Re: Some Kallitype observations
I have never used a diluted solution of potassium oxalate. I did try
a 20% solution once and it appeared to work well. There was, as I
recall, a bit more staining with it than with sodium citrate at 20%,
but I attributed that at the time to causes other than the oxalate
solution. I just never found a reason to do any more testing with
potassium oxalate because sodium citrate works great and is both less
expensive and less toxic than potassium oxalate.
My guess is that you could also dilute the sodium citrate to 5% or
10% for use as a one-shot solution, but I don't know that for sure
and am involved and am not currently printing in kallitype so can am
not set up to run some quick tests.
Sandy
Rajul,
I am so glad you posted this and thanks for testing it. For the
record y'all, the lower dilution in my Alt Proc Cond book for pot ox
and kalli (3%) is not a typo but is an actual formula I came across
in a few places. Rajul was kind enough to test it against the
normal dilution of pot ox and discovered this, below. Any
kallitypists out there, have you used this lower dilution, also?
Those of you having problems with kalli staining or some other such
thing, have you used the lower dilution or were you even using pot
ox? Don Bryant, you do kallis, correct? I am just intrigued by why
the dilution of the developer is so drastic and yet works better.
Makes me wonder about dilution of our developers with pt/pd and if
there is an applicable reason to use diluted developers. Probably
not. I had one of my students (Camden, was that you?) try the old
7up or gatorade trick to develop his palladium print and it was a
BUST so don't believe it. Maybe he didn't use the right flavor,
heheheheh
Chris
Undaunted by the variables to choose from, when I saw potassium
oxalate (KOX) listed among the slew of developers in Chris's
chapter on Kallis in Alt Procs Condensed book, I tried it ( I
happen to be overstocked). At 20% concentration, the print
developed to a heavy, poorly differentiated detail. Diluted to 5%
(I have not gone below this), tonal separations were clear and
rendered in great detail. These compare well with prints developed
side by side with Hall's developer and with 20% sodium citrate. At
5%, the toxicity of KOX may not be much of an issue (Spinach is
loaded with oxalate!). Also, it permits one-shot use to yield
cleaner prints, something I found with Pt/Pds.
|