From: Judy Seigel (jseigel@panix.com)
Date: 11/12/01-07:01:24 PM Z
Peter wrote:
> Keith, I have used Mars Black for a number of years coming to the same
> conclusions as you, re lamp and ivory. Mars black works very cleanly for me
> and is slightly warm in colour
> --
I think Keith is right to ask which brand (tho no guarantee with any of
them if your other ingredients are different). I tried something
called "Old Holland" (I think a well known brand with a cutesy marketing
strategy in US) Mars Black, also their Sheveningen Intens Black, in a fit
of trying every black there was. NG. I found though that with certain
gums Winsor Newton lamp black wasn't bad. Anything with sumi ink stained.
Tho at same time I found that getting a fair black in tests was much
easier than getting it in a print.
However, I don't recall if it was Katharine, or Keith, or Dave, or someone
else speaking of "black" as if we knew what that was, in relation to
"black" from primaries mixed, as if we knew what that was, either. Anyone
who has ever tried to get a "black" sweater to match a "black" skirt knows
that there's as much difference among blacks as among, say, blues -- both
chromatically (is that a word?) and chemically. Some are mined, some are
synthesized, and if some are from Mars, some are certainly from Venus.
With any black, I think you'd need, or let me correct that to say *I'd*
need, a separate VERY high contrast neg, so it stays only in deepest
shadows. That's also my reluctance to use the underprint of cyanotype --
unless I had that very high contrast neg. I don't want either black OR
blue under *everything.*
I also found, Keith (and your description in P-F #6 of using black
inspired the attempt), that a black layer can in some prints really add
punch, bring together, enrich color, give strange & wonderful look, etc.
etc. In others, it kills, I end up brushing all off. But, FWIW, when I did
color-separated gums I never managed to use the black neg without it
bigfooting all over everything, even when I told Photoshop "low black"
in the print dialog.
Judy
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