From: Judy Seigel (jseigel@panix.com)
Date: 05/11/00-10:38:12 AM Z
On Wed, 10 May 2000, Fred P. Arnold wrote:
>
> The acid, while potentially bad for the paper, is a boon to the prussian
> blue which fades in alkaline environments. Here in the Hyde Park
> neighborhood of Chicago my water (minimally treated from Lake Michigan) is
> alkaline enough to bleach the highlights of either the Ware cyanotype or
> traditional if I use it for the wash. This has forced the use of
> distilled water for the wash, which has caused no problems.
Some folks say they save the hassle (and expense) of distilled by putting
a little vinegar in the wash water...
> ... slightly less
> Solution B (ferricyanide) and a Rives printmaking paper. (purchased due to
> the moodiness of the new process). I've actually been able to get away
> with single coating since that paper has a bit of a 'tooth' to it and
> seems to hold more solution (or hold onto the Prussian Blue afterwards).
I've read that Rives BFK (if it's that) is more lightly sized than other
papers, which could be why it's more absorbent.
> A few drops of dichromate and my harder negatives print with a full tonal
> range without making enhanced contrast copies. As is always mentioned,
What % dichromate do you use? Does it require extra exposure? The few
times I tried adding dichromate, the emulsion lost too much speed AND most
highlights. As I recall, I used a drop or two of 5% in 10cc of emulsion,
which may even so have been too much.
> it prints well on heavy cotton as well, though I haven't found a picture
> that the weave really enhances yet; more of a proof of concept so far.
If you can lay hands on some well-worn OLD (like your grandmother's) 100%
cotton sheets, they take cyano like velvet and no weave visible. For use,
however, well... I've seen pillows covered with cyano prints -- very
beautiful as a matter of fact. I also suggest the little book from Blue
Prints-Blue Printables, about $16, very charming, shows window shades &
like that.
> One question about the acid bath: if I use dilute HCl in the initial wash
> water I tend to get veiled highlights, though complete clearing and a good
> maximum density. If I use just distilled water I can get white
> highlights, and then darken the blue (apparently) by using a final quick
> rinse in the acid. Would my bath be too strong, wrong paper, or what?
Have you ever tested that "final darkening" against an identical print (or
the other half) simply let age for several days? Some of the baths seem
actually to darken (apricot juice) but (most) others don't... or so it
seems as far as I can tell.
Judy
.................................................................
| Judy Seigel, Editor >
| World Journal of Post-Factory Photography > "HOW-TO and WHY"
| info@post-factory.org >
| <http://rmp.opusis.com/postfactory/postfactory.html>
.................................................................
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 06/13/00-03:10:18 PM Z CST