From: Richard Sullivan FRPS (richsul@earthlink.net)
Date: 10/02/01-12:34:49 PM Z
Brahma,
That's quite a story! It sounds like you've really done your homework and
as you demonstrate, the ancient method of decanting the pigment still works.
Somewhere years ago I heard a story about Dr. Kremer trying to bring some
rocks back in his carry on baggage. (it might have been here) Seems to have
created quite a bit of confusion as to what they were for and why he was
lugging rocks around in his baggage. Maybe they thought he was going to
start a rock fight in 1st Class?! Well, they're now taking nail clippers
away from passengers and pilots, so things haven't changed much.
Not that anyone here might ever encounter it but if anyone comes across red
mercuric oxide in a vein, roasting it will release fuming mercury. Not good
to breathe. Possible problems with arsenic compounds as well. The iron
based ochres and oxides are no problem. Just thought I'd mention it since
it is possible to find any number of heavy metal compounds in rock veins. I
doubt few gum printers are out in the mines digging their own pigments.
I like the cell phone bit. Cool.
I'll check on your order. Foreign shipments got all tangled up a few weeks
ago and I think the backlog is now clearing. Air shipments were a mess and
I am sure you are well aware of the circumstances.
We carried the Linel WC pigs and got rave reports back from users. Livick
does his homework too. Linel is a company trying to do itself in. Minimum
order was $2000.00. It took us 6 months to get the shipment. The order
person got married and took 2 months leave and everything sat on her desk
for that period but it didn't explain the other 4 months lag time. We now
carry Sennelier Pigments made here in the US. They are also gum based and
we get good reports about them but as you point out each company has a few
good pigments and the rest are ho-hum. if you trace the American pigment
industry back to the source you'll find that there are different companies
making different pigments. One company specializes in iron oxides, reds and
browns, another in cadmiums, another in ochres. No one makes or produces a
wide range of them. The next level down is the dispersion folks. They are
companies making the dispersions. Some for plastics, some for inks, others
for paints. Most have big minimum orders, but some well sell you as little
as a 55 gallon plastic drum full. Duh! next are the folks who make paints
and inks etc.
In what way is your home made pigment better than store bought? Color, less
staining? or ?
Ever seen a Hegman gauge or know if you can buy one cheap? This is the tool
used to measure pigment grain size. I've never seen one but I've seen the
nice mahogany boxes they come in which leads me to think they're not cheap.
Also for any other detail hungry technically obsessed alt folks out there,
I've posted a paper about gum Arabic that I got from a now defunct Sudanese
government web site. Sudan as I understand it is now what is considered a
"failed state" but the gum info is remarkable.
Check out:
http://www.bostick-sullivan.com/Technical_papers/gum_arabic.htm
Lastly:
Your story is fascinating and I'd like to share it on my web site. Can I
put it up? Would you care to expand on it? It's the kind of thing that I
think inspires others and explains in many ways what alt is all about.
Cheers.
--Dick Sullivan
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