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From: kanner@tymix.UUCP (Herb Kanner)
Newsgroups: net.rec.photo
Subject: Re: darkroom paper
Message-ID: <417@tymix.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 11-May-85 02:32:45 EDT
Article-I.D.: tymix.417
Posted: Sat May 11 02:32:45 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 5-Jun-85 01:04:06 EDT
References: <2720024@acf4.UUCP> <661@asgb.UUCP> <77@harvard.ARPA> <117@brand.UUCP> <361@rtech.ARPA>
Reply-To: kanner@tymix.UUCP (Herb Kanner)
Organization: Tymnet Inc., Cupertino CA
Lines: 51
Summary: 

>	For me, learning to print a negative is not as much a matter of figuring
>out how long to leave it under the enlarger and in the developer. Instead, 
>learning a negative involves deciding what values are pleasing for that image.
>Although I use fiber paper exclusively because I think it is better for fine
>images (which is not to say that I produce any :-)), I can see the argument 
>for using RC paper in the early stages. On the
>other hand, if, as you say, fiber paper can be had for as little a RC paper,
>then why not use fiber? I don't buy the time to process fiber argument, since
>fiber can be processed in a marginally greater time than RC. (I do an initial
>3 minute fix alone, and a final 3 minute fix with all photos together, as per
>Ansel Adams suggestion).
>
>	Is my stand sufficently confusing?

Forget processing time.  Let's talk about washing time and drying time.  RC
washes in 5 minutes.  After sponging off the free water, I can dry the
print in 30 seconds flat with a $12 hair dryer.  I therefore can keep a
production line going with RC, and only one print at a time is in the
washing tray.  Fiber requires at least a 30 min wash (Ilford claims 5 mins
is sufficient after a one-minute immersion in their hypo-removing agent--I
don't know whether to believe this; are there any experts out there?).

Then we have the delightful problem of how to dry the damn stuff.  Back in
the days before RC, I became a staunch advocate of the Kodak blotter roll,
because it was the only way known to man of drying a fiber print without
any wrinkles around the edges (please dont flame me about ferrotying!).
Nowadays, anything that I print on fiber is going to be mounted on a board,
so perfection is not required.  Well, last week I got up the ambition to
make a couple of 11 x 14s, and before putting them in the blotter roll, ran
my hand over the surface of linen finish paper that the emulsion side was
going to touch just to be sure it was free of foreign material.  Well,
apparently it wasn't, because when the prints came out my first reaction
was "hey, there, I don't remember seeing that many dust spots on them."  On
taking a close look, I saw that those white hickies were not dust spots but
indentations in the emulsion clear through to the underlying fiber, and
therefore impossible to retouch out with dye.  There must have been some
grains of sand in the blotter roll!

I paid about $6 for my first blotter roll, $25 for my second.  When I went
out looking for a new one I found that the price had risen to $33.
Regardless of the utility of the thing, I just plain refuse to pay Kodak
$33 for a goddam piece of cardboard.  So, I'm going to try my luck at air
drying the next batch on a window screen.  I had an aluminum screen of
impressive size (nine 8x10 worth) made up.  If it leaves marks, I'll write
it off and have the same people make me one with a nylon mesh.

I will report my success or lack thereof, and would like to hear from
anyone with experience in air drying fiber paper.
-- 
Herb Kanner
Tymnet, Inc.