[Alt-photo] Re: Sulfamic Acid for Paper Acidification

[Christina Anderson]

Loris,
You are right about argyrotype. Next year I am thinking of introducing kallitype and therefore rotating those three. It might be a great precursor to pt/pd.

I usually teach BW calibration, then cyanotype, then VDB or argyrotype, pt/pd and combination printing, and then gum/casein. So the semester is a little full. Next year I am cutting BW because the class is 4 credits but it behaves too much like 5. BUT, if Dan Burkholder is reading this: I had bought Dan's video of pt/pd over gold leaf, thinking I'd introduce it as just an idea, the second to last class of the semester. Sort of a "this is what you can do in the future" class. WELL, at least five of my class tried it and THREE did it for their final project! And then they recommended I should introduce it during the pt/pd section of the class! Gees.So obviously the video is inspiring!
Chris

Christina Z. Anderson
christinaZanderson.com

On May 6, 2013, at 2:14 AM, Loris Medici wrote:

> Hi Christina,
> 
> Really, Argyrotype is so nicer when you make it work. Currently, I'm doing
> gold-thiourea toned Argyrotypes, and the Dmax I can get (with just one coat
> unlike Vandyke) is equal to pop Pd (Ziatype), and the toned images have a
> quite complex and pleasing hue / split tone. BTW, I'm using Masa for
> Argyrotypes: 0.25ml per 10 sq. in. + 1 drop 5% Tween 20 per ml of
> sensitizer hit the nail for this paper; easy application, no bleeding, no
> staining, and a very strong image...
> 
> It's nice to hear that acetic acid also worked well for you guys, could be
> useful when you don't have sulfamic on hands. (I happen to not like its
> odour too...)
> 
> Wow! Thanks for the hot water tip, that's a nice one. Noted... Thanks! (You
> can be sure I'll pass this information if I ever encounter someone who
> wants to do Vandykes in the future...)
> 
> Regards,
> Loris.
> 
> 
> 2013/5/5 Christina Anderson <christinazanderson at gmail.com>
>> 
>> Loris,
>> I hear you, about VDB and argyrotype.
>> I switch back and forth between the two processes every semester. Last
> year
>> I had a bunch of papers that I distributed to the students that were
> "good for alt"
>> and they were not good for argyrotype. Very disappointing.
>> On a side note, this year I went to mix argyrotype for the next day's lab
> and did
>> not have a key ingredient on hand so the morning of the lab I mixed up a
> batch
>> of VDB, praying that there would be no problem since it was a fresh
> solution.
>> There was no problem. Excellent prints, no paper troubles with no aging
> of solution.
>> And no acidfying of paper. I also had to mix it rapidly (and you know how
> that
>> goes with VDB, it'll go milky on you with the last additions of silver)
> but I was using
>> hot distilled water to mix because the lab was imminent and lo and
> behold, no
>> milky solution either. One of those good days where all things worked out
> well
>> in a pinch.
>> Chris
>> 
>> On May 5, 2013, at 4:51 AM, Loris Medici wrote:
>> 
>>> Hi Serdar,
>>> 
>>> The evaluation depends on the process too; for instance, pt/pd is more
>>> forgiving about the acit pre-treatment operation but new cyanotype and
>>> argyrotype aren't. A paper treated in HCl would work OK with pt/pd but
> not
>>> OK witj new cyanotype or argyrotype. I'm personally more interested in
> the
>>> latter right now, I wasn't printing argyrotype much because it was more
>>> demanding (than vandyke) about paper, now that I make it work with many
>>> papers, I'm about to dump vandyke forever in favour of  argyrotype...
>>> Sulfamic acid pre-treatment made quite difference for me, because when
> it
>>> works (or you make it work with sulfamic acid), I find argyrotype being
> a
>>> lot better than vandyke in every aspect. (Dmax, tonal range and
> smoothness,
>>> hue...)
>>> 
>>> Regards,
>>> Loris.
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