Re: Newbie Gum fun Continued
Jacek,
With gum there is no "one" recipe, you just have to look at prints and try to pick up tips from people that make prints that you like.
Here is some of my prints
I use fabriano Artistico traditional and extra white. I always seize and harden the gelatine before printing. I always preshrink (absolutely essential for large prints). In case you do not have and easy acess to glyoxal or glutaraldehyde here is a method that works well for me and uses chemicals that you already have.
Make a 4 to 5% gelatine solution (soak the gelatine in cold water and heat it up, do not boil). At this point I add about 5 cc of 3% solution of potassium dichromate per 100 cc of gelatine solution. I keep the solution at 40 to 50 degC. Brush at a rate of 25-30 cc per sheet of paper (22x30"). Spread the mix quickly and brush for a few minutes to even it out. Then hang it to dry overnight (some dark reaction and hardening takes place then). I sometimes apply a second coat at this time. Take the sheets outside and leave them in the sum for 15-30 minutes. This completely reduces the dichromate leaving a tan colored and hardened gelatine. Next step is to preshrink . I soak in warm water for 30 minutes or so. I find hot water unnecessary and detrimental to the internal sieze of the paper. This soak preshrinks the paper and clears most of the tan color from the gelatin. Hang the paper to dry and it is ready to use.
It sound like it is a lot of work, but if you do it 10 sheets at a time it can be very efficient.
One more note for exposing the prints. I use a black layer of felt like fabric on top of my board. The negative and paper go on top of that, covered by a heavy glass plate. I use spring loaded clamps to hold all that together to ensure very good contact of paper and negative..
Have fun at printing.
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