Re: Help with Woodburytype process
John Malcolm (images@airtime.co.uk)
Sun, 21 Jan 96 22:50:15 GMT
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>Date: Sat, 13 Jan 1996 09:02:34 +1100
>From: Luis Nadeau <nadeaul@darwin.nbnet.nb.ca>
>To: Multiple recipients of list <alt-photo-process@vast.unsw.edu.au>
>Subject: Re: Help with Woodburytype process
>
>>I am posting this for a friend, so If the question isn't that clear, its my
>>fault:
>>
>>How do you prevent reticulation of gum on glass for the process.
>
>Gum? You mean gelatine I presume?
>
>I have always advised those interested in the woodburytype process to
>become fully familiar with the carbon transfer process first. The
>"traditional" process involves dichromated gelatin producing a relief that
>can then be electrotyped or used to produce an imprint in a block of lead
>which can then be used as a matrix.
>
>I know of a few people who have tried this over the years, but not a single
>one has been able to show me a print, let alone a decent one. I have
>studied it in depth myself and have concluded that it will always be
>technically inferior to the carbon process, so why bother?
>
>Then again, for some purposes, with small images that don't have large
>white surfaces, the process might be excellent, so I don't want to
>discourage anyone.
>
>Luis Nadeau
>awef6t@mi.net
>nadeaul@nbnet.nb.ca
>Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
>http://www.micronet.fr/~deriencg/nadeau.html
>http://www.primenet.com/~dbarto/lnadeau.html#A0
>>
>>My friend said that he has figured out everything else in the process but
>>is having trouble with the above. He also mentioned that the solution to
>>the problem may involve the viscocity of the gum itself but don't hold him
>>to that as I may have misunderstood him.
>>
>>David Green
>>Student, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design
David Green
It is 15 years since I last had any practical experience with Woodburytype but
I came across your message via a colleague and was pleased to hear of
another who was interested in this beautiful process, - and brave enough to
give it a try. My advice may not be relevant to your friends particular
problem but for what it's worth........
I found that *reticulation* occurred on the thick gelatine relief when I
attempted to rapidly dry the developed releif by immersing it in alcohol. (A
la mode Victorian recipes) Eventually I found that soaking in a 50%
solution of isopropanol seemed to have the desired effect. The relief could
be immersed for up to an hour without apparent harm BUT it was important to
agitate the dish constantly.
The treated relief was then dried in a constant air flow from a (cold) fan.
Reliefs were sharper after treatment than if they had been dried naturally.
As has been pointed out, Woodburytype has yet to be successfully
re-introduced although a number of workers have done significant work. That
no-one that I am aware of has been wholly successful to date really is
testimony to the tenacity of Woodbury, 130 years ago, and to the small
fortune that he managed to amass as a result of his sojourn in Batavia.