Re: daniel smith gum
Thanks, Judy...
I just saw a few older posts in which you relate that...
I was just curious because I have a 20% discount coupon from D Smith and
thought I'd grab some gum while picking up some other supplies.
Paul
----- Original Message -----
From: "Judy Seigel" <jseigel@panix.com>
To: <alt-photo-process-l@usask.ca>
Sent: Friday, September 25, 2009 6:36 PM
Subject: Re: daniel smith gum
On Fri, 25 Sep 2009, Paul Viapiano wrote:
Daniel Smith gum...standard or premium light?
Paul, in my experience, every year is different, according I understand to
how much rain fell on the accacia groves that year, among other factors --
tho I assume they also blend together leftovers & odds and ends of this
and that so none of it is pristine. Also each gummist has his/her own
style that maybe likes this gum and not that. HOWEVER...
I found the Dan'l Smith standard gum marvelous & so much better than the
"premium" (which is at least or probably twice the price) that I ordered
another gallon of the standard of the same lot...(remember the lot # is as
important as the year)... which I still haven't used up because I had two
other gallons of something else, etc. etc. etc.
Bear in mind meanwhile, that any of the gums will oxidize and turn dark
while sitting on the shelf for 6 months or so & just keeps darkening.
HOWEVER, my hunch is it's just a superstition. A big deal is made of
having a nice pale gum, but I've never found it makes a difference in the
final color, because the pigment is so much stronger than the gum
"color"... EXCEPT if you mix a pale yellow paint with a very dark gum it
will appear somewhat darker before printing, tho I don't know if that
burns out during exposure because I never used the yellow solo... or if it
even matters if it does or not because that very pale yellow isn't a very
significant color on its own (& if it is I paint it in by hand).
Which is to say the look of the emulsion before printing is made into a
big deal, but I have a feeling it's kind of irrelevant.
But it's so long since I've used the formulary gum, I can't comment on
that, except to say every vintage is different every year and if you're
used to one, & like it, why dink around ?
Finally, if you want a truly truly water clear gum, buy the tiny bottle of
Windosr Newton watercolor gum that looks like water... It costs about as
much per ounce as snob wine, and when I first tried it I was ready to pour
it down the sink. But for some dumb reason (probably because it cost so
much) I tried it some more... and ultimately found that you really could
use it if you tried, and that it was pure & had NOOOO color of its own,
,,,,,,,,, if that matters, which it probably doesn't except for some
occasional overpainting or touch ups.
Is there a big difference between the two and is it much different than
the Formulary gum?
Just curious...
Paul
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