U of S | Mailing List Archive | alt-photo-process-l | Re: Ruined 3rd tricolor gum print! Grrrr...

Re: Ruined 3rd tricolor gum print! Grrrr...



There's still too much pigment definitely. I splitted the channels of the
original RGB file again yesterday evening, then and painted with the
respective color. The print color is too strong compared what I see on the
screen.

In the next try, I will halve the pigment amnt. again + will decrease the
dichromate amnt. to 10% (from 20%) and expose ~ 1/3 - 1/2 stop more for
more open highlights and shadows + better contrast. (Since cyan makes the
"bones" of the image, I definitely need more contrast.)

However, paper negatives give me grainy results both because of 1) paper
structure (that's why I'm trying tricolor; I wanted to see what happens
when I print from three different negatives -> hoping that blending three
different negative's texture will give a more homogenous result) and 2)
printer's more visible dithering on plain paper negative (it lays much
less ink, relying more to the dithering pattern in order to give the
impression of continuous tone).

Will share how I progress.
Regards,
Loris.


23 Eylül 2008, Salı, 8:24 pm tarihinde, Katharine Thayer yazmış:
> Hmm, it looks more like pigment coarseness than paper coarseness to
> me, but I'm not going to argue about it; I could be wrong.  It's easy
> enough to determine, one way or the other, by noticing whether it
> lessens as you reduce the pigment load or not; if so, the coarseness
> is probably a pigment concentration issue; if not, the coarseness is
> probably a paper issue.  But if it proves to be a paper issue, if
> your paper negative really gives you that much graininess in
> printing, I'd suggest using a different paper, unless the graininess
> is an effect you especially value.
>
> By the way (not for Loris particularly but for anyone who's
> interested) I have a visual here
>
> http://www.pacifier.com/~kthayer/html/tonality.html
>
> (second visual down the page) that illustrates how coarseness/
> graininess increases with pigment concentration.
>
> But yes, I think it's a good idea to follow this print through and
> see how the layers work together in the final print; that's the key
> for tricolor, and the more prints you do, the more you'll understand
> about that interaction between the color layers.  You're doing great,
> carry on.  The reason I've commented so much is that I'm interested,
> not that I'm trying to drive you crazy or anything.
> Katharine