37 replies to this topic

[Kevin]

Hiya all,

Ive been using foil for spore printing but Im finding it rips up when i scrape the print off. I dont like it :(

Does that happen for you guys? Would aluminium plates be a suitable substitute?

Ive used cardboard before, I like that better, i dont think its as reliably cleaned though.

Thanks guys.

[the_other_chap]

I mostly use Tyvek.

[Shromadon]

If your caps arn't monsters, then Yoplait Yogurt containers work great. They can be pc'ed and boiled. Just drop the cap in, cover top w/ foil, then dump the cap out, or poke it w/ something to pull it out. Just pour sterile water in, scrape, shake and suck.


Going to try them for myc water soon.

[dial8]

There is a heavy duty aluminum foil you could use. It does not rip.

[Defiance]

I print mine right in a sterile 1/2pt when I'm not going to be storing them for more than a few weeks. Makes getting spore water very easy.

[Quine]

Have you read hippie's method? He drops the foil into a baggie, puts in his water, seals it, then rubs the foil around. No scraping, no tears, all the spores are washed off into the water. Easy, huh?

[Hippie3]

Have you read hippie's method? He drops the foil into a baggie, puts in his water, seals it, then rubs the foil around. No scraping, no tears, all the spores are washed off into the water. Easy, huh?

yeah,
don't scrape
rub.

[PsychoDrogue]

Have you read hippie's method? He drops the foil into a baggie, puts in his water, seals it, then rubs the foil around. No scraping, no tears, all the spores are washed off into the water. Easy, huh?

you can of course do this with tyvek too. and the post office will send you more than you'll ever need for free.

When I finish making the print i put it straight into a baggy for storage and let it sit til i need it. no need to unfold anything when the time comes. I was told ziplocks are sterile new, and I haven't had contam issues with any of my own clean prints, so seems to be a great time saver. I'd be weary about prints you aren't sure about being clean though. You dump a bunch of water in there and the whole thing contams. no opportunity to pick a different portion of the print.

[Hippie3]

you lose a great deal of spores into the tyvek fabric
that simply won't come out,
wasteful, inefficient.

i don't even use tyvek ones i get in trades ,
i just give them away
:thumbdown:

[PsychoDrogue]

point taken. but when your using an entire print like that I dont see any repercussions from losing what is probably less than 1-5% of the available spores. Works for me anyhow.

My gf always drags my "mushroom only" foil into the kitchen for whatever she needs, whereas my tyvek is left alone in a clean drawer. Makes me feel safer from contams.

[SWIM]

I just print to the inside surface of a (snack-size) ziplock. Not the most artistic method - they tend to smear, but very simple. Once the spores drop I flip the bag over so the print is on top, and drop the cap out into the dessicator. When the time comes to make a syringe, just oopen the zip enough to squirt in sterile water, seal, rub, and open enough to get the needle in and suck it up.

[PsychoDrogue]

you can easily fill the bag with extra water and fill multiple syringes at once. of course they are all the same strain, but if you use that many why not. just store them in a dark spot. I rarely do this though. I guess you could consider this a mass syringe method.

[Hippie3]

If you use the baggie method, you're putting an entire print in one syringe.

only if you don't dilute further,
but that's a waste too.

i just take that dark syringe and fire it
into a pint jar of sterile water
and turn 1 into 20-30.
see http://mycotopia.net...ead.php?t=20626
http://mycotopia.net...77&d=1172777654

[Odin 13]

Glass works great for me. I cut it into 2" squares & tape another on top when the print is finished. You can clean the glass very easily, & scrape off spores w/ a razor blade.

[fluffyshapes]

i've used acetate before with success... it makes it easy when you're printing mushrooms you're unsure about, since the clear transparency can be placed on top of either a light or dark surface... and it doesn't wrinkle :)

[Hippie3]

i hate glass slides,
very hard to un-do tape
while wearing gloves,
and everything is slick from disinfectant.
in fact i hate ANYTHING that is
folded or taped shut
as it is hard to use gloved.

[panic]

i dunno, i've just never heard foaf complaining about having to use a dark syringe. ;) actually, the baggie idea is one i'm gonna suggest to him.

[Quine]

Given how many spores are in one tiny scrape, you are stilll getting hundreds of substrains!