> > I've been trying on and off for several years to find a way of holding
> > paper *rigid* for re-registering subsequent coats in gum printing. Taping
> > the paper to glass (or aluminum or other rigid support) around the edges
> > has been suggested, but doesn't work unless the paper is so heavy that you
Sam wrote:
> The glue that I came up with is simply our ol'
> friend, gelatin. What I have in mind is to put a ribbon of gelatine along
> the outside edges of the back of the paper and stick the paper on
> something rigid, i.e. aluminum or glass, or maybe plexiglass, etc. After
> all processing has been done, soak the combo in warm water to remove the
> paper from the backing material, leaving no harmful residue. Has anybody
> done something like this? Is there any reason it won't work?
Well, speaking of great minds, Luis mentioned gelatine, too. I don't
know if the gelatine would stick to aluminum -- the metal has been sanded,
so it might. In my experience, plexi tends to warp or bow. Glass is
heavy, slippery and breakable. I find the 16-guage aluminum very
comfortable (about $15 for a 16 x 20 sheet on Canal Street) ; the "glue"
is the question.
But note that just doing the *outside edges* is beside the point,
insufficient, and no good, unless the paper is thicker than I'm trying to
use, as I explained initially. (Though, Sam, I think you're using a much
heavier paper than I am, which might indeed work.) But gluing just the
edges would be the same as using a waterproof tape around the edges as I
have done, or even a *non-soluble* glue around the edges. These latter two
methods would cost the deckle when you remove them, but that wasn't my
main objection (since I work odd sizes & often have to sacrifice the
deckle anyway).
Unless the *entire* sheet of paper is fastened firmly to the support, all
but the thickest paper will buckle quite promptly. Not only do those
buckles not come out entirely (either in time to expose or in the final
print), they can appear quickly enough to prevent proper burnishing of
the gum coat. Here I think there may be some help in -- was it Hans &
Chia's?-- idea of wetting the paper *before* you fasten it down. I didn't
fully understand the description & will have to go back over it.... but
it sounds worth pursuing...
As for Penn's "solution," that's the problem, not the solution -- ie.,
I'm sure that the reason he left the print on the metal was because he'd
used some permanent glue (PVA-ish) that was, well, permanent. I can do
that already!
Anyway, sounds like a gelatine "solution" is worth a try (it's GOT to be
better than that shellac). It would mean no hot water soaks, but that's a
rarity anyway. Possibly also the gelatine could dissolve in a *long*
cold-water soak..... (Maybe the answer would be Phil Davis's one hour and
OUT OF THE WATER after all!)
Judy