U of S | Mailing List Archive | alt-photo-process-l | Re: Bleach-development with gum

Re: Bleach-development with gum



Keith,
What about the fumes? Are you doing this outside in a garage? How long does it take the smell to dissipate?
Chris


----- Original Message ----- From: "Keith Gerling" <keith.gerling@gmail.com>
To: <alt-photo-process-l@usask.ca>
Sent: Friday, December 07, 2007 7:30 AM
Subject: Re: Bleach-development with gum


Charcoal lighter is very similar to kerosene and some use it for starting
fires on cooking grills. (the air around O'Hare Airport in Chicago usually
smells like a cook-out). I think Zippo is more refined and expensive. It
is very likely that the residual oils that makes my starter less refined is
the very stuff that stays in the paper and makes it translucent.

You say that baby oil is absorbed instantly, but I bet it actually takes a
second or two to really sink in. Rubbing oil on a large piece of paper takes
some time. Fluid bottle in one hand and squeegee in the other, I can treat
a 12x19 inch negative in a couple of seconds - and there's no going back to
cover missed spots. I'm working with small negatives now, but my goal is to
be soon using full-sized Masa sheets - or even bigger - so I need a faster
process.

On Dec 7, 2007 4:56 AM, Loris Medici <mail@loris.medici.name> wrote:

I see. Well, we used plain stationary paper in the Istanbul workshop and
the
oil was permeating instantly - probably you're using a special inkjet
paper.

Charcoal starting fluid? Seems like a nice solution - my compliments. Is
it
something similar to Zippo lighter fuel? We don't have liquid starters
here,
only dry ones...

Regards,
Loris.


From: Keith Gerling <keith.gerling@gmail.com>
Reply-To: <alt-photo-process-l@usask.ca>
Date: Thu, 06 Dec 2007 17:33:10 -0600
To: <alt-photo-process-l@usask.ca>
Subject: Re: Bleach-development with gum

That's a good idea - measure the print, print inkjet to size, repeat.  It
wouldn't matter if it DID keep shrinking.  But this Masa is too thin
handle.
I really need to have it mounted.

It takes forever for the oil to permeate the paper and it contaminates
everything.  One has to be very careful where one places a negative or
what
one touches.  But I found a solution: charcoal starting fluid.  Goes on
very
fast, evaporates from wet to very dry in a few minutes.  No need for a
mylar
or plastic-wrap barrier because the paper is translucent but not very
oily.
And in an hour all traces have evaporated and  you can't tell it was ever
soaked - the paper reverts back to the original and so is easy to store.