RE: coating large prints

[Neal Wilson <wilsonneal@hotmail.com>]

I position the print with the long aspect ratio left to right, and aim to pour my solution quickly in a left to right band and quickly brush north to south to spread it quickly. I try not to over think it to much.  If the paper is at the right humidity I've not had any particular coating issues at these sizes.
Neal

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Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2009 13:06:33 -0800
From: david@davidashcraftgallery.com
Subject: Re: coating large prints
To: alt-photo-process-l@usask.ca

I have the brush and have been using it for 8x10s, was alittle worried about working a puddle across that much real estate.  Is there a preferred starting point ie right side to left or the middle and a pattern to ensure even coating.

The sink in my darkroom can handle trays that size, so that isn't a concern for me.

thanks,

David

On Jan 20, 2009, at 9:11 AM, Neal Wilson wrote:

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