U of S | Mailing List Archive | alt-photo-process-l | Re: Gum on masa, again

Re: Gum on masa, again



Thank you.

I think that has to be the answer, developing face up, because it's lifting the edges to look underneath that seems to really exacerbate this problem for me. I like the suggestions of developing face up, lifting it out with a support and hanging it up clinging to the support.

I had about given up on this paper entirely, but your corroboration and suggestions have given me hope to press on. Thanks,
Katharine





On Oct 12, 2008, at 12:49 PM, Keith Gerling wrote:

I find masa extremely difficult to handle when wet. I usually "scoop"
it out of the water - developing it face up - with a sheet of aluminum
or plexiglass, hang it up clinging to the support, and then peel the
print off of the support after it has dried a little. Certainly it is
understandable that you would get creases.

On Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 10:35 PM, Katharine Thayer <kthayer@pacifier.com> wrote:

Well, folks, I've been tearing my hair out trying to print on this paper,
and it's not working well for me at all. I've re-read the latest discussion
on the subject, and I don't see anywhere anyone mentioning the problem that
is making the paper impossible for me. I've adjusted my coating mix to its
requirements so it coats okay, though the paper tends to go wavy as it
absorbs the coating, and it prints fine, but the thing that ruins prints for
me is that when the paper gets wet through, it becomes very fragile; any
disturbance of the paper (gently picking up an edge to look at how it's
developing, etc) opens a crease, almost a tear, that tends to run
diagonally across the print but can go in any direction, and there can be
more than one of them. Does this happen to no one but me? Do you use a
screen or something to support the paper in the water, the way one would
with a delicate Japanese paper?

Someone suggested that being such a cheap paper, maybe there are large
inconsistencies between batches so that none of us are actually using the
same paper, which would explain why people have such different experiences
with it. Keith recently suggested that "there are a few interesting little
surprises that await those who are willing to experiment" with this paper;
is this one of them? If so, I'm not delighted.
Katharine