Darlington Media Group (postmaster@mediaworkshop.demon.co.uk)
Wed, 28 Jul 1999 20:53:17 +0100
>While it was mentioned by Jan, about how much the sensitizer soaks into the
>paper, what is the general opinion on how long to let the sensitizer soak
>into the paper, Platine for example, after coating and before drying.
Hi Gary,
I have experienced the same problems as you with Platine ie Solaristion.
I've found that it occurs most frequently with Platine when the paper is
too humid. The border regions will be lighter and show a metallic sheen in
places and there may be variations in colour throughout the print, where
areas have dried to different levels of internal humidity.
Generally, I agree with Carl's advice of coating the paper and letting it
hang on a line for about ten minutes prior to exposure. Mostly this works.
If it doesn't, try taping the edges of your your paper to your usual
surface, coat and leave to dry with paper still taped to the board. This
way the evaporation can only occur from the surface and not from the
reverse side. Fifteen to twenty minutes should suffice.
The Ziatype is a wonderful system of printing out in Pd/Pt. The variations
in contrast and chroma that can be obtained with this system are immense.
However, humidity is both the lock and the key to this process. Variations
in the ambient humidity can play havoc with repeatability. A printing frame
with an impermeable layer behind the paper is necessary to prevent loss of
humidity during printing. If your printing times are longer than say, ten
minutes, a fan is useful to dissipate any build up of heat that may
prematurely dry-out the paper.
Making a Ziatype print is easy. Making consistently good Zia's is not.
Persevere and you will be rewarded, Gary. When you do succeed make a note
of the conditions. These will then be your " personal variables" which may
work only for you. You will then be in the position to pass on your
"personal variables" to other less fortunate persons. ;-)
Cheers .... Tony McLean.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0b3 on Thu Oct 28 1999 - 21:40:38