RE: coating large prints

[Neal Wilson <wilsonneal@hotmail.com>]

I've made prints of 3 8x10 negs side by side in panorama format, and also 4 8x10 negs, stacked 2x2 so that's 8x30, 10x24  or 16x20, depending on orientation.   The coating is fairly easy with the 4" Richeson brush.  I once saw a video on YouTube with a Spanish photographer that had her solution in a trough and rather than measuring enough for one print, she just had a saturated brush and liberally went back and forthe between the paper (very large) and this trough.  What an extravagance!  Anyway, for me, I multiply my drop count for a single 8x10 to however many negs are involved, mix it well, pour it out and move swiftly to get the puddle shoved around evenly.  Then I remember that slow, light and smooth results in the best coating. The coating has been the easiest part of it, for me.
 
For me, the pain in the neck when printing this large is tray size.  My sink only really accomodates ONE 20x24 tray, so I use a single tray method in which my PotOx and clearing baths are stored in wide, flat Rubbermaid containers.  I develop, and pour that back into the Rubbermaid, and repeat with the others, separated by rinse steps.  It's a slow, tedious process, but I enjoy it in a way.  And, this tray is ALSO my wash tray, so I'm lucky to get one good print in a printing session.
 
Neal

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Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2009 08:24:33 -0800
From: viapiano@pacbell.net
Subject: Re: coating large prints
To: alt-photo-process-l@usask.ca

Although I'm a neophyte in pt/pd and have only made small 4x5 prints thus far, my reading has led me to believe that you should use a flat wash brush of about 4".

 

Paul

 

 

 

----- Original Message -----

From: David Ashcraft

To: alt-photo-process-l@usask.ca

Sent: Tuesday, January 20, 2009 8:18 AM

Subject: coating large prints

How does one go about coating prints in the 20x24 range in pt/pd?  Any special tools or procedures?

David Ashcraft