The case of the missing gelatin: Gum printing problem solved. I think.
Well, here's a follow-up to all my gum printing woes. It got a little warmer here a couple of days ago, so I decided to try sizing some paper again. I have one of those little scales with weights, so I can measure out my gelatin, etc, and since I'm the only one using this, I usually just leave the weights in the scale, which is located in what I thought was a safe and inaccessible (to all but me) place in my darkroom. Well, I started measuring out some gelatin, and I realized that one of the weights (5 gram weight) was missing. I eventually found it, but I realized I must have left the door open at some point, and one of my cats must have been in there, found it, took it out and started playing with it. So I wondered if that was the problem I was having before with my printing. The weight must have been missing before, and I hadn't noticed, and so I was using 5 grams less gelatin than I normally use. I wouldn't think 5 grams would make such a difference, but rather than size some fresh paper, I decided to simply add some sizing (the 5 grams that was missing) from that earlier batch that wasn't working. So, I did-- and the gum prints I've made from that same paper, with the added gelatin, now seem to be working fine. So I'm thinking the missing 5 grams was the problem-- not the cold air. Is that possible? I also sized some new paper a few days later, in the same relatively cold air as before, and I've had no problem with that paper, either. I blame this all on the bad cat. Diana
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