U of S | Mailing List Archive | alt-photo-process-l | Re: Some Kallitype observations

Re: Some Kallitype observations



Sandy,

The papers I have tried are Arches Platine (mostly) and Stonehenge - B side to see if it would bypass some problems visible on AP.

All solutions (5% KOX, 2x citric acid clear, fixer, "hypo" ) are used one shot. For KOX, I use ~100 ml which is enough to cover the print in a flat tray satisfactorily. My impression is that 5%KOX develops relatively slowly compared to 20% Na cit, but both developers produce densities that go to completion after ~5' development time.

I also find that instead of 1:1 mixture in the sensitizer, a mix of 0.9 ml AgNO3: 0.6 ml FO works better, and the smaller volume I use for approx. 80 sq in of surface area produces a thin, uniform coat without pooling.

What I have not clearly established is after how many uses the toners get depleted. I notice that the Au toner gets turbid after about 2 uses, and produces a slightly washed-out effect that has a different kind of appeal. Your input would be helpful.

Rajul

On 5-Sep-06, at 7:53 PM, Sandy King wrote:

Rajul,

Very interesting work.

Curious about your results with gold toning. I get very blue-black shadows with gold toning with sodium citrate with virtually every paper I have tried.

I also get more contrast, as the gold toning tends to reduce the highlights slightly, which agrees with your finding about "whiter highlights."

Are you using the 5% KOX as a one-shot solution? How does it compare in printing speed to 20% Na citrate?



Sandy




Don,

FWIW, I proceeded to do developer-toner combos of sxs run prints and found the following:

a) 5% KOX - Au toned >>> cool brown shadows, tan-mauvish highlights.
b) 20% Na citrate - Au toned >>> cooler shadows and whiter highlights rel. to a).
c) 5% KOX - Pd toned >>> warm browns throughout tonal range
d) 20% Na cit - Pd toned >>> cooler browns than in c); slightly warmer than b) across the tonal range.
e) 5% KOX - Pt toned >>> as in c) but browns are slightly darker.
f) 20 % Na cit - Pt toned >>> very similar to d).

What I was interested in doing was establishing combos (under my working conditions) that would generate subtle color changes in the otherwise B/W Kallis. Double-toning also holds promise and all this becomes more apparent when the prints are viewed together.

Sandy King has shown this in his Unblinkingeye article. Other factors (water quality, humidity, sensitizer components, paper, etc) also contribute to the tones obtained.

Rajul


On 5-Sep-06, at 11:44 AM, Don Bryant wrote:

Rajul,


Don Bryant, you do kallis, correct?

I have used potassium oxalate to develop kallitypes - once. I started out
with a virgin mix of PO at 20%. I developed my first print and was greeted
with a dark purple looking print. Immediately I realized 2 things:

1) The PO increased the speed of the kallitype when compared to the same
exposure developed in sodium citrate.
2) I liked the tone/color of the print.

I then adjusted my exposure time and tried the PO developer again. Much to
my surprise the print had the same tonal color as the sodium citrate
developed prints. At that point I saw no advantage to using PO for
kallitypes and dumped the mix.

My 2 cents,

Don Bryant