> I've used the Gum Bichromate kits from Photo Formulary. I had reasonably
> good results. The kit I ordered (~ 2 years ago) contained a tube of
> pigment, prepared solutions of gum arabic and an envelope of dichromate
> (I've forgotten which one).
My most recent Photographer's Formulary catalog is 1993; in it the Gum
Bichromate kit is $17. Perhaps it's $20 today? You can buy a *gallon* of
gum arabic (14 baume) for $16, and a *pound* of potassium dichromate for
about $7, which would be a lifetime supply of both unless you're only 8
years old and making huge prints. Daniel Smith watercolors in the *large*
size are about $6 a tube. In other words, for about the price of one and
a half kits you can work indefinitely.
If the Steve Anchell article is the one I'm thinking of, it's pretty good,
but so is the gum chapter in Keepers of Light (as long as you don't get
sucked into that ditzy pigment-in-gum test) and several other sources....
Or what about the list FAQ? Doesn't it have start-up gum?
I guess everybody has his/her own psychology and way of easing into a
process, but it seems to me getting a kit is a good way to open the door
and not go through.....
Judy