Carl Weese (cjweese@wtco.net)
Wed, 17 Nov 1999 07:48:05 -0500
Cor,
Humidity is almost certainly the answer. For the zia one-step drying
method, you should not _time_ the drying, you do it by observation and
feel. Even small ambient humidity differences will affect color,
contrast, and exposure duration if you dry for a set time period. But
it's easy to get quite consistent results if you learn to judge the
dryness of the paper directly instead of relying on a timer.
The size of the print drastically affects drying time too: an 8x10 made
immediately after a 4x5 in the same room will take much longer to
prepare, but will match closely in color and tone if you do each by
feel.
---Carl
PS: Just read Jeff's note and I agree, control of ambient humidity makes
things a lot easier. Anything from around 50% to 70% is easy to deal
with, at least making moderate size prints, but higher or lower room
humidity will cause trouble. But the key is to learn what a properly
dried sheet feels like instead of trying to time it.
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