March 2016 Announcing the latest way to dry photogravure plates!
MULTI PURPOSE ROLLER: DUST REMOVAL ~ LAYDOWN ~ PLATE DRYING

Since I first started doing gravure I have constantly experimented with a variety of methods for drying the resist evenly. Until now the only method I have preferred is whirling. I was looking for a method that would work for both screened and dust grained plates but not be as cumbersome as a whirler, especially for larger plates. I realized that the soft, mirror smooth dust roller could displace the bulk of the water smoothly for even plate drying and etching.

• Removes dust from glass and aquatint screens
• Removes alcohol and water from developed gravure plates
• Use for gelatin laydown instead of squeegee which eliminates the chance of slippage
• Removes water from recently degreased copper plates leaving no residue or lint
• Removes water from developed PURETCH plates
• Removes water from photopolymer plates for smooth even drying
• Removes water from delicate papers used in historic photo printing processes and more...

Rollers are available in 4", 10", 14", and 20" with wider rollers available by special order. A 20" roller is shown in the photo below.

Order Rollers Online

Screened resist above and print from dustgrained resist below. Both dried with roller.

June 2011: Manual plate whirler and self spinning turntable for drying photogravure resist Designed by Jennifer Page. All rights reserved. ©2011

This first began as a slow self spinning turntable for drying small photogravure plates and quickly evolved into a manual whirler as well. The whirler aspect was inspired by Jan Pettersson's use of a commercial plate whirler in his 2007 book 'Photogravure, An Archaeological Research". A roller skate wheel is used for smooth spinning of the plate while the fins catch the air from the fan to self spin. This whirler works well for drying small plates up to about 9 x 12.

Print from whirler dried plate below.

©2016 Cape Fear Press