desktop negatives

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From: Sarah Van Keuren (svk@steuber.com)
Date: 01/26/01-09:00:18 AM Z


> But what, pray tell, are you printing those desktop negatives on? I've
> just gotten an inkjet running (also disappearing, VERY tricky connection,
> and "I" is lie, installation courtesy of a friend), but preliminary tests
> have not as yet provided useful negative material... I hadn't wanted to
> wax plain paper -- looking for something more translucent, even
> transparent, because I re-register on light table. The waxed paper exposes
> gum well and quickly, but too opaque visually -- almost impossible to see
> through.
>
> Judy

Judy, I am printing desktop negatives on inkjet acetate at 1440dpi, using an
Epson 1200 printer. I use Dan Burkholder's colorized grayscale method to get
a negative with orange-black tones.* Even after drying such an inkjet
negative overnight it can remain tacky and if sandwiched against clear
acetate can make blobby patterns that print. I don't dare print with the
inkjet surface directly against my cyanotype/gum because of my experience
with leaving an inkjet negative face down overnight against a plain sheet of
BFK and finding that when I coated that sheet with cyanotype solution the
next day a ghostly image appeared due to variable absorbancy imparted by the
inkjet negative. Printing with the inkjet image against the glass of the
contact frame resulted in ink adhering to it. So my solution is to sprinkle
corn starch on the inkjet image and gently work it in with a cotton swab.
Then I sandwich it against clear acetate and contact print.

Sarah

*I tried to produce such a negative on Ernestine Ruben's Epson 2000 that has
archival inks and found that it smeared as it emerged ‹ whatever propels it
out of the printer made a mess of the image. I imagine this is because
archival inks don't dry as fast and at 1440dpi I was exceeding the 360dpi
that is recommended for inkjet acetate.


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