Seal Dry Mount Press Manual
Hello,I bought a used dry mount press (Seal Masterpiece 500T) and it is finally in place. I have some questions to get started, for sure some APUGers have experience in this:1. Upon heating, the left and right third seem to warm up far quicker than the middle third. Is that expected? Waiting longer, the middle warms up, too.2. Three rolls of tissue came with the device. One is waxy on one side, paper-like on the other and rather thick.
Is this release paper?3. Another roll has rastered / dotted blue tissue on it. It does not melt / glue at 75C. Any idea what this is?4. How can I clean the press surface?
There is some sticky dirt on it (small spots).Thanks in advance,Lars. Lars,I happen to have the same press that I mainly use for flattening prints. I heats up pretty evenly. I believe there are three heating elements in there.
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One might be broken in your case.The way to go for flattening prints is to use two pieces of clean acid free matt board. No need to use release paper.Last year I had a problem with my press, it wouldn't stop heating after it had reached the set temperature. This is a common problem and due to a broken relay.
After a lot of searching I came across the following troubleshooting guide that proved invaluable for fixing the problem.There is al kinds of other very useful info in there that will allow you to do most any repair yourself. Very useful for anybody owning a Seal press I think.Hope this helps!Douwe. All, Thanks for the various answers. I did not really care about the cleaning any further.
Some of you pointed out a work around which will be fine for the moment.Instead, I spent more time to deal with the heating issue. Douwe's posting was very helpful, especially the reference to the troubleshooting guide.After reading, I disassembled the name plate and found that the resistance of the heating element is more like 35 Ohm, instead of the 13 Ohm specified in the guide. It seems, the heater itself is the cause of the uneven heating.B&H lists a replacement part, shipping to Europe is 55 USD which seems even reasonable if the figure is correct. Will investigate further and see whether I can find some spare parts here in Germany.Regards,Lars. Douwe,Thanks for that troubleshooting guide - great information!To the OP:1.) The temp should be fairly consistent, but there will always be hot spots. I check with a laser thermometer, which isn't perfectly accurate, but does give you an idea of what is happening heat wise.
One of the reasons I use an acid free board 'sandwich' to flatten/mount with is that I think it disperses the heat a bit more evenly.2.) See if the rolls peel apart. Some brands - I think the Drytac removable one - came with the release paper attached to the actual substrate. It was a good system. To determine if it is a release paper or not, use a tacking iron (or regular iron) on high and see if it turns to goo.
If it does, it's tissue. If it doesn't it's probably release paper.3.) Some tissues need 195F to release. Personally, unless I knew what the materials were, I would chuck them and get a known commodity. Guesswork is no fun if you're being serious.4.) You can buy platen cleaner, although I've never used it.
Using an acid free 'sandwich' makes the cleanliness of my platen a non issue.Have fun! That odd heating element may be a replacement. Does that part of the platten eventually get as hot as the rest?225°f is what I set mine using a laser thermometer because I use the older MT5 tissue that is very thin glassine tan color type paper.Always use matt board to sandwich your mounts so they stay nice n clean. Also be sure to heat the print, matt boards, platten boards up before mounting with tissue to avoid bubbles due to moisture trapped in anything. Then tack your tissue n press for a few minutes.To clean the old crud off my plattens, Ive used laquer thinner.
Seal Dry Mounting Laminating Press
It disolves wax and grease and will leave your plattens like new again. DO THIS COLD!Enjoy your press, I cant live without mine. Yes, acid free matboard is best, I like two sheets on top, it takes a little longer, maybe 90s or so at what my dial says 210f.Seems like longer presses with two boards above give more consistent results. Also take to nipping a tiny nip from each corner, it is not noticeable and this is where the problems usually are. You have got to run tests to see what works.Also, unless you live in Arizona, you have to drive the humidity off the print first. Press it and count to five, raise the platt and vent the print for about a ten count.
Or else you will glue the emulsion to the matboard. Trust me on this. Yes, acid free matboard is best, I like two sheets on top, it takes a little longer, maybe 90s or so at what my dial says 210f.Seems like longer presses with two boards above give more consistent results. Also take to nipping a tiny nip from each corner, it is not noticeable and this is where the problems usually are. You have got to run tests to see what works.Also, unless you live in Arizona, you have to drive the humidity off the print first. Press it and count to five, raise the platt and vent the print for about a ten count.
Or else you will glue the emulsion to the matboard. Trust me on this.
That odd heating element may be a replacement. Does that part of the platten eventually get as hot as the rest?225°f is what I set mine using a laser thermometer because I use the older MT5 tissue that is very thin glassine tan color type paper.Always use matt board to sandwich your mounts so they stay nice n clean. Also be sure to heat the print, matt boards, platten boards up before mounting with tissue to avoid bubbles due to moisture trapped in anything. Then tack your tissue n press for a few minutes.To clean the old crud off my plattens, Ive used laquer thinner. It disolves wax and grease and will leave your plattens like new again. DO THIS COLD!Enjoy your press, I cant live without mine.