> Has anyone done any test to see how humidity affects the results they are
> getting? When I make metal parts with photochemical milling, I use a
I haven't done a test, but I know experientially that humidity combined
with heat will cook, or fog a print, at least in this staging area. In hot
humid NYC summer prints go bad, when I turn on the airconditioner there's
a big improvement, with almost no reduction in temperature... but the
humidity is quite quickly lowered, is my hypothesis.
Incidentally, I am told that Steven Livick, whose control of gum printing
is legendary, has a studio equipped with 5 air conditioners and
dehumidifiers ... but maybe that's hyperbole...
> dichromate based emulsion, humidity is a Big factor for me. what about
> everyone else? I also use a metal rod to coat my plates. Anyone else?
I would expect that a metal rod (drawdown?), which I've never used, would
lay down a coat so thick it would flake. I also find that for the finest
detail you have to whisk or burnish or brush the emulsion after laying
it down to be even thinner. Pictorialists, before they knew that
dichromate is poison, used to lay down a thin coat with an airbrush, or at
least that was the basis of a couple of magazine articles. But once you
get the hang of it, it's easier & less mess to do by hand...
Judy