<fontfamily><param>Times</param><bigger>Art,
I don't see this as a debate between those who want to guard trade
secrets and those who don't. When your tests are complete I will be
interested in the results. However, I doubt that the information you
get from this test will be of little use in helping you manufacture a
direct carbon paper. It may be of interest to know which colloids were
used in manufacturing the paper but will offer little information as to
how the layers were applied. Over 15 years ago a friend gave me the
results of a electron microscope scan of a piece of fresson paper. The
analysis revealed a lot of information and I have a real good idea as
to the number of coatings, and their type, but I found this
information to be of little or no use when it came to the actual
coating process, though it did help me understand the theory of the
process.
I think Dave got it right when he wrote:
>I guess I am still trying to understand why some people are trying so
hard to imitate a process instead of just making say color gum print? I
understand that there is a special look to Fresson, but doesn't most
pigment printed on fine-art paper has some unique, artistic, visually
pleasing characteristic?
The fact of the matter is that there are quite a number of folks out
there doing some excellent three and four color work in direct gum and
other direct colloid processes (cassein, gelatin/gum, cassein/gum, egg
whites/gum). A colleague and good friend of mine, Sam Wang, who used to
contribute to this list, has made full color images with both gum and
cassein which are in my opinion every bit as good as color Fressons in
terms of color balance, tonal rang and sharpness. Color Fressons do
have a unique look, sort of semi-pointillistic, that apparenlty results
from the grain of the small format separation negatives from which they
are made. Contemporary workers using same size negatives for contact
printing do not achieve this look but that is due to the method of
exposure, not the nature of the colloid, or how it is applied. However,
if the desired Fresson look is the grainy effect it should not be
particulary difficult to achieve this with an appropriate filter with
digital negatives. I
Sandy King
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