[alt-photo] PVA revisited - one size doesn't fit all?

[Henry Rattle]

Following our discussions last month about PVA and gelatin size for
tricolour gum prints, I thought you might like to see little comparison I
did. All the prints were coated the same, same exposure, same development. I
was interested in the finer detail of the surface produced. It's hardly a
comprehensive survey - my initials aren't CZA - but thought some of you
might be interested.

I tried 
1. Saunders Waterford HP preshrunk, with gelatin/formaldehyde sizing brushed
on (incidentally the hot-pressed surface disappears after the first soak and
it becomes more like a cold-pressed or NOT surface).
2. Compared it with the same paper unshrunk and with PVA 1+1 size
3. And with the same again but (following Diana) applying the size only
after the first (yellow) coat
4. And with Fabriano Artistico HP with gelatin/formaldehyde size (the paper
was pretty slick for the final (blue) coat which came away too easily)
5. And with FA HP with PVA 1+1

I took a scan of the original picture, and then of 50mm (2 inch) squares of
each print to reveal more of the surface. If you want to see them they are
on Flickr at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/henry_rattle/

The remarkable thing to me is how different they all are! The conclusion?
Well firstly that no two gum printers will ever end up succeeding with the
same workflow. And second that I think I still prefer my
gelatin/formaldehyde size, although Diana's PVA after the first coat runs it
pretty close, and is considerably less fuss!

With best wishes

Henry