Re: cyanotype question


Judy Seigel (jseigel@panix.com)
Tue, 29 Jun 1999 22:01:47 -0400 (EDT)


On Tue, 29 Jun 1999, Adam Kimball wrote:
>
> As for the intensity, my comments aren't worth very much. I've never
> used the traditional method, but I've seen quite a few cyanos. The
> few people who have seen some wedges and prints I've done recently all
> said, almost immediately upon seeing them, that they were the richest
> cyanos they have ever seen. Considering I printed these with about a
> day of experience, that must mean something. I don't doubt that the
> traditional formula in the hands of an experienced printer could yield
> breathtaking results, but judging by the looks of MOST cyanotypes I
> see.. these experienced printers are few and far between. So, my

Adam, my experience with "regular" cyano is that there's an ENORMOUS range
of D-max will occur with the same emulsion according to,

1. single or double coat

2. relative humidity when coating (on a dry day or with steam heat on,
paper slurps up much more emulsion)

3. the paper

Not all papers get darker with a double coat, incidentally -- with some
smooth ones the second coat simply wipes off the first. But more usually,
double coating increases D-max, from some to a lot.

Also, the D-max of different papers is not always the thicker the greater.
Often a quite thin paper has more d-max. A thick paper can actually print
quite pale. I think pH is a factor (more acid being darker), but that's a
guess, not tested.

Judy



This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0b3 on Thu Oct 28 1999 - 21:39:38