Tom Ferguson (tomf2468@pipeline.com)
Fri, 15 Jan 1999 08:11:05 -0800
FotoDave@aol.com wrote:
>SNIP<
>But with Canford, the 1 to 1.5% gelatine + alum sizes very well even up to 3
>coats although I will use 3% in the future.<SNIP>
I have an interest in hand made paper making. I've never managed to
integrate it with my photography, but it is wonderfully fun and peaceful
pursuit in it's own right. I'm far from an expert. But, all the paper
making literature I've read indicates that Alum is not a good size if
archival properties are important to you. Over time (how long I don't
know) it is said to cause hardening and yellowing.
>Recently I have been thinking about another crazy idea. Paper that has not
>been sized will work like a blotter. If it doesn't, it must have been sized
>(internally or externally). I read that some size materials such as starch
>does not respond well to hardening, but often gelatine is used in sizing.
>Since Canford already work well for me for one coat, that means it has sizing
>already. Does that mean that I can simply harden it without any gelatin coat?
I tried this with a Lana paper that was gelatin sized. Didn't work for me,
but that was just one paper. Be aware that most modern papers are
internally "dimmer" sized. This is a chemical added to the liquid slurry
just moments before the beating (mixing) stops and sheet forming starts.
It is a great size, although quite alkaline (perhaps bad for platinum and
cyanotype). It didn't respond to formaldehyde in my tests (I never tried
it with glyoxal).
>I don't have glyoxal nor formaldehyde since I never needed it (I still use the
>food alum that I bought about 20 years ago when I size my riced paper for
>painting).<SNIP>
Definitely go with the glyoxal. Much more pleasant to work with!! And it
works better (on my materials).
Interesting that you used alum on "rice" paper. Rice paper does exist, but
is both rare and rather poor quality. I assume that when you (and most of
the world) say "rice paper" you are talking about Japanese style gampi or
kozo paper? If so (just wondering out loud), perhaps the archival
properties of alum (or lack of) are different / better on kozo or gampi
than with "western" style cotton paper (what most of us use for photo
paper).
Tom
tomf2468@pipeline.com
http://www.thefstop.com/tf.html
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