Re: Albumen Printing

Mike Robinson (698201@ican.net)
Mon, 04 Aug 1997 15:16:13 -0500

>On Mon, 28 Jul 1997, Paul A. Lehman wrote:
>
>> Friends:
>>
>> But I have a couple of questions:
>>
>> 1. How long can the Albumen mixture be stored in the refrigerator before
>> it goes bad? Would freezing it in aliquots prolong its life or damage
>> it?
>
John Rudiak's reply:

>I have heard of refridgerated shelf lives of a couple of weeks. When it
>smells bad, it is. I have found that adding a small quantity of formalin,
>say 2ml/ liter of salted albumen will substantially increase the shelf
>life. Mine lasts 6 months or more. The wetting agent/stabilizer from
>Sprint is what I use, as the wetting agent in it helps with some of the
>bubble problems encountered when coating. While I don't have any
>experience in freezing, I wouldn't try it, especially since the formalin
>works so well, and I would be afraid that the freezing and rethawing would
>damage those fragile, long chain hydrocarbons that make up the albumen.

John and others,

I have found that when you prepare the albumen if it is well frothed, with
the chloride and acetic acid mixed in, there is no need to add formalin. (I
stir mine in a magnetic mixer for at least an hour) Careful filtering
after settling 24 hours will remove any bits that haven't "denatured" and
minimize the smell. I make 500 mLs of albumen every other month or so and
continually top up my oldest solution. In this way, I'm always using well
aged albumen, at least three or four months old. Old albumen which has
been well filtered is very fluid and coats paper virtually without bubbles.
Keep it in the refrigerator and don't freeze it.

The pH of fresh albumen is around 8, while the pH of aged albumen is around
6, for those who might want to know.

Hope this helps.

Mike Robinson
Toronto, Canada
698201@ican.net