Where to find blotters for print drying?

Michael Chambers

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Dec 30, 2002, 10:34:10 PM12/30/02

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Can anyone recommend a source for photo drying blotters for drying
fibre-based b/w prints. I used to buy these from Light Impressions in
19X24" size, and am having difficulty locating a source for them. Or is
there an appropriate material I could buy in large sheets from an art
supply store? I'ld be grateful for any information.

--
Mike Chambers
Portland, OR

R.W. Behan

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Dec 31, 2002, 1:31:23 AM12/31/02

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Hey, Mike--

I wondered about this a couple of years ago, too. Freestyle in L.A. has
those big puppies you're looking for, but they appear neither on line nor in
their catalog. Give 'em a phone call, and order them that way. If you
can't find their phone number, email me: it's around here somewhere.
Somewhere.

Cheers,

--
R.W. Behan
Lopez Island, Washington

~~~~~_/) ~~~~~~

;-) PLUNDERED PROMISE website:
http://www.rockisland.com/~rwbehan/

"Michael Chambers" <mike...@teleport.com> wrote in message
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Pete Schermerhorn

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Dec 31, 2002, 6:37:04 AM12/31/02

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>Can anyone recommend a source for photo drying blotters for drying
>fibre-based b/w prints.

I regularly purchase large blotting paper sheets at my local art supply store.
They are 24 x 38" size. I cut them to make 24 x 28" size for drying 20 x 24's,
and cut the remaining 10 x 24 pieces in half for two 10 x 12's which are
perfect for drying 8 x 10's.
Pete Schermerhorn, in the glorious Berkshire hills of western Massachusetts
Remove nojunk.

Lloyd Erlick

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Dec 31, 2002, 7:04:55 AM12/31/02

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petes...@aol.comnojunk (Pete Schermerhorn) wrote:

dec3102 from Lloyd Erlick,

What about the lint?? Don't you find tiny flecks of lint embedded in the faces
of prints now and then? I tried and couldn't use blotters. (It's interesting
that the Delta 1 brand of blotter book uses the expression "low lint" on the
list of specifications on the cover.)

regards,
--le
-------------------------------------
Lloyd Erlick,
357 Richmond Street West,
Toronto M5V 1X3 Canada.
---
voice 416-596-8751
ll...@the-wire.com
http://www.heylloyd.com
-------------------------------------

matt

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Dec 31, 2002, 8:28:49 AM12/31/02

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http://www.freestylephoto.biz/sc_prod.php?cat_id=&pid=1527

mike...@teleport.com (Michael Chambers) wrote in message news:<mikecham-ya023680...@news.earthlink.net>...

Jean-David Beyer

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Dec 31, 2002, 8:38:40 AM12/31/02

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Are the blotters in art supply stores archival quality? It would be a
pity to contaminate archivally processed prints with the contaminants in
run of the mill blotting paper.

I know you can get mostly non-archival mat boards from the art supply
stores around here. There was one where you could get archival quality
board, but it went out of business a few years ago. So I order mine from
Light Impressions.

--
.~. Jean-David Beyer Registered Linux User 85642.
/V\ Registered Machine 73926.
/( )\ Shrewsbury, New Jersey http://counter.li.org
^^-^^ 8:35am up 6 days, 18:42, 2 users, load average: 2.10, 2.20, 2.17

Dick

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Dec 31, 2002, 9:11:14 AM12/31/02

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Interleave release paper on the image side of the print, the blotter should
only touch the reverse side. Do not use waxed paper, as found in many
blotter books, you could end up with wax on your print.

Dick
"Lloyd Erlick" <ll...@the-wire.com> wrote in message
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Mike King

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Dec 31, 2002, 4:29:21 PM12/31/02

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I used to buy Premier blotter books and take them apart for my blotter
dryer. The trick is to actually BLOT the prints off on one set of sheets
and then dry them in another set.

--
darkroommike

----------
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Pete Schermerhorn

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Dec 31, 2002, 6:31:40 PM12/31/02

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>What about the lint?? Don't you find tiny flecks of lint embedded in the
>faces
>of prints now and then?

Sometimes. But all of my prints are matte or semi-matte, and I'm able to
rub-off any bits of lint. I don't worry about the release paper stuff. Also,
I remove the blotting paper just before total dryness, and I don't do a lot of
heavy weighting/clamping. That can really cause lint to get embedded in the
emulsion.

As far as all of this archival stuff - I don't pay any attention to any of it.
My negatives and prints have been stored about as non-archivally as could be
imagined - many for 50 years. And I have no problems with fading,
discoloration or any of the problems other people seem to have. HOWEVER, I
don't have any of them hanging in the sun, or in urban air-pollution
conditions. That might make a difference.

geo

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Jan 2, 2003, 12:55:55 AM1/2/03

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Good question. I preferred blotter rolls which don't seem to be available
anymore. The corrugated cardboard in between sped up drying and you didn't
need to use a weight to keep prints straight. Just roll it up emulsion side
out and put a rubber band on it. The curl counters the natural tendency of
the emulsion to curl in and would gradually go away and you have a flat
print.

Natural Light Black and White Photography
http://www.phastnet.com/~geos/
-George-

"Michael Chambers" <mike...@teleport.com> wrote in message
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John Stafford

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Jan 2, 2003, 12:35:31 PM1/2/03

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Calumet carries blotter paper.

http://www.calumetphoto.com/syrinx/ctl?ac.ui.pn=cat.CatTreeSearch&PAGE=Controller&keywords=blotter

Dick

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Jan 2, 2003, 1:59:03 PM1/2/03

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Those are blotter books that Calumet carries, not rolls.

Dick
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John Stafford

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Jan 2, 2003, 2:16:05 PM1/2/03

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Dick wrote:
> Those are blotter books that Calumet carries, not rolls.

So, cut them up!

Michael Chambers

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Jan 2, 2003, 8:31:38 PM1/2/03

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Thanks to all who have replied. For your information, Light Impressions
still exists, though they were bought by another company. URL is:

http://www.lightimpressionsdirect.com

Also learned that the same 19X24" blotters are available also from Lumiere
Photo. Their URL is:

http://www.lightimpressionsdirect.com.

Blotters not easily found on either of the sites, but are sold by both parties.