[alt-photo] Re: Weston Diploma Parchment

Jon Reid jon at sharperstill.com
Mon Mar 8 22:53:07 GMT 2010


Hi all,
Thanks fro all your responses.
I didn't put all details into the post of every solution I had tried  
as it was already getting unwieldy.

I lent my sensitizer #1 solution to a friend just two weeks ago who  
made a beautiful pure palladium print from it. It was made up fairly  
recently from powdered stock that is <2 years old and always  
refrigerated. I think it's alright.

I'm using the black plastic from bags that silver-gelatin photo  
papers come packaged in. It is what I normally use (though the last  
few years I have been printing from digital inter-negatives that have  
opaque borders and don't require masking.) The plastic is between  
paper and negative, so piping shouldn't be the cause.

With regards to drying the coated paper. I was taught, when I first  
learnt platinum, to use warm/hot air from a hair dryer then rest the  
paper to allow it to regain some humidity before exposure. I then  
subsequently read that some people believe it reduces Dmax and  
contrast so I started using cool air and or air drying before laying  
the print on a rack over a bath of saturated salt solution (household  
table salt). To be honest, that's when I thought the fogging was  
getting worse. Perhaps it was too humid?

I decided to try and simplify my process back to when it used to work  
for me (when I used Platine), so this time I blasted with warm air,  
then rested under safelights before exposure. My exposure unit is  
black light tubes - fairly basic and standard.

I tried a fresh batch of developer. I was favouring the 'cold bath'  
version of KOx as per the Sullivan and Weese book as I don't want too  
warm a tone however the interesting thing from the tests the other  
night is that there was little difference in tone between that  
version and straight KOx used at 21DegC.

I gather no one else has had this problem as I have, so maybe it  
isn't the paper. I'm frustrated to the nth, with 30 or so negs to  
print for my debut solo show...

Jon


On 09/03/2010, at 6:54 AM, EJ Photo wrote:

> I haven't seen heat fog with that paper. It could very well be an  
> issue with
> Ferric but replacing is NOT always needed. It could very well be that
> repairing it is in order. It could be a pH issue or all sorts of  
> stuff. Try
> adding some more Oxalic acid to your ferric. Hair dryers should  
> only be used
> lightly and primarily on the backside with low heat.
>
>
> I'd suspect the light bleed along the negative material; light  
> piping. Try
> place the mask under it just for a test and see if it stops it. If  
> you can't
> get it to stop, clear, or prevent the distraction of the fog, just  
> coat the
> whole piece of paper. ; )
>
> have you tried a fresh batch of developer? Is it possible that you  
> were
> playing around with it and had some lithium in the mix?  or gold  
> that is
> fogging it?
>
> Eric
>
> Eric Neilsen
> Eric Neilsen Photography
> 4101 Commerce Street, Suite 9
> Dallas, TX 75226
>
> www.ericneilsenphotography.com
> skype me with ejprinter
> www.ericneilsenphotography.com/forum1
> Let's Talk Photography
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: alt-photo-process-list-bounces at lists.altphotolist.org
> [mailto:alt-photo-process-list-bounces at lists.altphotolist.org] On  
> Behalf Of
> Diana Bloomfield
> Sent: Monday, March 08, 2010 7:27 AM
> To: The alternative photographic processes mailing list
> Subject: [alt-photo] Re: Weston Diploma Parchment
>
> Jon,
>
> Have you printed any of these without using a hair dryer beforehand?
> I'm thinking your problem might be either exhausted ferric oxalate,
> and/or use of the hair dryer-- as well as allowing it to sit for an
> additional 15 minutes after using the hair dryer(?).  I taught a
> workshop once where there was some evidence of fogging, but only for
> those people using hair dryers-- even when they set it on a "cool"
> setting.  When we eliminated the use of hair dryers, the problem
> disappeared.   Just a suggestion, but it's worth a try to switch to
> fresh ferric oxalate and skip the hair dryer.  I also think certain
> papers are really a disaster for pt/pd.  I used to use, many years,
> ago Cranes Platinotype (sp?), and I couldn't completely clear a print
> on that paper to save my life-- no matter what I used..  I never liked
> the Weston paper, either, but I know I'm in the minority there.  I
> just don't like the weight of it.
>
> Diana
>
>
> On Mar 8, 2010, at 5:25 AM, Jon Reid wrote:
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> I have been battling a problem for about 6 months now. At first I
>> thought it was a clearing problem then after trying various things
>> realised that it wasn't clearing but rather some density that was
>> appearing in the coated area of the paper that is masked during
>> exposure. The paper that I have been trying to print on is Weston
>> Diploma Parchment. I bought this paper in early 2008 from Bostick &
>> Sullivan and believe it is stock that was made by Cranes, not the re-
>> invented Diploma Parchment Plat Pal being marketed by John Zowkowski
>> of Butler Dearden.
>>
>> I am wishing to print my 5x7 rollo-pyro negs on these 11x14 sheets
>> for my debut solo exhibition. I do not want to mat the prints so I
>> am trying for very clear coated-but-masked areas. The other night,
>> believing I was dealing with a fogging issue I set up darkroom
>> safelights and coated under those lights. I then used a hair dryer
>> and rested the paper in the room for 10-15min before exposure (11min
>> in my UV box), and developed in KOx (cold bath version-fresh) at 21C.
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