To see if we could save some money we looked at getting them directly from
Japan were they are a lot cheaper BUT with all the duty and shipping we had
to pay they worked out no cheaper, but if you know someone going over
.......
Jason Revell
jason.revell@unn.ac.uk
----------
From: Judy Seigel
To: alt-photo-list
Subject: Dahlia Mister
Date: Wednesday, 24 June, 1998 7:02
Dear folks,
I have a letter from a subscriber who may or may not be still on this
list, but I think the answer would interest others, as far as I can give
it... and maybe there's more information "out there."
He asks, "do you know off-hand if there is a source in North America for
that famous Dahlia water mister that Bas van Velzen described in an e-mail
to the list on August 29, 1996?
"I would really like to get one and the supplier in London said they were
out of stock, at least for now."
As it happens, last fall I bought a mister from TALAS, also inspired by
Bas's message, the only source I could find on this continent. It wasn't
the Dahlia, but Kuramata Sprayer, also from Japan and even more
expensive... About $115 as I recall, though maybe less now if the yen
fell.
My thought was that by *misting* I could keep parts of a gum print moist,
to continue developing, while part could be let dry, and not develop
further. Unfortunately the misting didn't work that way -- maybe it does
if you know how to operate it: The "directions" that came with this one
consist of a diagram of its *many* parts with the names in Japanese.
What comes out is a quite fine spray, definitely not a mist. But what
happened is that I somehow got into using it to develop a print, and now I
find it indispensable. Either with the print lying just under the water,
or stuck onto the wall, you hand pump until you've got some pressure and
then squeeze the handle and this fine spray comes out evenly, not in
spurts like the dime store spray bottle. You can regulate the pressure by
moving closer or further... yet the "touch" is more delicate than I could
manage by brushing or any other spray or water source I've tried.
The bad part is that it doesn't hold much water at a time (I wonder if the
real Dahlia Mister has a larger capacity). I haven't measured it, but
maybe only 300 cc or so. On top of which, opening it is a bit of a hassle,
so it's frustrating to have to refill so often. But I do, I've gotten
quite dependent on it...
Any other info about misters, Dahlia or other, would be most welcome...
Judy