From: edzachary (edzachary@my-Deja.com)
Date: 06/27/00-07:20:59 AM Z
I'd be the first to agree that consistent results are hard to obtain with alternative processes. But its a real stretch when you start to attribute differences to BRANDS of chemicals. No, I'm not a chemist, but I have read my share of the literature, and I don't ever recall research journals identifying the particular BRAND of chemicals used. Does this, then, put _science_ into the realm of the _unscientific_, as well? Certainly the difference between Brand A chemical and Brand B chemical, if it is so obvious to us, should be observed in the laboratory as well. The claim that silver obtained from different mines is somehow a "different" silver, well, if that be the case, I suppose we ought to start adding squares to the periodic chart.
I'm not one to scoff at variables. Certainly, for a complex colloid such as gum arabic batch differences can be huge.
Ed
On Tue, 27 Jun 2000 08:38:19 Richard Morris wrote:
>I totally support Judy's comments as to the quality of silver nitrate
>brands etc. It does make a difference but along with paper quality, water
>quality, sun quality etc, there are so many variables in salt printing as
>to make it most unscientific! As I said in my earlier response that is what
>makes it exciting; to achieve a colour or whatever and try to reproduce it
>again. I have achieved near blues and reds but never been able to reprodice
>them even from the notes I made.
>
>Richard Morris
>
>
>On Mon, 26 Jun 2000 15:16:22 -0400 (EDT) Judy Seigel <jseigel@panix.com>
>wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> On Mon, 26 Jun 2000, edzachary wrote:
>>
>> > Occasionally, there seems to be an effort to make alternative
>> > processes more "mysterious" than they really are. Methinks the
>> > attribution of colour variences in Salt Prints to the BRAND of silver
>> > nitrate used my be one on those occasions!
>> >
>> > Ed
>> > --
>>
>> Ed, if you're a chemist, this offer is null & void, but my bet would be
>> that BRAND of silver nitrate might well matter. After all, where did they
>> get their bullion, what mine was it from, what fire did they forge it in,
>> what about their nitrate, I mean what had the nitrate touched before it
>> got into the silver, what's in the packing material, etc. etc. etc.
>>
>> I have found MAJOR differences in color from what was in the tray before
>> the toning solution (in silver gelatin), even tho tray had been rinsed,
>> one drop of runoff probably remained, and, as the chemist explained,
>> "there are millions of ions in everything."
>>
>> Not only brand, incidentally, but batch and lot number can be hugely
>> different from same mfr... including of course gum arabic. Who would
>> scoff at these variables may face even MORE mysterioso, or oblivion to
>> fine distinctions -- or both.
>>
>> Judy
>>
>>
>
>Richard Morris
>Brunel University, UK
>richard.morris@brunel.ac.uk
>
>
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