RE: Ware/Malde-Ziatype-DOP palladium,was RE: "New" Paper for Pt/Pd (and other iron processes, too)

[Loris Medici <mail@loris.medici.name>]

Thanks Sandy, got your point -> maintaining the environment at extremes
is not that easy. Then, using humification chambers seems as the only
way to go...

About obtaining the neutral tones you can get at 80% humidity - maybe
you can do this way:
Coat the paper, leave it in the coating station until it looses its
surface shine and "print immediately". If your printing times are long
and/or you use a vacuum easel then you may opt to put a polyester sheet
under the paper (there will be the negative over the paper) to prevent
loosing moisture. To protect the digital negative from being ruined
because of extra moist paper, you can use the 3 mils - very thin -
transparency material (like Ultrafine Crystal Clear) printing the
negative "emulsion up". That way you won't expose the receptive side of
the negative to humidity (because the inert back side of the negative
will be touching the paper). I'm sure you'll manage to get cool colors
(and a pretty decent dmax) that way (I mean even if your working
environment is 60%).

Best regards,
Loris.

-----Original Message-----
From: Sandy King [mailto:sanking@clemson.edu] 
Sent: 30 Kasım 2006 Perşembe 07:37
To: alt-photo-process-l@usask.ca
Subject: Ware/Malde-Ziatype-DOP palladium, was RE: "New" Paper for Pt/Pd
(and other iron processes, too)


Hi Loris,

I always control temperature at around 70F, and 
within certain limits I can also control RH. 
However, for various reasons it is much easier to 
control RH in the 50-60% range in my working room 
than at the extremes.

At 55% RH I really like the results I get with 
the Ware/Malde POP palladium process. Dmax is 
excellent and the color is a nice warm black. In 
some ways nicer than with DOP palladium. But if 
the RH changes by as much as 5% there will be a 
chance in image color, warmer going down, more 
neutral going up. But this is ok, since I have 
excellent control of RH in the 50-60% range. 
However, the color shift with RH change is one of 
the great attractions of the Ware/Malde method. 
And with dichromate contrast control, which Mike 
chose not to exploit, you can get contrast 
control *and* the color you want. And without the 
cessium salt needed with Ziatype.

However, if the type of image one likes is very 
neutral black, Ziatype with the lithium salt by 
itself gives great results. I would find it very 
difficult to make this color with Ware/Malde 
because a RH of 80% or so would be almost 
impossible to obtain in my working environment.

Sandy







At 8:16 PM +0200 11/29/06, Loris Medici wrote:
>I see. Agree with you on the fact that making identical looking prints 
>with POP version (at least Ziatype) can be hard... But, that shouldn't 
>that much hard to you? I mean you have a lightsource with integrator, 
>you can control humidity and temperature in your working area, you're 
>accustomed to be consistent in coating + drying the paper (in fact, 
>you're a master carbon printer!). Do you still find hard to get 
>consistent / close results?
>
>About compression in the shadows: I cheat, I artificially increase 
>contrast in the shadows. When you have problems - even if you have a 
>perfect calibration - some extra contrast boost in the shadows (it 
>should look almost weird on your screen) will do good in that aspect...

>The more texture you have in the shadows, the less you have this "looks

>dull" problem. Low key images with delicate tonal transitions make 
>another problem - I think Pt/Pd (or any other process which results a 
>matte print) is not the best choice for this type of imagery... Carbon 
>is, in my understanding.
>
>Regards,
>Loris.
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Sandy King [mailto:sanking@clemson.edu]
>Sent: 29 Kasžm 2006 Çars¸amba 18:16
>To: alt-photo-process-l@usask.ca
>Subject: RE: "New" Paper for Pt/Pd (and other iron processes, too)
>
>
>What I meant by hard to beat is the consistency of DOP, i.e. the 
>capability of making multiple prints, all with the same density and 
>color, without worrying about changes in exposure.
>
>FAO with the ammonium salt gives beautiful chocolate colors, if 
>printing at low humidity. But you need some type of contrast control if

>working with negatives of DR of 1.8 or so intended for DOP palladium. 
>You can actually get it by adding a few drops of dichromate to the 
>sensitizer, as you do with ziatype. There is no down side to this as 
>far as I can see, and the ability to control contrast this way makes 
>the Ware/Malde process quite flexible.
>
>FAO with the lithium salt (ziatype) also works well, though I have only

>made a few prints with it. But for persons who like nice neutral black 
>prints this is the way to go with palladium.
>
>But printing with Pt./Pd. drives me crazy at times. The prints always 
>have this glorious look when they are washing, and when you hang them 
>up to dry. Then you come back the next morning when they are dry and 
>they look dull. By contrast, carbon prints improve in look as they dry.

>I do find that a couple of coats of some kind of clear gloss lacquer or

>varnish recovers some of the wet look, but not all of it.
>
>Sandy