> Myself being an expert on Palladio
> printing I wonder if Mr Kennedy would ber interested in a "Pepsi
> Challenge", so to speak.
>
This all gets down to a matter of personal taste. How could one possible do
a "pepsi challange?". I don't think one could do it on what is the better
print. For each person who felt the Palladio was "better" we would find one
who felt the hand coated print was "better". Perhaps part of the answer lies
in the word "expert" I am by no means an expert hand coater. Why you ask?
The process itself defies anyone bings an expert. With the Palladio Paper
you are in a finite relm of working. You really have some very strick
limits on color, paper surface, contrast, and everything elce. With hand
coating there are no limits. You can make a pure black print, a pure brown
print or anything in between. In the past few weeks I have seen Richard
Sullivan produce prints of every possible color. It's so much more than just
the hand coating. With the hand coating method the world is opened up to you
and the only limitations are the ones you impose upon yourself. With store
bought paper the limitations are imposed by the people who make the paper.
This is not ment as a dish on Palladio, it has it's place but for people
who are trully into Pt/Pl. hand coating offers so much more artistic control
over the final image. If nothing elce just something as simple as paper
surface.
So if the Pepsi Challage is to be the only way I see it is for two people to
take the
exact same negitive and have the list set up the things they want done. IE:
hard print, soft print, brown print, black print, purple highlights..rich
black shadows, rough surface, smooth surface, need I go on? Or is a good
print one where we read the values and plot the curve and make it "perfect"?
I think not. Perhaps if the "perfect" print is defined by the curve
Palladio would be equal but if we are defining the material by the artists
control over the process handcoating would win hands down. Also with hand
coating you have a much better base line. You know what your are working
with, with manufactured paper you have no idea as to what's in it, be it for
trade secret reasons or no, you still have no idea where you are starting
from so much of your sucess is do to luck.