Re: conservation of albumen

[eric nelson <emanphoto@gmail.com>]

You may very well be right, but once that is done, it takes a lot of work to find out it was affected it in some way.  I double coat so it would be a real bummer to find out after all that, that freezing did have a negative effect.

I've never seen any warning against freezing, but since freshness of the eggs and even their source does come into play, personally I'd play it safe.

I view albumen coating is a one day affair doing the first coat, hanging to dry, then running those sheets through isopropyl alcohol w/salt, hanging to dry, and then doing the 2nd coat.  You can get a lot done in a day and once finished, they are ready to be sensitized indefinitely.

Given that working method, I've never had a reason to freeze what little albumen remained.  

I say get it all done within the 2 or 3 week window after fermentation and be done with it.  That window also gives one time to do a test to see if all is well if you're feeling unsure about your albumen and want to do a couple test prints.

Eric

On Tue, Jan 20, 2009 at 4:05 AM, John Brewer <john@johnbrewerphotography.com> wrote:

Yes, I wondered that too as I'm making my first steps into albumen. In
cooking, albumem, (as well as yolks and beaten eggs), can be frozen and
doesn't affect the food.

J

-----Original Message-----
From: Alberto Novo [mailto:alt.list@albertonovo.it]
Sent: 20 January 2009 07:09
To: alt-photo-process-L@usask.ca
Subject: Re: conservation of albumen

Thanks for the suggestions, Eric.
Your first reply was not to freeze the solution. What happens if it is
frozen? At first, it seems there is nothing that might be destroyed by the
growth of ice crystals.

Alberto


> Coated paper will last indefinitely.  Sensitized paper, at most 24 hours
and
> you will see it start to fog.
>
> Determining whether your albumen solution has gone bad is a subjective
> process looking for a bad smell, as opposed to the normal smell of the
> albumen, and if you see anything floating in the solution it is usually a
> good clue to dump it.
>
> I've never used a solution more than a couple weeks or so old with the
clock
> starting once the fermentation process has completed, according to the
> Reilly timetable.  I keep the solution refrigerated for the entire time
it's
> not in use as well as the fermentation time, and not frozen.
>
> Eric