Re: Cranes paper

Judy Seigel (jseigel@panix.com)
Sat, 15 Feb 1997 21:07:14 -0500 (EST)

On Sat, 15 Feb 1997, Jeffrey D. Mathias wrote:
> 2) when I find a sample that seems to work, I contact the distributor
> and ask for a sample from the same lot I intend to order from. I have
> even visited the sales reps with a stack of Pt/Pd prints. Once I even
> went to lunch with a rep. They seem to enjoy a break from their
> routine. They don't see too many Pt/Pd prints. Some have been amaized
> that the papers they sell could be used for such a purpose. A good rep
> usually feels obligated to help you find that special paper.
>
> 3) if you like that paper, order 500 full size sheets, or more if you
> can afford it. This will keep the distributor happy and keep yourself
> stocked for a while. (You never know when you wish you could find some
> of that paper you used way back when.)
>

Jeff, I applaud your approach to ordering paper. I might do it myself if I
could decide what paper I like. I'll add, however, that in those cases
where I've bought more of a paper than I in fact used, I never regretted
it. Much better to have extras on the shelf (assuming you have a shelf)
than to long for the vanished papers of yesteryear. ( However I wonder
where you live that paper reps are so responsive.....?? )


> Your impression that Crane's Cover is popular for Pt printing my be just
> an impression. Maybe when someone finds a paper that works they stop
> looking for more. I don't. There are many papers that are popular with
> me and for different reasons and purposes.
>

John Barnier used it for the side-by-side new vs. old cyanotype prints
shown with his article in Photo Techniques, leading me to get some for my
own forthcoming new-old cyanotype tests. I didn't much like the look of it
though, so asked for enlightenment.

> And, if anyone starts talking D-max. Pooh-y ! Black is not absolute
> black. There is much more to life than D-max. By the way, I find that

I fully agree. Too often "D-max" is a substitute for thinking. However,
the putatively greater D-max has been cited as a great and extreme virtue
of the "new" cyanotype, so the issue is in play, in this context at least.

> My > advice: Do not concern yourself with what is popular to others, do
> select what you feel is right for you. > > Jeff >

Well, Jeff, that's some fairly heavy advice, but I'm just naturally a
big-hearted, caring and sharing type, a concerned printer and certified
buttinsky teacher, so I hope you'll make allowances.

Meanwhile, though I have (admirably I thought) refrained from the
hand-coating/palladio argument, I'll add here that it seems to me trying
to set up a hierarchy in the matter is like trying to nail jello to the
wall. As they say in the original Yiddish: chacun a son gout.

Anyway, who cares if people are sick of the topic? Really. Everyone has a
delete button, and you never know how long it takes for things to
crystallize. If people want to go with it til Easter (we all know how
long-winded platinum printers can be), why not?

Cheers,

Judy