U of S | Mailing List Archive | alt-photo-process-l | RE: "Dick Stevens' book."

RE: "Dick Stevens' book."



Neal,

1. At times when I am working with both kallitype and palladium I keep separate developers for the two processes. In part this is because I am calibrated best with sodium citrate for kallitye and potassium oxalate for palladium. Also, used developer solutions contain silver or palladium metal and will give you some quirky results. So I don't recommend this at all.

2. I have never made gum over kallitypes, or gum over anything for that matter, but I see no reason why this would not work, especially if tone the kallitype with palladium as I suggest.

3. It is possible to include other metal additives (gold, palladium, platinum, mercury) in the kallitype sensitizer of SN + FO and they will affect the final look. How they will interact is another matter. I personally never tried it since I use dichromate control for both kallitype and palladium printing.

Kallitype and Pt./Pd. are brother/sister or first cousin processes so almost anything you learn with one process will be directly applicable to the other. That includes method of coating, choice of paper, and developer. Clearing has to be more gentle with kallitype than with palladium since there is a risk of bleaching the silver image. One the kallitype image is toned that risk disappears. The main thing with both processes is to use a fresh FO solution, an acidic developer, and don't put the print in water that is alkaline until it is cleared of the hydroxide.

Sandy




At 4:05 PM +0000 3/21/07, Neal Wilson wrote:
I read Mr. Stevens' book and have to agree, Sandy. I decided after reading the book that I'd pursue Pd Pt before kallitype. After recently reading your primer online I've decided to experiment with Kallitype as it seems like something I can tackle with the Pd skills I've developed, and it seems like an inexpensive way to experiment with the multiple exposure (8x10) panoramas I'm currently working on. Like, use the Kallitype as a "proof" to make sure you want to invest resources in a particular image or triptych.

A few general questions about kallitype:

1. Can one use the same PotOx developer used for PdPt with Kallitype or will this somehow contaminate that developer and make it less effective for PdPt. Like, if I've got a good working PotOx and want to go back and forth between Kallitype and PdPt, is that okay, or should I have separate solutions?

2. I've read conflicting views on whether Kallitypes can be a good base for Gum Over treatment.

3. Has anyone experimented with the Na2 method of contrast control that is used in PdPt printing with Kallitype? Or is the sodium incompatible?

Thank you,

Neal Wilson



From: Sandy King <sanking@clemson.edu>
One would find a very hard time taking
this book and actually learning to make kallitype prints. You might be able to do it but the trail would take you through some pretty rough and wooded terrain that might juste as well be avoided.

Sandy King