like I need to be able to make my production processes easier and faster.

    Thanks Davis
    http://www.davispowell.com

  2. #2

    Join Date
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    Re: Large print dryer???

    The major brand name for these large rotary drum dryers was Pako. They came in both gas and electric heated models.

  3. #3

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    Re: Large print dryer???

    Last time I saw one on ebay, it was "buy-it-now" for very cheap because they are so huge and easier to almost give away. I emailed them and it turned out, it was my old lab's dryer that I actually used to use! A co-worker there had opened up his own B&W lab.
    Can you find a 16x20 type dryer? Like the Premier brand?

  4. #4

    Re: Large print dryer???

    Anyone know anything about the DURST RCD 4500 print dryer? I suspect that it is an rc paper dryer....because it has rc in it's name. cant find any other info on the internet. I do fiber based prints....

  5. #5
    Robert A. Zeichner's Avatar
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    Re: Large print dryer???

    With all due respect, I would't recommend the use of these for a couple of reasons.
    1. The canvas web is a sponge for small amounts of chemistry not thoroughly washed out of the prints. Even if you wash yours thouroughly, the chances are very good that a used dryer's web would be full of stuff you don't want on your prints.

    2. I've seen examples of prints that were literally cooked in these dryers causing slight discolorisation.

    With fiber glass screen material so cheap and available, I would just get some artist's canvas stretcher frames and staple up some drying frames. I cut a couple of strips of wood that I notched out with slots and that I screwed to my wall. the frames just hang in there a few inches apart. In an area much smaller than the footprint of one of those gargantuan dryers, I can put up 50 or more prints 11 x 14 up to dry. Just squeegee the prints off on a perspex sheet with an Etore squeegee and lay them on the fiber glass screens face down. Depending on relative humidity, your prints will be dry in a couple of hours and flat enough so that minimal pressing will be necessary before mounting.

  6. #6

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    Re: Large print dryer???

    I agree with Robert. I used big Pako drum dryers all through the 70s and half the 80s. They were cranky and power-voracious. They took a long time to get to proper temperature. For constant production work, it was worth the trouble, but for just a few prints, not so.

  7. #7
    Vanannan
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    Re: Large print dryer???

    Hi
    I have had a Kodak glazing machine sitting under my darkroom bench for over 20 years I guess I don't throw it out for reasons of nostalgia (stupid I know) I wouldn't dream of using it to dry fibre based papers due to the risk of chemical contamination, they were designed for use in photofinishing establishments and newspaper darkrooms to quickly dry and glaze fibre based papers in the days prior to resin coated papers, I line dry all my prints as I find this the cheapest easiest most compact solution with absolutely no danger of residual chemical contamination

    Good luck

  8. #8
    Robert A. Zeichner's Avatar
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    Re: Large print dryer???

    One of you PM'd me for some photos of my drying set up, so I thought I would share with anyone interested. You'll notice that I also use those plastic eggcrate sheets for drying RC prints face up. The fiberglass screens are available from Calumet, but you could as easily make some with artist's canvas stretchers.

    Now the secret is out that I still have a rotary phone in my wet darkroom. Seems fitting though.
    Last edited by Kirk Gittings; 8-Sep-2011 at 12:47.

  9. #9

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    Re: Large print dryer???

    Nice frame Robert. Another variation of accomplishing the drying process. I started using the Calumet screens. When I wanted to add capacity I bought large metal frame-plastic window screens from Home Depot. If this company is not in Australia, any large volume chain discount hardware store. I prefer a screen above and below the print to help keep the prints flat as they dry. Perhaps four times a year I take all the screens to the coin operated car wash and spray off any chemicals or dust that may have accumulated. These screens are a one time purchase that is more expensive than wood frame, but if you spray them off, the metal or hard plastic frames will not warp as they dry.

    John Powers

  10. #10

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    Re: Large print dryer???

    Quote Originally Posted by davispowell View Post
    Anyone know anything about the DURST RCD 4500 print dryer? I suspect that it is an rc paper dryer....because it has rc in it's name. cant find any other info on the internet. I do fiber based prints....

    The Durst RCD 4500 is a simple roller dryer using an electric motor to drive two surfaces to squeeze the water from your wet prints, akin to a giant set of compression tongs. The surfaces are not water permeable and therefore there is a low possibiity of chemical retention.

    It's primary purpose is for the first drying stage of any wet print (not specifically fibre based paper). I presume the 4500 designation refers to the model of the print; since I use a Durst RC5600 dryer for the first stage of print drying for 20x20" prints and a Devere dryer/glazer for mostly glazing. The 4500 may relate to a smaller margin of acceptable print size. One of its great advantages relates to its roller design: it takes up a fraction of space and for processing high volume work and produces a flat print. If your photographic turnover is on a small scale, it may be hard to recommend that you pursue this kind of dryer over a home made or acquired air-dryer system.

    As far as I recall the English transliteration of the German Durst Photochemika AG does not refer to 'resin coated' paper.

    With respect to Robert's comments, in my experience, an archivally washed print is an archivally washed print. Whereas Robert's point about the transfer of minute quantities of fixer is theoretically correct I have not observed this phenomenon of fixer crossover. In any case, separation of the (wet print) drying and glazing stages of print making reduces the potential of this crossover.

    Referring to Davis' original post, the advantage of any compression-dryer is the outcome of a flat fibre-based print. I have never found air-drying satisfactory for drying fibre based papers of 20 inch size. This is one merit of a print glazer, which also offers choices in print gloss appearance in a flat fibre based print.

    I hope this helps your decision.

    Kind regards,

    RJ

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