U of S | Mailing List Archive | alt-photo-process-l | Re: Question about Masa paper

Re: Question about Masa paper



Thanks, Loris... so it looks like what I've got is the same thing you've got, and also the same as what's currently available as "Masa" from the Daniel Smith catalog, since it's the identical description. I'm surprised the description doesn't include the twosidedness of it.

I've printed gum on both sides; the nappy side doesn't work very well because it speckles and would require additional size to print without speckling. It is also difficult to coat smoothly, as the emulsion catches in the nap and wants to stay where it was put initially rather than brushing out smooth. The smooth side coats beautifully and prints quite well, but it's very slow. Both sides are slow, but I assumed the nappy side was slow because it soaks up a lot more emulsion so the coating is thicker, but even the smooth side, which uses much less emulsion, is slow, at least 4x the exposure required for my usual Arches paper. Also, since the paper is thin, it tends to dry crinkled, and would probably need to be flattened in a press. It's kind of like printing gum on typing paper; you can do it, but why would you. Two reasons why you might: it dries quick as a wink, and the smooth side is very smooth and coats nicely. It's hard to find a really smooth surface that's also easy to coat.

These are just quick-and-dirty test prints and not calibrated for the best exposure, but they do show the relative printing qualities of the two sides of the paper.

http://www.pacifier.com/~kthayer/html/Masa.html

An even thinner Japanese paper with amazing wet strength is silk tissue, also available from the Daniel Smith catalog.
Katharine


You don't say which
On Jan 22, 2007, at 9:49 PM, Loris Medici wrote:

Katharine,

The paper I have matches the description:

"...Used as an inexpensive sumi, printmaking, marbling and fine
letterpress paper, Masa is a soft, white paper with the traditional
absorbency and feel of handmade Japanese papers. Machine-made in Japan
from sulphite, it is internally and surface-sized..."

It's very smooth and almost shiny on one side and finely textured /
fibrous on the other side (also matte).

The paper may remain in water for 24 hours without falling apart (yes, I
forgot few sheets in water...) and it's quite absorbent; I had to use
about 66% - 25% more sensitizer per same area when compared to other
papers.

Printing multilayer gum on it? Not an endeavor for the faint- hearted...

Hope this helps,
Loris.

-----Original Message-----
From: Katharine Thayer [mailto:kthayer@pacifier.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 1:23 AM
To: alt-photo-process-l@usask.ca
Subject: Question about Masa paper

..

The Masa paper I have, seems somewhere in between. It's soft and
fuzzy (nappy) on one side, and hard (not waxed, really, but smooth)
on the other side, and the paper is about the thickness of typing
paper. So I'm curious, Loris, is the Masa paper you've printed
cyanotype on anything like this? I'm asking because if my paper is
outdated, there's no point in perfecting printing on it. Thanks,
Katharine