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RE: sumi ink for gum

Sorry I wasn't more attentive to the details.  This "testing and reporting"
stuff is new with me!

The paper was sized with gelatin and hardened in glyoxal.  The tests were
made with 21 steps. Yes, Judy, the stain is actually worse in areas of less
exposure.  I'll be testing several other papers today:  probably won't be
exposing ANY of them - just varying the concentration of ink, drying, and
clearing.  So I haven't given up on Sumi ink - as a matter of fact I'm
working on two prints at the moment which require deep shadows and that will
benefit from a gritty look.  But I have to say, it requires a certain kind
of image that "tolerates" this stain.

Sarah, I did try to "coax" the stain out with both brushing and with using a
fine mist.  In both cases, more harm was done than good.  The detail was,
indeed, "hosed", along with much of the dmax of the shadows.  I should point
out that my work, at present, is rather "un-painterly" and exacting.

-----Original Message-----
From: Judy Seigel [mailto:jseigel@panix.com]
Sent: Thursday, March 30, 2000 1:32 AM
To: alt-photo-process-l@sask.usask.ca
Subject: Re: sumi ink for gum



> I looked at your strips and have a hunch about what is happening with them
> based on my own experience. A subtle sizing is occurring in the midtones
> with a very light deposit of gum that is soft enough to release some of
the
> pigment or ink but slick enough to prevent staining that occurs in the
> highlight areas where no gum was deposited. This can happen with sized or
> unsized paper. With the former, hosing or gentle brushing can clear the
> highlights but generally the stain is permanent on unsized paper.


I too found Keith's findings intriguing -- I think I may have tolerated
more staining *in the context where I was using it* than he does... but I
was going to ask whether the paper was sized, since his e-mail doesn't
mention.

Also a propos of more staining in highlights -- this wouldn't explain
clear highlights getting stained (that's REALLY clever of you Keith), but
the parts that get least exposure get the least viscous, meaning tone
could sink into the paper more, longer... A good way to tell would be to
try a 21-step -- see what happens in the parts ABOVE the highlights.
(Unless that's what you did, Keith ?-- sorry ,I haven't got web on today.)

Judy