From: Judy Seigel (jseigel@panix.com)
Date: 07/17/01-01:46:22 PM Z
On Mon, 16 Jul 2001, Katharine Thayer wrote:
> ... I can't think of a reason why anyone would want
> to print on previously soaked unsized paper, but I did this morning run
> a test on the back side of the paper I ran the stain tests on the other
> day, and it didn't stain any more than the fresh paper stained.
Here's another case where the rule may be "no rule" -- for instance Buxton
actually works better for gum, holds a bit MORE pigment, when it's been
wet, but won't take (or doesn't like) any added size, either gelatin or
starch.
The other reason to wet without added sizing would be to preshrink in case
your planned one-coat gum turns out to need a few touch ups (a situation I
found myself in often when I did one-coat), yet avoid the hassle and
effects of the gelatin size.
And there are reasons not to size: For instance, although gelatin size
usually holds less PIGMENT stain, it OFTEN holds more dichromate stain,
which probably isn't an issue for folks who use a clearing bath. I rarely
clear except in cases of trouble -- and find it hard to judge color if
there is dichromate stain.
Equally important, a paper without gelatin size (I find, others may not)
does print more delicate top notes, which cling more to the unsized than
the sized paper. That of course is much more critical in a one-coat gum
where you're trying to get the whole range at once. In multicoat gum the
top notes can get a coat of their own.
> My uber-point in publishing my stain test results was that, given that
> test results and observations vary wildly across experienced and
> accomplished gum printers, novice gum printers should never take
> anyone's test results as law but should make their own observations in
> their own situations and draw their own conclusions.
I try in fact not to take my own test results as law: There's always
another variable. I'm wondering now (for instance) about Daniel Smith
thalo. The tests I cited were Rowney.
PS. I saw David Aldera (paper buyer of NY Central Artists Supply) last
week. He said they'd sold out the first order of Buxton, another is due.
So people like it, I said, greatly relieved, having been instrumental in
its arrival. Apparently those who LIKE it, love it, others find it a
hassle -- it may take some getting used to & a different style of coating.
I'm the only one I know of used it for gum: mostly it's used for pt/pd.
The other catch is $10 a sheet... a trifle when you consider the labor you
put into 4 prints, but.... hard to forget.
Judy
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