You say tomato and I say tomato...gee it doesn't quite translate to type
now does it?
I use a technique that purposefully relies on an "uneven" surface to coat
large prints with a rod. I love the Puddle Pusher idea. I bought a small
one when they first came out and have since made them out of 1/2" acrylic
rod for prints up to 20x24. I have found, though, that for 11x14's and
above my technique needs to change. As Tom discovered and mentioned,more
pressure needs to be apllied for a larger sheet. I coat side to side, not
up and down, and with the larger pieces I do as follows. The coater is in
my right hand on the right side of the paper. With my left hand I lift the
left side of the paper so that the rod "pushes" both against the raised
portion and over the surface at the same time. As the rod moves from right
to left, I drop the left side so that at the end of the rod's pass the
paper is flat on the table again. Does this makes sense? I then do the same
thing while moving from left to right, that is lift the paper so the rod
pushes up against the slightly bent surface as I move it across the page.
Its still much more difficult coating large sheets than it is small, but it
works and, for me, works far better than any brushing technique.
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PLATINUM/PALLADIUM WORKSHOPS AND PRINTING
William Laven Photography
1931 23rd Street, San Francisco, CA, 94107
415-647-9432 (voice) 415-647-9438 (fax)
wmlaven@platinotype.com
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