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drying rack for paper signs or banners

N

netsol

Active Member
we are doing a not that large paper sign order for a good, long time client

today, every flat surface in the office and dust free assembly area is covered with signs drying

showing i really am not that good at forecasting my needs, i am just starting to consider what sort of drying rack i want to build/purchase

suggestions?

i am considering a 64" square, made out of 2x4, with the corners attached to hinges, so one side can be bolted to the wall, near the ceiling i will then drill a hole every 3 inches on 2 opposite sides and run a piece of wire through the holes. then i will use something similar to clothespins to hold the banners. when not in use, since it is hinged, this whole thing will be a parallelogram, it can fold flat against the wall, 6 inches from the ceiling
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
What is the size of these paper signs and/or banners ?? What is the medium that is drying ??
 
eahicks

eahicks

Magna Cum Laude - School of Hard Knocks
Gino said:
What is the size of these paper signs and/or banners ?? What is the medium that is drying ??
Click to expand...
That's what I'm wondering....are these printed on a printer? Or screened? What printer and paper? I print on poster paper all the time and it's dry off the printer.
 
N

netsol

Active Member
sorry
these were eco solvent printed paper signs on paper from diversified. grey squirrel recommended the product.
i figure the rack will allow anything we print up to 54" x 72" to hang and dry/outgas.
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
I used to hand paint 100's of paper signs a day. The rack was simply some 2x4's made into a square, about 6 ft tall and 5 ft wide. Another square about 8 ft down from it and supported and anchored into the floor. Three washline ropes hung from one end to the other. Clothespins is what held the posters up, while they dried. About once an hour, I'd take them down and stack them. The best thing is air circulation, which will be the same for your prints. I had room to hang maybe 60 or 70 signs in there, using whatever lines I needed.
 
N

netsol

Active Member
i don't want to use a fan so as not to blow dust, but otherwise my idea is basically what you did
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
Here's a quick idea. Remember, this was probably 45 years ago when built.
dry rack.jpg
 
N

netsol

Active Member
ewded,
so, you could best be described as a minimalist...

you are fighting my tendency to turn simple things into an involved construction project. my wife would say i badly need your influence
 
E

ewded

.
netsol said:
ewded,
so, you could best be described as a minimalist...

you are fighting my tendency to turn simple things into an involved construction project. my wife would say i badly need your influence
Click to expand...

Nothing beats loosely wind up rolls, but if you want to complicate things a bit you can build a mesh platform for air clearance from the bottom as well.
 
Jester1167

Jester1167

Premium Subscriber
We built a dryer around a box fan blowing air up through the prints from the bottom. Believe it or not, the moving air will not let the dust settle on the prints.

I'll give a description now and try to take a picture tomorrow. Basically, it is a 22" wooden square vertical tub and the box fan slides in the bottom with room for a 20 x 20 filter (the filter isn't necessary). Above that is a metal grate with cross braces below it. Above the grate are 4 10 x 10 openings 4' tall. The next one I build will only be 3' to 3.5" tall because you have to stand on a ladder or chair to get them out. I have used this concept for 15 years and there is less dust than laying them out and takes a third of the time to dry your prints.

Don't suck the air from the top down. It doesn't work. The prints collapse in on themselves.

If you don't have the ability to build one, get a milk crate and get it off the ground and unfurl your prints in them. The solvent is heavier than air and will create its own airflow. It will take longer to gas than the forced air version but it's still better than laying the prints out flat.
 
N

netsol

Active Member
Jester1167 said:
We built a dryer around a box fan blowing air up through the prints from the bottom. Believe it or not, the moving air will not let the dust settle on the prints.

I'll give a description now and try to take a picture tomorrow. Basically, it is a 22" wooden square vertical tub and the box fan slides in the bottom with room for a 20 x 20 filter (the filter isn't necessary). Above that is a metal grate with cross braces below it. Above the grate are 4 10 x 10 openings 4' tall. The next one I build will only be 3' to 3.5" tall because you have to stand on a ladder or chair to get them out. I have used this concept for 15 years and there is less dust than laying them out and takes a third of the time to dry your prints.

Don't suck the air from the top down. It doesn't work. The prints collapse in on themselves.

If you don't have the ability to build one, get a milk crate and get it off the ground and unfurl your prints in them. The solvent is heavier than air and will create its own airflow. It will take longer to gas than the forced air version but it's still better than laying the prints out flat.
Click to expand...


sound like exactly what i want for dryer #2 (we are already building te first one)
 
G

garyroy

New Member
Just a suggestion depending on your budget. Years ago I bought a used drying rack off CraigsList. It was manufactured by a company called Saturn Racks.
I believe they have since been bought out and are now being sold by http://awt-gpi.com/product157.htm.
They are very hard to find used because the quality is so good, they could easily last for 30 years with never a problem. Brand new they are a little pricey but they do come in many sizes
and are excellent quality. This is one of those items you never regret having. FYI you can also find cheapo racks on Ebay of course that you would assemble. I have one, they are no comparison to the Saturn Rack. Yugo to Bently.
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
That's why God invented pulleys and chain. Build it and anchor it to the ceiling and hoist it up & down as you need it. An old member here, Old Paint, had a system of sorts where he had some things coming down from the ceiling and walls. We do too, but not for everyday use. We store things up on the ceiling. In fact, we built a huge mezzanine around the one area and use it for storage.
 
WhiskeyDreamer

WhiskeyDreamer

Professional Snow Ninja
Years ago when I started, we still screen printed mylar and had to devise a way for them to dry when you have a hundred or so decals and not enough real estate in the shop to set them about.

Easy fix.

Setup two ladders a good distance apart from one another. Two 2x4s with small hooks on the bottom side were set on the highest rung of the ladder that was possible. We'd print the mylar and then using ladies skirt hangers, clip the decal and hang from the hooks.

The mylar hung vertical, so no dust settled. Worked perfect. You just gotta get creative with what you have.
 
Billct2

Billct2

Active Member
We had big silkscreen racks we got for free from a place going out of business. They were expensive when new and built to last. Didn't us them much, tried to sell them and nobody was interested so we scrapped them. Might do a search for used racks, they work well
 
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