Re: masa questions Re: Paper negatives- Ink Selection
Yes, that makes sense, and that's what I've been doing. It's the
"hoping for the best" part that I have problems with; I like being
able to see that the negative is perfectly registered before putting
it on the printing platform.
My new problem (in the last few minutes) is that the layer I just
put on, the last (cyan) layer on the last piece of sized paper from
the other day, stained in spots as soon as it went on, and I know the
print is going to come out stained in those places. which is
disappointing, since til now the print had been shaping up very
well. So far I find that this paper can't take as many layers
without staining as most papers, but I think I'm going to up the
gelatin content in the next sizing batch and see if that helps,
though it may possibly exacerbate the "grabbiness" of the paper.
But there is definitely something intriguing about this paper that's
keeping me experimenting in spite of its difficulties, and I'll
probably size another batch and experiment further. Thanks for the
suggestions,
Katharine
On Oct 16, 2008, at 10:08 AM, Keith Gerling wrote:
Hi Katherine,
The paper does get pretty wavy. The thin nature of the paper makes it
very easy to register a negative over a coated image. I usually
register the part of the image that I find most important (usually the
center), tape things together, put it in a contact frame and hope for
the best. My pictures are pretty large and I find that the problems
seem to even each other out, if that makes any sense.
On Thu, Oct 16, 2008 at 10:38 AM, Katharine Thayer
<kthayer@pacifier.com> wrote:
On Oct 16, 2008, at 7:25 AM, Keith Gerling wrote:
As I think I have discussed before, I like to
humidify the paper prior to coating to make it less "grabby". Masa
doesn't work that way. In an interim step between humidification
and
thinner emulsion, I was spraying the surface of the paper with
water.
Since I was diluting it anyway, as a move towards More
Consistancy and
Less Loosey Goosey I just added the water to the mix.
Keith, I was just about to ask you a couple more questions about
masa, and I
find you've answered one of them here; it had to do with the
"grabbiness"
of the paper. I find this paper "grabby" (smooth side, sized) in
a way
that no other paper I've ever used has been. I don't much like
adding
water; it does make the paper less grabby, but I don't like the
printing
qualities of the water-added emulsion. It also seems to promote
pigment
stain, and the added water makes the paper more wavy/wrinkly while
coating.
Which leads to the other question; do you have any special tricks
for
registering this paper? I'm managing so far but finding it rather
difficult
and time-consuming and a little more hair-raisingly uncertain than
I'm
comfortable with. I've learned how to handle the paper in
developing and
drying so it dries after each printing perfectly flat and smooth,
but in
coating especially with added water, it gets wavy again; the
coated paper
dries that way, all corrugated, which makes it difficult to
register. Any
thoughts, suggestions?
I realize I'm crossing threads here, sorry.
Katharine
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