You say that you are using the normal method as described
in "Keepers of the Light".
Forget 'Keepers of Light ' for gum printing. It is an absolute disaster and that
is why you are having problems
You are using so much pigment that the light is not getting to the dichromate so
it cannot tan the gum. That is why the pigment falls off. Mix a little pigment ,
about the size of a small pea, with your gum first on a plate so you can see
the strength of the pigment as you spread it on the white surface. Mix 5 cc of
gum with it and see how that looks when you spread it on the plate, and then add
5 cc of the dichromate.
You made an even bigger mistake by using yellow which has such a high
reflectivity that you have to use a lot of it to get any contrast, thus blocking
off the light even more.
Despite what some people will tell you Arches is not a good paper for gum
printing unless you size it first. Did you size it.
Prepared gum goes off after a few days, it is better to use fresh each time.
Let me know how you get on
Terry King
Any ideas, anybody?
Glenn Cannon (glennon@netcom.com)
http://www.newart.com/cannon