Re: Fabriano
i know it's a Fabriano thread but I have to say that my new favorite don't need to acidify it paper of the moment is Coventry Rag Vellum White. It did beautifully with new cyanotype which for me (IMHO) is the most unforgiving of paper pH and impurities type processes. the plus is that United Art and Education carries it. UAE is the only art store with a comprehensive selection of printmaking papers since we lost old, crusty McCallister's here in Dayton. Otherwise I would be mail ordering from Blick or driving to Cincinnati.
Once the dust settles from the holidays (and printing / hanging a VDB show) I am going to try it with Zia and palladium, eventually doing a coat of gum over one of these processes. -francis
On Sat, Nov 14, 2009 at 11:09 AM, Kerik <kerik@kerik.com> wrot
As I indicated, MANY people are happy using this paper. But,
no one can guarantee that when you place your order something hasn't changed.
Buying paper is always a crap shoot. That said, I've found this paper more
consistent tan most since it replaced its predecessor, Fabriano Uno. One
caveat, I only use the 140 lb version. I don't like prints on cardboard.
:-)
My suggestions for treatment is soak in 5% oxalic acid for 5
to 10 minutes.
Kerik
Sent: Friday, November 13,
2009 7:09 PM
I have oxalic in the darkroom now so will give that a try first if
I get the Fabriano. The question now is anybody happy using this paper?
I can't buy just one sheet from this distributor, 22x30, so I want to
make sure the paper is the same as when Arentz wrote about it in his book in
2005.
David
On Nov 13, 2009, at 5:18 PM, Kerik wrote:
I know Loris' results are different, but oxalic acid has
worked extremely well for me and dozens and dozens of students since I began
using this approach about eight years ago. My paper is never
gritty. For me in here in the US, oxalic acid is cheap, easy to
get and IMO much safer to have around than HCl.
Kerik
Thanks.
Was also hoping that I would get a recommendation for this particular
paper. I found a wholesaler I deal with that was giving me a very
deep discount on this particular paper and thought I would capitalize on
it. Just don't want to end up with a paper that has changed and is
no longer useful for pt/pd printing. I did get some of the lame
Platine and don't want to go through that again.
David
On Nov 13, 2009, at 2:27 PM, Loris Medici wrote:
Soak in 2%-5% hydrochloric acid for at least 2-3 minutes (until
no
fizzing/bubbles to be precise) and rinse well later. You'll have
a
very nice paper for pt/pd and gumovers...
If you find HCl
objectionable you may also use dilute (as above)
acetic acid, or (as
a last resort) oxalic acid. Most printers
(including masters such as
Dick Arentz and Kerik Kouklis) use oxalic
with good results but I
don't find it well suited to the job since it
made a gritty paper for
me. (I also don't find calcium carbonate and
oxalic acid compatible
because the resulting salt is insoluble and
will remain in paper
whereas HCl or acetic acid will make soluble
calcium salts which will
leave the paper + HCl will dissolve small
bits of iron/metal in paper
- if present - which is detrimental to the
process.) Moreover,
another cause why I prefer it is the fact that HCl
is very very cheap
and readily available (concentrated/pure or already
diluted for
cleaning/decalcification/pH control purposes, many off the
shelf
products) in my location (Turkey) - may not be so to you.
Hope
this
helps,
Loris.
-- francis schanberger www.frangst.com
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