Roll paper coil - iron it flat?

[huluvu]

Hello fellow Lulitas,

most of the time, I print on 24" roll paper on my Epson 7880. I soon bought a De-Roller tube to get rid of the (sometimes excessive) coil of the prints.

However, I noticed that de-rolling seems to impose some serious stress on the paper base, leading to patterns in the sheen of the prints after flattening them. This is especially bad with Pearl/Glossy papers like the Hahnemühle PhotoRag Pearl, for example.

With matte papers like the Moab Entrada Rag, there's not that much destruction going on, luckily.

Do you know it it's feasible to use a hot/warm iron to flatten out prints? Is it possible to smooth papers more "safely" this way?

Thanks

[Czornyj]

Sure
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?topic=73138.0

[JimAscher]

I've been pressing my cut-off sheets of Epson Hot Press Natural with an ordinary clothes iron at medium heat with no noticeable problems.

[Stephen G]

Sure
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?topic=73138.0

Genius. Now I'm gonna be on the lookout for something like that. Whenever I've tried to make cards they're always slightly curled, my home made de-roller doesn't quite do enough.

If I have the time, or if the prints are just too large for my de-roller I hang them. I've got a few meters of Wundarail (don't know what it's called in the rest of the world, but look here for quick idea of what it is: wundarail.co.za) that I just slot the prints into and then I clip small weights to the bottom of the print. A few hours / overnight, depending on humidity, and they're flat.

[Some Guy]

I dunno, but I've ironed over Scotch Tape and it wrinkles badly even on a low setting. 

Some polyesters don't take to an iron well either and it will ruin them (I know of a certain black velvet dress that got ruined from an ironing by someone who didn't know he wasn't supposed to do that to velvet, and got seriously reprimanded for doing so!).  I now know my local dry cleaners uses steam on some things instead of an iron.  I've wondered about using a steam wand on the back of some prints at times.  Saw them doing curtains that way.  Haven't tried that method yet, but I did see one steamer for sale for about $75 once.

I have some BC Silverada that curls in from the sides so badly the head will strike it and push it sideways in the printer.  Not cool.  Might try a steam job on it.

SG

[DeanChriss]

However, I noticed that de-rolling seems to impose some serious stress on the paper base, leading to patterns in the sheen of the prints after flattening them.

I've experienced the marks and/or "waves" you mention after using a D-roller. I've had the worst problems with heavy alpha cellulose papers like Ilford GFS near the end of the roll. We eliminated the issue by first laying the print on a table and holding it flat for at least a day. Longer is better. You can do that with weights (as simple as books) around the edges on the border area. You can also do it by covering the print with suitable paper (like tissue or even bond paper so you don't scratch the print) and laying a sheet of foam core over the whole thing and putting weight on top of that. After a couple days much of the curl is gone but there's still plenty left. We then use a D-roller without creating the problem. YMMV. What's best is that after perfecting your technique the paper will lay as flat as if it came in sheet form.

[Ken]

Here's part of a post that I made here a couple of years ago that might help you. I still use this with good results.:

"My problem with the D-Roller was the heavy bar at the core (which is probably the most expensive part of it). Apparently, the glue isn't strong enough to keep the plastic apron attached to it, and glue was exposed where the apron was detaching from the bar. I had to remember to keep my print a couple inches from the core or it would get glued. Much worse of a problem was the undulations on the print that was caused by the weight of that metal core as it flopped around, regardless of how slowly I rolled nor how tightly it was wrapped. I finally replaced the bar with a cardboard core from a roll of all-purpose paper, which still had a few yards of paper on it. The total diameter is about two inches, which is about the same as the metal bar. I glued the end of the remaining all-purpose paper to itself, then glued the end of the plastic apron to that. It's been working perfectly since then and is much easier to handle, with no undulations and no "creases". I suppose a length of heavy-duty plastic plumbing pipe would work fine too."

After rolling the paper on the modified "D" Roller, I let it sit for about five minutes at room temp. This is for Canson Infinity Platine, and I haven't tried it with any other paper.

[JayWPage]

I have been using a old, partial roll of Mylar left over from my previous life to flatten roll paper. I unroll enough to overlay the print/cut piece of paper by a extra few feet and then just roll it "face-up" into it. The core of the Mylar is about 2 1/2 " in diameter.

It works OK, sometimes... but I am having trouble with Hahnemühle Fine Art Baryta, it's an alpha cellulose paper and at 325 gsm both heavy and stiff, and takes quite a bit of encouragement to make it lay flat. With prints that were printed on this paper while on the roll, it a real problem. I'm reluctant to be very aggressive with it, in case I damage the print, and it takes a few days to get it flat.

I'm looking for a larger diameter roll to tape a length of the Mylar to. I think a 6" diameter roll would be much gentler and do a better job with out creating the "waves" mentioned above. I may be able to find such a cardboard tube from a fabric store or maybe a carpet store.

[rhahm]

Here is what I did:

bought a good quality 48" white vinyl old fashion pull down window shade

cut the shade from the roller apparatus

taped the cut edge to a 3" cardboard tube (could also glue, or use PVC tubing I suppose )

roll shade onto tube a few turns until no ridge from tape is felt

place print curl side down on shade and roll it up

that's it; works great so far

(not sure where I found this tip -- maybe this forum --anyway, credits to the inventor !)

[Some Guy]

I tried the vinyl on a plastic sewer pipe.  It seems to attract static electricity somehow and I got some spots on prints where something sticks to it and fell off once out of the printer.  Got shocked a few times on my fingertips too.

I've been trying some thin fleece on the pipe since and much easier on the surface.

SG

[rhahm]

could be the PVC tubing ...

I haven't had static problems; and the humidity is quite low right now with the heat on

I use a "Swiffer Duster" on the shade and print before I roll to remove dust etc.

[alain]

Hi

I used two sheets of "plastic" with some tape on the side to create a bit distance between the sheets.
Big advantage : No dust between the sheets.