But I digress... (can you digress before you've actually begun?)
Our story thus far...
I last reported here the results of my experiments coating pt/pd on Arches
Platine. My latest method involved a single heavy coating aided by the
addition of some Tween 20. I called this method BWK (Big Wet Kiss).
Since then, in a crazy series of experiments, I ended up humidifying the
BWK coated paper by really steaming up a bathroom and then hanging the
previously dried paper in the bathroom for 15 minutes. Though I use a
sheet of mylar between my neg and paper, the paper is not damp. The
mylar does not stick to it, and it doesn't leave much residue if any.
There are three major benefits to be enjoyed as a result of the
humidification. These are:
1. Much improved smoothness. To be honest, I thought the BWK method
before humidification was doing great, but I realize now that grain which
I thought was either inherent in the paper or in the negative was just
the emulsion. This grain has completely disappeared! Big areas of sky
with gradients print as smoothly as if it were on silver-gelatin paper.
I'm totally blown away by this.
2. Increased speed. The paper seems to have almost twice the speed of
non-humidified paper.
3. Less sensitizer needed. I am now coating large prints in a single
coating using 1 ml. of sensitizer per 30 square inches of coated area
(applied by brush). I am still using 1 drop of 10% Tween 20 per every 50
square inches (though a test shows that 1 drop per every 70 sq. in. is
probably just fine).
The coating process is not finicky at all -- very simple, bulletproof.
Well, I'm off to work now. I've got to make some more money to send to
Richard Sullivan. :)
Best to all,
David Fokos