Metal screening will rust quickly once a wet print it placed on it! That leaves nasty marks on your prints. Unless you have stainless steel, stay away from putting wet prints on metal mesh, screening, etc.
Best,
Doremus
Metal screening will rust quickly once a wet print it placed on it! That leaves nasty marks on your prints. Unless you have stainless steel, stay away from putting wet prints on metal mesh, screening, etc.
Best,
Doremus
Our mesh is some kind of black nylon, few thousand Plus prints face down with no issues.... but it is interesting about how you found issues of screen marks face down only with toned prints.
I am watching for this as there are some times we do have to rewash out screen marks (yes the do go out) and I do tone most of my prints .
When we are doing lambda fibres we usually print one day and tone later and we have never had any issues on the untoned prints.
Mine is also a black nylon, actually an ultralight bug-netting. One step I always skip (I don't have an appropriate flat clean surface) is squeegeeing. So the sopping wet prints went face-down. This could have contributed to the problem I had, and could explain why you'll never have the problem.
Bob,
I'm sure you've dried a whole lot more prints than I have . However, in my experience with drying selenium-toned prints face-down on nylon screens, there has often been a screen-pattern remnant of reduced density. This has not washed out. Not only was the density reduced, but there was a reddish color at the interface of the areas of reduced density and the "normal" areas that is characteristic of selenium toning. I have had this happen with prints that have been tested for both residual silver and hypo and on screens that were freshly washed and rinsed, so I have ruled out contamination/inadequate processing. Still, I have no idea what causes this. Now I just dry face-up and don't worry about it. I'd be curious to know what the cause was, however.
Best,
Doremus
P.S: Sorry for the hijack
I dry prints face up because of this same problem. I usually print one day, or several different days if my time is limited, and tone only on a different day. I can not see the screen pattern in the dry untoned print, but once in the toner it reveals itself. My darkroom is in the basement so its more humid than many. Also for most of the year the incoming water temps is 75-80F so all of this might contribute to my problem.
Ron McElroy
Memphis
For my 4x5 ft prints I have been drying as Clyde Butcher seems to do by hanging them on moveable clips. However, I noticed the paper definitely gets stressed, and has unusual waves and bends (because I don't press or drymount). Next run I'm going to try and dry on a screen.
Guess I'm lucky because the company where I work has a major door division. So I can pick
up free nylon slider panels made for big patio doors when some warranty issue has caused
replacement of a big door like that. But it would be easy enough to just order one, or to
make your own buying a roll of nylon mesh and stapling it to a wood frame. I squeegee the
prints on a large melamine-coated MDF panel with the edges sealed. Handling is done by
a tool balancer at appropriate tension, hanging a long aluminum bar with a row of padded
plastic "chip clips" attached to it - yeah, those goofy potatoe ship bag things - they work
great for suspending the print!
It happens to me (30x40) occasionally, and unpredictably with various roll papers, squeegee-ed or not. Better to lay, and laying is always the challenge (sorry if anyone find this "rude"), large prints face up on large nylon screens and sponge excess water off carefully.
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