Smieglitz@aol.com
Date: 05/26/01-05:32:14 PM Z
Tom,
I just (last week) started doing piezography negatives on Pictorico
transparency film using Cone inks with continuous ink supply (CIS) on an
Epson 1160. I'm not doing Pt/Pl, but wanted the system mainly for negatives
for the gum bichromate process. I think they will work fine for that process
since the ink density is low and the gum process prints such a limited
density range with a single coat. My first 4-color separation appears to be
OK but so far I've only laid down the cyan and yellow layers of the print. I
have to reprint the M and K negatives because the dry ink on transparency
material turned out to be *very* fragile and was easily smeared. I believe
I've solved that problem with a fine coat of Krylon Crystal Clear acrylic
spray. The spray has made the surface much tougher and has diffused it a
little bit (the texture of the spray - not from ink bleeding when coated).
I'm not sure if it will impact the UV transmission, but I'll find that out
next week when I get back to the darkroom. I think it will be OK and fine
for the gum process which is why I acquired the system in the first place.
Quadtone prints from the setup on Legion Concord Rag also look great and
these two processes justified the investment for me. (The printer was only
$250 and the CIS with inks, software, etc., ran another $600 or so. The
limitation with the 1160 is the print size, but I only wanted to get a
maximum of 11x14 anyways and the 1160 handles up to 13x19.) The dot has
disappeared with the 1160. A comparison between the new Epson 1160 and my
older 600 model really makes the difference clear. The monochrome prints
from the modified 1160 are the first ones I've seen from a desktop inkjet
that didn't have obvious digital artifacts. I also have a 20x24 quadtone
from an Epson 7000 made during the Cone workshop I attended in March. It's
sweet.
I've tried to do a VDB with a spectral negative made per Dan's book
instructions (in the indexed color/color table mode: 0C,71M,71Y,0 or 100K)
using an Epson 600 with the "+" switch flipped, pictorico, and the standard
Epson inks. The results were very disappointing. I'm puzzled by this and
will attempt it again next week using a different image, curve and whatever I
can do to the printer to get more ink out of it. I've seen Dan's spectral
negatives and resultant Pt prints in person at a seminar and was very
impressed. I must be overlooking something in the method as I would expect
VDB to print similarly to Pt. I've made up a new step wedge image file and
included both a spectrum and a red to yellow gradient wedge, so maybe I'll
find a better color to use with VDB once I run the test. I hope this file
will give me a better handle on the densities vs. percentages, and the effect
of various curve applications.
I'll also try a piezography neg with a curve (probably albumen as a starting
point) applied to see if it will work better with VDB.
So, I've got some bugs to work out with the density greedy processes, but it
looks like the system will be ideal for gum bichromate. Hope this gives you
something you're looking for. I'll post more if I can tweak it
satisfactorily.
And Dan, if you are listening and can offer any further advice, please
forgive me for knocking over your FP video camera at the Chicago seminar and
help me out with the spectral neg stuff. Can I shake this Karma?
Joe
In a message dated 05/26/2001 12:57:52, tomehawk@ix.netcom.com wrote:
<<
I have asked this question twice in the recent past and not received an
answer, so since the topic has re-surfaced, I thought I would give it
another shot...
Is anyone producing desktop negatives for pt/pd printing that are comparable
in quality to imagesetter output? If so, how (what printer, substrate, inks,
software, etc.)?
The recent posts between Larry and Nick seem to suggest the Piezography
system is not an acceptable method for making desktop negatives for
platinum. Am I misreading this?
I also read about Dan Burkholder's 'method', but I'm sure he's made some
refinements since his last book, which didn't sound as though desktop pt.
negs were quite reliable and repeatable just yet. Dan?
There seem to be a lot of posts where folks think they are 'almost there',
but later posts reveal 'not quite'. Printers discontinued, bleeding inks,
unreliable substrates, etc...
Don't want someone to do all the work for me , but I don't want to re-invent
the wheel either.
If someone on the list could suggest some starting points, I would be very
grateful.
Thanks in advance,
Tom>>
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