[alt-photo] Re: SG drying/ferrotyping [WAS: Dmax for silver paper]

[Richard Knoppow]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "etienne garbaux" <photographeur at nerdshack.com>
To: "The alternative photographic processes mailing list" 
<alt-photo-process-list at lists.altphotolist.org>
Sent: Saturday, January 14, 2012 9:44 AM
Subject: [alt-photo] Re: SG drying/ferrotyping [WAS: Dmax 
for silver paper]


> Pierre wrote:
>
>>my dryer is an array brand and not premier
>
> If you mean Arkay, and specifically the T2C, it is a 
> re-branded Premier (or vice-versa).  Or, at least, they 
> were back when I had examples of both handy.)  Also sold 
> under several other brand names.
>
>>Would a piece of glass from a frame work?
>>or does it have to be special glass?
>
> The surface on plate glass is much smoother, and it is not 
> hard to get.  Look up "glass" in the yellow pages for a 
> glass shop near you.  They will cut it to size and break 
> the sharp edges.
>
> Richard wrote:
>
>>The material the plate is made of is important; the 
>>easiest to use plates are bright chrome plated with a 
>>mirror smooth finish. The finish of the plate is molded 
>>into the gelatin of the print so the print will be no 
>>glossier than the surface of the plate.
>
> Correct.  The Premier/Arkay home units use stainless steel 
> that is not polished nearly to the degree that proper 
> chromed steel ferrotype plates are (and it does not have 
> the plating, which fills in the remaining surface 
> imperfections on "real" ferrotype sheets).
>
>>Real chrome plates may be difficult to find.
>
> These days, yes -- pretty much everyone who wants full 
> glossy prints uses glossy RC papers that are already that 
> way.
>
>>I've seen both flat and roller squeegees recommended and 
>>think it makes no difference.
>
> Both work fine.  I used a flat squeegee out of personal 
> preference.
>
>>For whatever reason glossy RC paper has a glossier finish 
>>than I have ever seen on a ferrotyped fiber print but you 
>>can come close.
>
> "Ferrotyping" on plate glass can do as well, IME.  I never 
> waxed the glass, but my final polish (with Simichrome) 
> probably left a minute trace of oil on it.
>
> Best regards,
>
> etienne
>
   My flat dryer is also either an Arkay or Premier, the 
plate has a "brushed" surface. I am not even sure it was 
meant to be a ferrotyping surface. Many years ago I bought 
some stainless steel plates. These have what I can only 
describe as a hazy surface, while much smoother than the 
electric dryer they do not produce good surfaces. I was able 
to find a couple of decent chromed plates used but one must 
be extremely careful not to get those with scratches or 
other blemishes. I suspect they have not been made for 
decades.

     Glass makes very good surfaces but has the sticking 
problem. The old books recommend polishing the glass with 
French Chalk AKA talc, which can be obtained from art supply 
stores. Undoubtedly other kinds of polish would work as 
well. I've found two formulas for wax, one from Haloid 
(which later became Xerox) and one from Kodak. Both use 
solvents you don't want to have around. Here are the 
formulas:

Haloid
Benzine...........125.0 ml
Yellow Bee's Wax..2.7 grams

Dissolve the wax fully and filter any gummy residue out.
    The solvent is referred to as benzole (Benzine) so it 
might not be actual benzine but rather "white gasoline" 
which is the same as naphtha. Real benzine is nasty stuff.

Kodak
Carbon tetrachloride.............32.0 ml
Paraffin wax                      0.7 grams
(I suppose defining American terms for Europeans is no 
longer necessary but in England anyway Paraffin is what we 
call here Kerosene and what we call Paraffin is a fine, 
nearly clear, petrolium based wax most often used for home 
preserving and canning).

Either should be applied to the clean surface in a very 
small amount and polished  out.
   I suspect naphtha would work as the solvent for either 
formula.
   I also suspect plain paste wax would work as well, 
perhaps thinned out a bit with naphtha.

   The explanation I've seen about the need for polish is 
that glass or jappaned lacquer has small pores which cause 
the paper to stick. The talc is supposed to fill these. I 
have no idea if this is true but the procedure can be found 
in many places and evidently did work.
   I don't know how window glass is made these days but it 
is likely "float glass" similar to plate glass. This glass 
is made by floating the molten glass on molten metal 
resulting in an extremely smooth surface. I would use fairly 
thick glass for ferrotyping simply because its more rigid 
and less likely to crack when you squeegee the prints onto 
it.
    while most glossies were single weight double weight 
paper ferrotypes just fine.
    I suggest using something like an electric room heater 
with a blower to accelerate the drying but drying too 
quickly will result in cockling and "oyster shell" marks in 
the surface from uneven release. Ferrotypes prints should 
pop off the plate by themselves, the entire print coming off 
at once.
    If anyone tries any of this I would be glad to hear 
about the results.

    I guess anything that isn't digital has become 
"alternative"  :-)

--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA
dickburk at ix.netcom.com