A 5 ml spoon is easiest for measuring. You can get them with a 2.5 ml spoon at
the other end of the handle.
As droppers usally give one twentieth of an ml per drop you can measure out 100
drops at one go with a 5 ml spoon from the pharmacy or the cough mixture carton.
Spoons are easier to wash up afterwards.
I found that Arches papers did not give such consistent results for gum printing
as others. I also find that Bockingford and Fabriano 4 (Classico in the US),
give better results than Rives BFK.
Judy says " Contrary to what a certain Terry King, also I believe on this list,
may
tell you, we have had superb results with Rives BFK. It's possible they
get inferior stock in England, or maybe the water there affects it badly,
or perhaps it's all that gloy. We however often do a coat or two with no
added size. After that the factory size has started to wash out & it will
need more. (And whoever has announced that papers are sized at the factory &
don't need further sizing for gum, let alone multi-coat gum, gets a PhD in
mouthing off theory.) "
I agree with that last bit. Our difficulty is that so many instruction books are
written by people with no hands on experience.
I have had up to six coats with Bockingford without extra sizing and without
degradation of the high lights but I would not recommend it as standard
practice. After the first coat, size between coats. If you precoat with
dichromated Gloy first you do not have to size at all. This is a Terry King
invention, which in tribute to Judy, he has decided to release to the world as a
Kingjudytype.
Lamp black is made from kerosene soot so the pigment oils its way into the
paper. In general do not use black. Try neutral tint instead.
A lot of this has been covered, and more!!! Read the archive.
Terry.