Gast
Hello,
Could you please briefly share your experiences with baryta paper and dry pressing?
So far, I’ve been mounting baryta paper onto wooden boards. Admittedly, it’s a bit more labour-intensive, but the result is quite pleasing; I really like the sheen of the paper’s surface when it’s air-dried.
With a dry press, I imagine I would use baryta paper more often, provided the process is quick and straightforward and the machine is reasonably affordable.
Best regards,
Holger
Gast
... the equipment is available second-hand at a reasonable price.
But ‘quick’ and ‘straightforward’ are requirements that are completely at odds with high-gloss baryta paper.
Best regards,
Ronald
Wolfgg
Off the top of my head, the only thing that comes to mind is that the drying rack needs to have a proper tensioning mechanism, ideally with coil springs, and the heater should ideally be fitted with an adjustable thermostat. Unregulated heaters usually heat up to 80°C, but some types of paper require drying at 50°C, for example, to ensure they lie flat.
Regards, Wolfgang
Gast
Hello,
I’m not quite sure what’s going on. I’ve got a Bächer dry press with all the bells and whistles (sheet tension, thermostat), but it’s not working properly. The sheet isn’t as taut as it should be and I keep getting all sorts of errors.
A colleague brought me a French dry press (I live on the border with Lorraine) from 1925, a Sprint Paris (I hope no electrician is reading this – the thing is a bit of a mess), nothing’s automatic, it gets up to nearly 120°C, but somehow it works.
No shell breakage, hardly any flaws in the high-gloss finish; I suspect it’s because the frame can be tensioned very tightly and the pressure is greater, plus the heating power is so high that everything heats up more evenly.
Michael
MirkoBoeddecker
And, unfortunately, it’s also quite important just how well the previous owner looked after the machine in terms of cleanliness and water maintenance.
Otherwise, all that dirt will end up on your prints via the blanket.
Ideally, therefore, you should look for a press from a manufacturer that is still in business and from whom you can order a replacement cloth.
This includes, for example, Büscher. Maco also still has a few cloths for the Ecomat. At least they still had some last time I checked.
Best regards,
Mirko
Wolfgg
And if the manufacturer no longer exists, you should know someone who knows how to use a sewing machine.
Michael: if you’re not familiar with things like VDE 0100, you should at least show the old dry press to a qualified electrician. Bear in mind: you’re usually working on it with wet hands, so you’re a good conductor of electricity and therefore an excellent candidate for a quick death by electrocution. And, as we know, safety regulations are the result of over 100 years of electrical accidents.
I have no doubt that the old press delivers good results. The greater the curvature of the press, the higher the contact pressure of the cloth at the same cloth tension. The image must be pressed so firmly against the high-gloss film that the curling forces in the drying paper are always less than the pressure exerted by the blanket, because otherwise the curling forces could tear the paper away from the high-gloss film prematurely (cupping).
I’ve also often had to read the following nonsense: “When it crackles, the image is ready and the press can be opened.” Wrong. That’s when it starts to peel away from the film. Only when the crackling stops is it ready and can be removed.
Regards, Wolfgang
Wolf_XL
...I also had problems with my old press without a thermostat – but since I’ve had a Bäcker with a thermostat, getting Baryt paper to lie flat is (almost) no longer an issue. Before the prints go into the press, I run them through my Kindermann continuous dryer – then straight into the press. But no higher than 50°C – otherwise the paper still curls. The best results come when I switch off the press after drying and leave the photo in the press until the next day. After that, even the paper from the roll action lies flat...
Wolfgg
I’ve just come across an Agfa notice from January 1971 on the subject of ‘Cleaning Drying Cloths’. It states the following regarding the removal of gelatine residues:
‘The drying cloth is soaked in Agfa Biolase for approximately 4–5 hours at 50°C or 16–24 hours at 20°C. The soaked sheet is then wrung out thoroughly, rinsed repeatedly with water and subsequently washed with a mild detergent. We would like to point out that the complete removal of gelatin—which is often heavily keratinised due to the effect of heat—is only possible with Biolase or with the modern soaking agent ‘Bioluzil’ from Sunlicht AG. No other ‘soaking agents’ are capable of this.”
The forum’s chief chemist, Franz, should check what the current “soaking agents” are called that can tackle hardened gelatin.
cfb_de
An incomplete list: Persil, Ariel, Spee, Weißer Riese, Tandil, Tip...
Nowadays, starch- and protein-digesting enzymes (amylases, proteases) are found in every powder or tablet-form washing powder. That wasn’t the case in the 1970s; back then, these enzymes were still too expensive because they couldn’t yet be produced biochemically.
As far as I know, the addition of enzymes must be declared, so it’s listed on the box. "Sensitive" detergents (for all those customers who insist everything must be "gentle", "sensitive" or "hypoallergenic") contain no proteases; if they come into contact with them, the gentle elf needn’t wash her fins before downing her genetically engineered yoghurt product and "gently" adjusting her gut flora for greater well-being.
The drying sheets from my press go into a normal heavy-duty wash cycle every few months. So far, no problems.
But be careful: homemade ones tend to shrink quite a bit if you use new fabric. So buy the fabric first, run it through a boil wash, and then sew.
Here’s some further reading:
an introductory text on gelatin.
Which enzymes would you recommend?
Best regards,
Franz
Wolfgg
Hi Franz,
Thanks so much for your reply – as always, thoroughly detailed and with a healthy dose of humour.
It’s slowly starting to dawn on me. A few years ago, I wanted to get rid of that laundry detergent smell in the flat, so I switched to a detergent with as little perfume as possible, namely Persil Sensitive (no advertising intended – I’m sure there are others). But I soon got the impression that its stain-removing properties were worse than those of non-sensitive detergents. Looking at the packet now, it says: ‘Ingredients: ... – Persil Sensitive contains enzymes (glycosidases, protease)’. That probably means that the detergents marketed as “Sensitive” are subject to underexposure to enzymes, i.e. are incomplete, hence the mediocre cleaning power, and may not even stand a chance against hardened gelatin (I’d need to study your links first).
Regards, Wolfgang
cfb_de
Hi Wolfgang,
That’s right! And according to Henkel’s all-knowing website, Persil Sensitive doesn’t contain any proteases at all, just amylases. So that means the gelatin stays safely tucked away in the cloth.
Best regards,
Franz
Gast
Hello,
Could you please briefly share your experiences with baryta paper and dry pressing?
So far, I’ve been mounting baryta paper onto wooden boards. Admittedly, it’s a bit more labour-intensive, but the result is quite pleasing; I really like the sheen of the paper’s surface when it’s air-dried.
With a dry press, I imagine I would use baryta paper more often, provided the process is quick and straightforward and the machine is reasonably affordable.
Best regards,
Holger
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Gast
Hello,
Could you please briefly share your experiences with baryta paper and dry pressing?
So far, I’ve been mounting baryta paper onto wooden boards. Admittedly, it’s a bit more labour-intensive, but the result is quite pleasing; I really like the sheen of the paper’s surface when it’s air-dried.
With a dry press, I imagine I would use baryta paper more often, provided the process is quick and straightforward and the machine is reasonably affordable.
Best regards,
Holger
[right][post="6558"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right]
Gast
Hello,
I have a Seal mounting press, which I’ve used for years to first ‘iron’ my baryta prints and then mount them onto matboard using heat-activated adhesive film. All exactly as Ansel Adams described. The look of an air-dried baryta print is simply superb!
Now I’m selling this fine (heavy) piece of kit.
If you’re interested, I can send photos and further details by email from mkailingen@gmx.net
Best regards from Lake Constance
Manfred
