Re: cyanotype question
Loris, I think alt is full of contradictions, and especially cyanotype, because of paper and humidity. When I lived in the South everything went so smoothly, but two things bugged me: how long it took the paper to not feel "limp", and how more quickly dark reaction set in to a gum layer. Here I can put on a gum coat and it is almost ready to go in 5 minutes, and I can leave paper for quite a while with no ill effect. I don't know how Turkey compares; I think it is dry like Montana (15-25%? I did see it at 33% once but that was when the dryer was going) but not as variable temp and cold. A question, though: when you say that you got a pretty pale print quickly with the 1:1 water dilution, that indicates that your speed went down, correct? But when you say you got a "pretty flat print" with the 1:1 that doesn't say to me that you got a shorter ES but a longer one? In other words, a less contrasty print would equate to a longer tonal range, a more contrasty print a shorter one or are you talking different things? Because it seems to me that with dilution the color pales, the tonal range extends but the speed slows, if that makes sense. But if I am mixing water in my solution, in MT it may just serve to "imbed" the solution more into the paper fibers and add more humidity and thus increase the tonal range and lessen the washing off and give an "apparent" speed increase. Who knows, just speculating with no conclusions. I wish Sam would weigh in here. I haven't finished my first cup of morning coffee either so I could have this completely backwards. Chris BTW, I tried this with Masa before and found that 2A+1B diluted 1:1 with water gave a pretty pale print, "quickly". I haven't tested that with a step tablet, only with an image and can speak only according to the print I got... Also, with 1:1 diluted coating solution the ES was considerably shorter than usual. (Because I got a pretty flat print from a negative calibrated for undiluted 2A+1B.) I'm sure you already tried this and it contradicts with your (and Sam's and Henry's) findings -> so I wonder if it's my memory playing games? Will probably try this again, since I'm sure the full color/density of cyanotype is overkill for realistic or close to realistic color reproduction in tricolor gum -> so will have to suppress it somehow, and I'm sure your tests will be very helpful to me then. Regards, Loris.
|