Re: question on sizing
I've had no problem with fish-eyes since I started adding a drop or two of Kremer Defoamer (kremer # 78600) to my gelatin. Judy turned me on to this magic elixir many years ago and it seems to make life easier. Keith On Mon, Sep 8, 2008 at 11:19 AM, Christina Z. Anderson <zphoto@montana.net> wrote: > DJ, > Thank YOU for all the stuff on acids, as well as all you other people! Now > I have one more thing on my plate to try--drop by drop in my gum mix. I > will post when done but with hobbling around now I am not too fast at > getting to things. BOY does that frikkin' cramp my style. > > And DJ, never feel like a novice asking all kinds of questions. This is > what makes this list tick, and in a way we are all novices at alt. > > As far as the book, I am looking for a publisher. Long explanation, but > here it is: if I want to use the book for my tenure case in 3 yr, it cannot > be self-published. However, if no publisher wants it (a single process book > makes NO money they say) then I will self-publish within the year and just > count it under my Teaching section of the dossier, which is what I did with > the Experimental Workbook and Alt Proc Condensed. > > Do you all have all these ridiculous hoops in Europe as well? Well, I guess > they really aren't ridiculous, they're kind of challenging and even sort of > fun. Well, sort of. > Chris > PS Judy I have a transfer student from Pratt this year! > __________________ > > Christina Z. Anderson > http://christinaZanderson.com/ > __________________ > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Dirk-Jan Treffers > To: alt-photo-process-l@usask.ca > Sent: Sunday, September 07, 2008 10:12 AM > Subject: Re: question on sizing > thanx Chris! > > I'll try to experiment more with the sizing, since this is quite 'new' to > me. (For cyanotype it isn't necessary)... > > and about your first comment: You're WAY more experienced them I am, so > you'll probablybe able to help with lots more things... I just need to make > sure I finally get the proces a bit more unde control, so I will be able to > identify problems and ask for solutions on this list. For now, me problems > mainly look like 'hmmm after three layers it looks far to reddish to me'. > And that kind of problems of course, i figure out on my own by either making > a fourth layer with extra blue, or using less pigment in my red layer, or > using a different kind of red pigment... for that kind of solutions by the > way, I find the website http://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/water.html on water > colours VERY helpful... But i guess that's a website you guys already know > of course ;-) So in the future, be ware of more of my problems/questions ;-) > For now, I'm just lurking and reading on other peoples questions and > learning from that! > > but than again, thanx for your help! > > DJ > > (by the way... I already have your book 'Alternative processes Condensed', > but I heard from Kees Brandenburg that you're working on a special book on > gum only. Any idea when that will be published???) > > 2008/9/7 Christina Z. Anderson <zphoto@montana.net> >> >> Hi DJ, >> So now I can help YOU. Those spots are called "fish-eyes". There are a >> number of causes and this, too, plagued people back in the 1800's. They had >> different explanations for it. I find that some pigments are oilier than >> others--yellow rarely fisheyes for me but magenta does often. I thought >> this was because I was usually using magenta as my last layer and thus there >> was a slicker surface of exposed gum layers below to make it fish eye, but >> when I use magenta as my first layer it does it. >> >> You may be right in that your sizing is causing this, either by unevenness >> or that the layer is a bit oily. How to get rid of them is let the layer >> set for a few seconds and then brush, brush, brush, say, with a dry hake >> brush to even them out. This sometimes works. >> >> Otherwise, make sure your gum mix is not too liquidy, because when my >> coating solution is less viscous this happens more often. So you might try >> adding a little gum powder to thicken the layer so it doesn't separate. >> >> As a last resort, do your gum print and fill in the missing color with >> Prismacolor color pencils when the gum print is finished. >> >> One 19th century explanation talked about at length in the British Journal >> of Photography was that when the dichromate was added to the gum/pigment, >> little balls of insoluble gum (like fish eggs) would form and "part the >> waters" so to speak. One man professed to see it under the microscope, >> these little globules. Who knows if this is correct, but it seems a bit far >> fetched. >> >> I sympathize with you because fish eyes are a PAIN. >> Chris >> __________________ >> >> Christina Z. Anderson >> http://christinaZanderson.com/ >> __________________ >> >> ----- Original Message ----- >> From: Dirk-Jan Treffers >> To: alt-photo-process-l@usask.ca >> Sent: Sunday, September 07, 2008 4:59 AM >> Subject: question on sizing >> dear list members, >> >> I'm a novice at all these processes, so maybe you've encountered this >> problem a thousand times allready, but maybe you guys (and gals) can help me >> out: >> >> for tri-colour gum printing, I size my paper. Although I don't think my >> paper (Arches Aquarelle, 300 g/m, i use both cold and hot pressed) doesn't >> really need sizing, I last found this paper from bamboo that I like, that >> actually does need it. >> >> I size with a 3% gelatin solution, with glyoxal as my hardening agent. >> After drying (single coat of gelatine-size), I notice that my >> gym/pigment/dichromate solution doesn't really stick on some small parts of >> the paper. When I use non-hardened paper, I need more of the gum-dichromate >> solution to coat my paper (but I don't actually mind this.....). On the >> hardened paper, I need less volume of gum-chrom. solution. But in general, >> it works fine, but there are (often) small parts, where the paper looke tike >> it 'rejects' the solution. Don't really know how explain this, but it looks >> a bit like the paper on that particular spot, doesn;t absorb water-like >> soltions). >> >> Does any one have any ideas on this? How to size in a way that these spot >> son't occur any more? Or is sizing on Arches Aquarelle perhaps not even >> necessary (an idea that I would really like, since this sizing stuff is >> really boring....)? >> >> Would love to hear your ideas on this issue! >> >> kind reagrd, >> >> DJ > >
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