flattening fiber prints

I have read many posts on photo.net regarding the non-archival nature

of dry mounting prints. I am starting to do more fiber based printing

and larger prints. How do you flatten a fiber based print without dry

mounting it. Do you still use a press? If so what is the process?

If you use other processes, can you describe them? Do they tend to

stay flat indefinitely without dry-mounting? Any information you can

give me would be helpful? I am thinking about getting a seal press on

ebay, but am thinking twice now that I am not sure I will dry mount

prints.

 

Thanks,

 

Katherine

I flatten my FB prints by placing them one at a time between clean mount boards and

putting the assembly in a drymount press for a minute at 225 degrees F. The prints still

have a slight curl toward the emulsion, but are flat enough to work with. If you need them

really flat, let them cool with some heavy books stacked on top.

 

I've tried flattening FB prints without the heated press, but nothing works as well or as

fast.

A dry mount press would still be very useful to you even if you do not dry mount your photography to mat board. It is useful for flatting prints out, and then you can corner mount your photography in the matts with the clear corner mounts. Your photos will stay very flat under the matt when corner mounted.

 

www.RyanMcIntosh.net

i always air dry my FB prints emulsion side down on big screens. i never worry about them having a bit of curl to them. i mount them using linen tape and let the matting and framing do the final bit of flattening. never quite entirely flat, but it doesnt bother me. the guy i learned B/W from back in the 70s used a dry mount press with the print between matte boards, as mentioned above.

Katherine, sometimes I drymount a "good" print to the back of a "reject" print from that day's fiber printing. Prints remain flat and flexible for inserting in corners on backing board. I also like the "secret" of another print included in the package. Mary

If you're not going to dry mount the print the only way I know of to eliminate the wavy edges is to use a dry mount press. I put the print face down on a sheet of clean mat board. I set the temperaure for about 200 degrees and leave the paper in for about 30 seconds. Time and temperature aren't critical just so you don't burn the print but I try to keep the time just long enough to eliminate the wavy edges and no longer. I don't think it's good to get the print overly hot. The print will curl when you take it out of the press but the wavy edges will be gone and the curl can be eliminated by putting the print under something heavy and leaving it for a day or two.

The method that I was taught for fine art prints is to dry the paper in blotters (100 % rag or acid free) pressed between two sheets of glass and the encyclopedia brittanica. This is a bit slow and requires that you change the blotters often.

 

I am wondering what a corner mount is? Most fine art in today is (or should be) presented in archival materials because they are so easily available. Mats and backing boards should be 100% Acid free, or cotton rag. Your print doesn't actually need to get completely flat, because most likely it will go in a frame with glass, or a storage box. Once in a frame with glass, prints will tend to flatten, rather than curl. The culprit to destroying or discoloring your prints over time are acid, daylight, and air. And any foriegn material may (will) introduce acid. This implies no tape, glue, sticky little craps of paper, post it notes, or god forbid -- cardboard, newspaper,or masking tape.

 

Rice glue and rice paper hinges (I think you can buy these in Art stores these days) to hold the print to the backing board, at the top only, is the method I would chose. You will want your print to hang in the frame so it can expand and contract inside the frame -- and flatten further over time. So don't tack all four corners down with any gluey cruds of paper.

Katherine -- You've gotten good advice above. One thing to keep in mind is

that although fiber base prints will always have some small amount of curl no

matter how you dry them, the rate at which they dry has a big effect on the

amount of curl you have to deal with. I have a simple home made drying box/

cabinet with a door on it that I can close or keep cracked a bit depending

upon the time of year and the amount of humidity in the air. It will hold about

20 11x14's and I generally allow the prints to dry over a minimum 8 hour time

frame, with 12 -24 the ideal. The prints lie on screen shelves in the box and

by slowing down the drying time the amount of curl is reduced dramatically, to

the point where little drymount heat /pressure is required to make them very

flat. In my experience I've found that once a print dries with a lot of curl a

drymount treatment will never get the print as flat as when the print dries

slowly. May you have good results!

Print screens, or even better, a blotter book.

 

b.

Personally, I dry mount. Many of the worlds greatest photographers of times past did it, and their prints continue to sell quite well. <p>My understanding is that much of the don't-dry-mount theory (while true) comes from museums and their curators. And while I think my own work is good, I dont have any misleadings about museums curators being all bent out of shape about <b>my</b> work. They dont know I exist, and I doubt they ever will. They will probably never have to concern themselves with my photography. <p>All that being said, dry mounted photos look better. All the FB prints that I have seen that are not dry mounted look wavy, even with an over mat (and this gets worse as the print size increases). This always looks sloppy to me. Also, I personally prefer window mats that are slightly oversized, which cannot be done with hinged or cornered prints. This allows the signature to be placed on the mat, rather than on the print or the window.<p>If you still dont want to dry-mount, one thing that can help get <i>flatter </i>prints is to print on paper significantly larger than the print size (i.e. print 8x10s on 11x14 paper). Most of the curl tends to reside in the edges of the paper which can then be cut off. In combination with the techniques mentioned by others, you may be able to achieve relatively flat prints. <p>Todd Schoenbaum<br><a href="http://www.celluloidandsilver.com">Celluloid and Silver</a>

A take off of a print drying machine that works is to make a stack of corrigated board, two blotters, corrigated board, two blotters, etc.

 

Dry the emulsion a LITTLE bit with a hair dryer before inserting between the PHOTO blotters. Wait 24 hrs. There is no way to eliminate a slight curl, but there will be no wavy edges.

 

Salthill and Burke& James both made machines with powered fans on this principle, but they are no longer available. If you see one, buy it. Nothing better.

 

Blotters availble from Light Impressions.

Thank you all for your responses. I have learned alot!

 

Katherine

Katherine, I print full-frame leaving a wide border around the edges. After a final rinse in Ilfotol (more dilute than recommended), I lay the print on a 1/4 inch thick piece of glass, and attach it to the glass using wide gummed tape all round the edges. 24 hours later the print can be lifted and the tape cut off, leaving a perfectly flat print. Watercolour artists use this technique to stretch and flatten their paper.