Re: Problems printing Palladium
Beakman (beakman@netcom.com)
Mon, 4 Mar 1996 06:20:58 -0800 (PST)
>
> Regarding the "bronzing" in your overexposed shadows:
>
> Palladium (but not platinum) will solarize with overexposure, yielding the
> muddy brown/bronze tone to which you refer. The best way to avoid this is of
> course not to overexpose the shadows. It sounds as if the DMax of 2.1 in
> your negatives is too high; try using a negative which isn't so contrasty.
> I have found that while a DMax of 2.1 is good for the "typical" palladium
> print, the final "contrast grade" ( to use gelatin silver paper terminology)
> for palladium varies considerably with the paper. So, I would suggest that
> you make exposures with a step tablet to see the most suitable density range
> to give you good highlights and adquate shadow detail with your
> palladium/paper combination.
>
> If you feel you must overexpose your shadow areas, there is a way to minimize
> the solarization in the overexposed areas: after you've coated and dried your
> paper, you can humidify it just prior to exposing it. The technique will
> also increase the DMax and contrast of your palladium prints, which is the
> main reason to do it.
I would also recommend double-coating to reduce the incidence of
solarization.
David Fokos