Dear Heloise: Quick Drying Prints

[neil poulsen]

It's crazy, but I'm going to give this a serious try . . .

We're all aware of dry down in B&W printing and it's complications. When getting near the desired result in B&W printing, it's nice to be able to dry the print to determine the effect of dry down.

In a video, I saw Ansel Adams slide a portion of a print into his kitchen microwave. I tried this, but found that, at least with my paper, print color changed. (No thanks.)

Another method I've used is to insert the print into one a Prinz print dryer, where a canvas fits tightly over the print. But the weakness of this approach is that it takes a while, and unintentionally, fixer can build up in the canvas. So, good by archival printing.

A third method occurred to me today as I passed through our utility room. You got it -- the clothes dryer. :) Except that our dryer includes an attachment ostensibly for shoes. Having rarely used ours for for that purpose, it's pretty clean. it's a platform that suspends the contents (two 8x10 prints) horizontally in the center of the drum. It connects to the air supply, so the warm, filtered air funnels through the attachment and up under the print at quite a rapid rate.

This worked really well -- the print dried in no time. I set the heat to medium in my little experiment. But, I don't see why I couldn't use the permanent press setting. Of course, I'm going to give this a try as well. (Though, I doubt that prints will come out flat.) Who knows, our attachment being clean, this approach might even be archival.

I couldn't help but pass this idea along. I'll let you know what I find, after giving it a try for a couple of months.

[John Olsen]

It's crazy, but I'm going to give this a serious try . . .

We're all aware of dry down in B&W printing and it's complications. When getting near the desired result in B&W printing, it's nice to be able to dry the print to determine the effect of dry down.

In a video, I saw Ansel Adams slide a portion of a print into his kitchen microwave. I tried this, but found that, at least with my paper, print color changed. (No thanks.)

Another method I've used is to insert the print into one a Prinz print dryer, where a canvas fits tightly over the print. But the weakness of this approach is that it takes a while, and unintentionally, fixer can build up in the canvas. So, good by archival printing.

A third method occurred to me today as I passed through our utility room. You got it -- the clothes dryer. :) Except that our dryer includes an attachment ostensibly for shoes. Having rarely used ours for for that purpose, it's pretty clean. it's a platform that suspends the contents (two 8x10 prints) horizontally in the center of the drum. It connects to the air supply, so the warm, filtered air funnels through the attachment and up under the print at quite a rapid rate.

This worked really well -- the print dried in no time. I set the heat to medium in my little experiment. But, I don't see why I couldn't use the permanent press setting. Of course, I'm going to give this a try as well. (Though, I doubt that prints will come out flat.) Who knows, our attachment being clean, this approach might even be archival.

I couldn't help but pass this idea along. I'll let you know what I find, after giving it a try for a couple of months.

If it works for you, great. But it sounds a little laborious and at the mercy of the lint-gods. I just step out of the darkroom and use a hair drier for about 30 s. That's enough to get all the dry-down effect, allowing me to go to the next try quickly. (After this initial drying I leave the print in the usual blotter book in a warm room.)

[Oren Grad]

I just use a hair dryer on my exposure tests.

[koraks]

I just use a hair dryer on my exposure tests.

Same here. Works like a charm. Also for alt process prints on 'real' paper.

[Jerry Bodine]

Way Beyond Monochrome 2nd Ed contains a practical test to quantify the dry-down effects for various papers, both resin-coated (which I don't use) and fiber. The tests are done only once, prior to a printing session, then notes are kept on each paper (results can vary significantly from paper to paper). Then the reduced print exposure (percent) is known for each paper and can be applied to the chosen wet work print exposure to achieve the desired final print. It's important to establish a fixed setup for viewing the wet print, which is also described in the book. I've done some of the testing on my chosen papers and am amazed at the findings.

I reserve the hair dryer for quick-drying negatives for film speed/development, so I can make densitometer readings soon after.