[alt-photo] Re: Sizing

[Christina Anderson]

Mary,

I agree. I never felt it logical to let sizing method determine pigment choice and strength of pigment. And I LOVE all the pigments you mention below. With sizing I never have to worry about either choice or strength, so the additional step of sizing, albeit a PITA, gave me peace of mind further down the road.  I never had to start sweating at the fourth layer of gum--would it or would it not stain now? That happened often enough for me.

I've used Fabriano Artistico for 10 years now and when I started sizing again after a six-month period of not sizing and unpredictable staining, I never looked back. More power to those who don't size and do well, each to his own. With the quick n easy PVA, though, there is no reason to abandon a sizing step since it is really brush n go, IF sizing is warranted.

I would never assume to tell someone that my way is the only right way. Nor would I assume that since several expert gummists are doing something one way, that that "dogma" is the only way to go. Heck, I can't even assume that even though since the dawn of gum everyone sized, that means you must size--nowadays paper and pigment and all kinds of stuff are different than back then, AKD sizing, for example, that Peter recommended in the past (Peter, you are no longer using AKD then? Or just when you use BFK and never with Artistico is my perhaps correct guess? I could have missed a post somewhere but I have a quart of AKD here from your recommendation waiting for my tests this year). 

Ultimately gum is climate and person-dependent. And I can tell, Mary, that you have mastered your process because your gum prints are beautiful. 

Hey, is Stella still gumming it up, too??
Chris

Christina Z. Anderson
christinaZanderson.com

On Dec 9, 2011, at 6:33 PM, Mary wrote:

> I started having fun when I started sizing my paper, Paul!
> 
> Before that it wasn't much fun. It was almost enough to make me give up on gum printing altogether. I can't tell you how many sheets of Fabriano Artistico I wasted due to staining when I began printing gum a few years ago. Maybe I'm using the wrong pigments (phthalo blue, quinacridone rose, Ni azo yellow, earth pigments; DSmith or MGraham) or making the pigment/gum ratio too strong, but when I figured out a sizing system that worked for me, everything else fell into place: recently dilute PVA; before that gelatin hardened with glyoxal. I find it essential to preshrink in cool water to avoid registration problems, whether I use the 140lb or my preferred 300lb.
> 
> I gotta admit I'm jealous of you folks that have success without sizing, but it has never happened that way for me.
> What I've learned about gum printing in the last 5-or-so years is that it takes a lot of practice, and each person has to figure out what works best for them.
> 
> Mary in Boise
> -- 
> /http://www.alternative-ego.com/
> /http://www.flickr.com/photos/gneissgirl//
> 
> On 12/9/2011 5:04 PM, Paul Viapiano wrote:
>> <snip>
>> What I've learned in the 2-3 years I've been working in gum is that there are NO rules and that you don't have to make your life so difficult with all the dogma that's out there. Get your hands into it, experiment and most of all, have fun!
>> 
>> Paul
> 
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