Slab gel dryers

jsfisher · Post by **jsfisher** » Sun Aug 10, 2014 6:53 pm

It would seem a laboratory gel dryer would be useful for DCG work. You can pick one up fairly cheaply. Normal lab ovens are a bit pricey.

I'm guessing, though, they ain't useful at all. Any one know different?

jsfisher · Post by **jsfisher** » Mon Aug 11, 2014 7:22 pm

I talked to someone who knew all about slab dryers. Not useful at all for this application.

Joe Farina · Post by **Joe Farina** » Tue Aug 12, 2014 7:07 am

After plates are coated, my usual practice is to dry them under a gentle air-flow for several hours. Both DCG and MBDCG. I doubt that anything else is needed at this stage.

At the final drying stage (after alcohol), then I would suggest experimentation. Probably the most useful item in the long run is a conventional oven. No lab oven is needed. My favorite is a simple portable electric oven, which provides an even heating effect, with no exposed heating elements, such as:

http://www.amazon.com/Proctor-Silex-327 ... ctric+oven

jsfisher · Post by **jsfisher** » Tue Aug 12, 2014 5:51 pm

I never would have considered that sort of appliance. Thanks.

holomaker · Post by **holomaker** » Wed Aug 13, 2014 9:34 am

When I am doing my final dry as well as to set epoxy I use a simple "toaster Oven" with a custom sized flat granite tile. lay your plate on it and it will dry/bake uniform ....

Plus I put a sign on it too "not for food" !

Kiffdino · Post by **Kiffdino** » Sat Aug 16, 2014 2:25 am

I think you shouldn't force dry your gelatin.

Putting them in a room at 20°C and about 50% humidity is just fine.

I think much more important is how long you let your plates dry.
And this highly depends on your gelatin bloom.
So at the moment I am using a relatively hard gelatin at 220bloom.
Its a good gelatin, but with my green laser, I have to shoot my plates 30 min after coating for getting the best results.

Now if you had a softer gelatin, aka a gelatin with less bloom, then you would need to air dry your plates much longer.
Your perfect drying time might be at 12hours then.

Finding the perfect drying time for your gelatin is trial and error I guess.

holomaker · Post by **holomaker** » Wed Aug 20, 2014 8:43 am

yes correct Swann ! I meant the final dry after processing ! the last thing you want to do is seal in moisture in raw film, yes a slow method of drying raw film is beneficial !