Mark- Here goes. Again this is from "A Handbook of Photogravure" by
Johan de Zoete. He notes there is little literature on making pigment
paper.
Mix 100 gms pure photo gelatin with 400 mls distilled water. Allow to
swell for one hour and warm gradually to 45-50 degrees centigrade. To
the warm solution add in this order under constant stirring: 4 gms
wetting agent, 15 gms ferric oxide(as pigment) and 15 gms glycerine.
Ferric oxide is best purchased as a suspension, of which one must know
the composition to be able to add the appropriate weight. If it is only
available as a dry powder, stir it up with a little water.
Pour the gelatin solution into a dish and keep for several hours at
45-50c. During this interval you should draw rising air bubbles to the
side of the dish with a piece of paper. Then a long strip of well-sized
drawing paper which should have a weight of approx. 140gms/m2. Hold the
paper in a loop between both hands and lower one end until it is just
brought into contact with the surface of the gelatin. Then with an even
rolling method, you progressively lift one end of the paper from the
first point of contact with one hand while lowering the other end of the
paper downwards with the other, so that at any one time just a narrow
band of paper is allowed to touch the surface of the liquid. In carrying
out this operation, you must take care that none of the gelatin mixture
gets onto the back of the paper. When most of the paper has been coated
in this way it is then hung up to dry.
Good luck. I imagine Carbon Printers could help with modifications of
this account. He cites on source(Elder) from early 1900s. I saw in
another source that it had the name carbon tissue because carbon pigment
used to be used.
Walt
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