Re: waterproof/removable glue

Judy Seigel (jseigel@panix.com)
Mon, 22 Jan 1996 02:26:26 -0500 (EST)

On Mon, 22 Jan 1996, Hans Nohlberg wrote:
> Our method is: Take an
> old newspaper, spray some water on one side in the back of the paper, turn
> over some leaves (dry) and put the print there with some more leaves over.
> Put a heavy glass over the paper and some weights (5 liters filled plastic
> fix container will do good). Press and check after some minutes. If too
> moisten (big), just use a hair dryer some seconds or hang it or "shake it
>

Hope I'm not the only one who didn't get this description, tho it sounds
intriguing. (I'll note in passing that in the US, newspaper ink offsets
onto other paper, but you could probably use blotters or fresh newsprint.)
But why are you wetting the paper? To get it back to the former size? If
so, doesn't it just shrink up again when it dries? And if you don't let it
dry completely, don't your negatives get ruined when you put them down on
damp emulsion? Mine sure do.

(And I'll add here, sadly, that I tried both a 1% sulfuric acid bath and a
10% sodium sulfite bath as suggested by fellow alt-photo-ers on those
dichromate stains or burns on negatives. To no avail. Apparently those
spots were hardened [tanned?] and no matter how much I sloshed the area,
they remained stiff and untouched.)

> To check the size
> we put the print plus neg on a light box (!) where you can see if it fits
> or not. Then we tape the neg on the paper and expose. Hope it helps.

Well that's the way I've been registering (tho once you glue to aluminum
obviously you can't do that any more). But I don't understand where the
wetting comes in and how you can add a negative to a damp print without
ruin.

Judy