Re: Paper negative
I just found a jpeg on my server that might be somewhat useful. It
used to be part of my page on negatives but I don't have that page up
on the site right now so I just wrote a little page just for this.
It shows a paper negative I used as a test negative for years for all
kinds of things, with a gum print made from it. It's very small; the
negative and the print are actual size, but the cilia on the leaves,
for example, printed as individual cilia; they weren't lost in
printing from a paper negative. I offer that for whatever it's worth
to help picture what's possible and not possible from a paper
negative. I will, though, try to post a sidexside sometime soon.
http://www.pacifier.com/~kthayer/html/paperneg.html
kt
On Dec 3, 2007, at 5:24 PM, Katharine Thayer wrote:
Jacek,
I had this plan that I was going to print side by side (in gum) the
same test image from a paper negative vs a film negative so that
you could judge for yourself, but I've run into some problems with
that. First, I realized I was out of the paper I use for digital
paper negatives (Epson Photo-Quality Inkjet Paper), so I needed to
wait til I could go buy some more. Then when I went to buy some
more, the store where I used to get it doesn't carry it any more,
so I got something else, HP Color Inkjet Paper, that I'm not sure
will be an acceptable substitute. So I'll have to do some
experimenting first.
In the meantime, the main issues are:
(1) sharpness: paper negatives will tend to be somewhat softer
than film negatives, as you thought.
(2) tonality: paper negatives will tend to have less contrast than
film negatives, everything else being constant.
(3) texture: many papers have a sort of swirly internal texture
that can print. This can be pleasing, or awful, depending on the
image and your sensibilities.
(4) compatibility with oil/wax treatment: many coated or glossy
inkjet papers IME don't mix well with either oil or wax; some of
them seemed fine for a day or so after treating but then the
surface went all crackly. So I'd avoid any heavily coated or
glossy paper, although a light coating like on the photo-quality
inkjet paper works just fine.
(5) treatment to make the paper more translucent: I've tried all
kinds of treatments but long ago settled on mineral oil as my
favorite treatment for negatives. It soaks in nicely and makes a
very transparent negative, dries to a nice finish, maintains its
tonality over years, doesn't go rancid (as some vegetable oil I
tried once did) and it makes my hands feel soft after I've used it,
too.
More later,
Katharine
To answer
On Dec 2, 2007, at 4:29 AM, Jacek wrote:
Other than the transparency route of producing negatives for alt
processes, what are the pros and cons of the Paper negative
route? I always thought a paper negative wouldnt give all the
detail a transparency negative would give?
Cheers
Jacek
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