<< As you imply gravure on aquatinted copper gives a greater range of tones
and
more subtlety than the photopolymer versions of gravure which are promoted
on
the basis of convenience and the need to protect ourselves from dichromates
which are very dangerous if you eat them or take baths in them. For the
individual they are, of course, less dangerous than many items found in the
kitchen cupboard. >>
Terry. first let me say I think you are jumping to conclusions on inadequate
evidence. Most of the photogravure prints I saw produced at the workshop had
both an inferior overall scale and also an inferior distribution of tones to
at least one print I have seen produced as a photoetching following the
Howard methods. I think one needs a lot more experimentation to make any
such general comments.
Secondly I think you are wrong to dismiss the health and safety problems so
lightly. I would be in serious trouble if I allowed conditions such as those
we worked under at my place of work, in particular so far as the resin
dusting box was concerned.
Suitable safety precautions also need to be taken when handling dichromate
solutions (and particularly when handling the solid).
I have no reason to doubt the figure of 10 seconds as the time you have to
wash the sodium hydroxide out of eyes before the risk of serious permanent
damage is high. I would want to be reasonably careful with ferric chloride
also, both in powder and solution.
The fact that there are dangers in the kitchen cupboard is no excuse for not
taking proper precautions over the use of substances elsewhere.
Peter
On Fixing Shadows, Dragonfire and elsewhere:
http://faraday.clas.virginia.edu/cgi-uva/cgiwrap/~ds8s/Niepce/peter-m.cgi
Family Pictures & Gay Pride: http://www.dragonfire.net/~gallery/