canon 9500 drying time?

[mvw photo]

<p>Hi all,OK so I;ve googled till the cows come home.</p>

<p>What is the recommended / minimum / safe/ best / etc drying time for prints made with the pigment-based Canon 9500 Pro?</p>

<p>I make prints on Canon art papers as well as on Inkpress Pro Silky (which is always curved 3henI get it - pain!). Then I either:</p>

 

<ul>

<li>put them in plastic, in a bag for a client or into a folio book</li>

<li>have them framed</li>

<li>have them laminated</li>

</ul>

<p>What I have never really ascertained is the times above. Is it really 24 hours (I;ve read that). Or two weeks (I;ve read that too)? Or six months (I've read that also)? Do I need to use hairdryers (and if so for how long)? Etc etc/</p>

<p>Life's short, so of course I hope I can find a way to keep the times short...</p>

<p>Thanks for any input!</p>

<p>MW</p>

<p> </p>

[colin_mattson1]

<p>There are many answers because there is no one answer. :)</p>

<p>How long it'll take to dry depends upon the media you're printing on and your local environment. The best thing you can do is really to test your combination of circumstances and determine how long your prints need to outgas. As a general rule of thumb, though, I'd say <em>most</em> prints should be ready for framing under <em>most</em> conditions within 7-10 days.</p>

<p>A hair dryer can certainly speed things up if you're in a time crunch, but you do want to test it on some unimportant prints before employing that method. Unlike darkroom papers, inkjet papers aren't intended to be heat-dried, and too much heat can cause problems.</p>

[mvw photo]

<p>Colin,</p>

<p>OK,let's take the folio I am putting together now. Printed all day. What is an extended time? 24 hours? 48? 1000? I honestly have no idea...</p>

<p>(Oh and I am printing on variosu papers, but mainly the semigloss above, and I am drying them in a basement that is normail humidity and room temperature.)</p>

<p> </p>

[mvw photo]

<p>Oh and.. 7-10 days: there's no way to speed that up? That seems a very very long time... my business normally doesn't really have that much time... you know how it is: a "now" economy.</p>

<p>Are there ways around this (or even other printers or paper types that do not need a week's drying before framing behind glass)?</p>

<p>Any ideas welcome!</p>

<p> </p>

[colin_mattson1]

<p>If a print is less than 24 hours old, I wouldn't even consider packaging it in any way. Not nearly enough glycol will have flashed off, and those prints would still be "wet."</p>

<p>Now, if you wanted to bag and sell them tomorrow, could you? If you have some idea the buyer is going to take them out of the bag and let them continue to dry, probably. If the buyer's going to walk directly from your studio into the frame shop, probably not. Without printing on your paper and living in your studio, though, it's hard to say—they could even be perfectly dry and ready for framing after 24 hours.</p>

[colin_mattson1]

<p>As you suggested and I mentioned above, a hair dryer can work. You just want to be careful with it and develop your technique on unimportant prints. The warm (not hot) setting and a reasonable distance go a long way to preventing damage for most papers.</p>

<p>If you have a spare frame and mat handy, the easiest way to figure out how much drying time you need in your environment is to try it. Make a print, let it dry for 24 hours or so, and frame it. If it's going to be an issue, you should be able to note buildup on the glazing within a week or less.</p>

<p>As has been the case for years, food service and industrial warming cabinets can be repurposed for drying prints if the thermostat can be set low enough. They can often be found affordably at surplus sales. I know at least one person who uses his oven on a very low temperature, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend contaminating your kitchen with inkjet byproducts.</p>

[mvw photo]

<p>...or putting my prints in the oven, presumably!</p>

<p>That's very good advice. Thanks. Will do, and will try and will the clock to move more quickly sop I can get on with these orders and with the folio, too. You know what they say about watching the paint dry...</p>

<p> </p>