U of S | Mailing List Archive | alt-photo-process-l | Re: masa questions Re: Paper negatives- Ink Selection

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