Casein Again

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CCBaggett@aol.com
Date: 04/21/02-05:20:55 PM Z


       Week before last I tried Lukas Werth's procedure for making casein
prints as described in Post Factory Journal #6. I was able to make a print
the first try, but nearly asphixiated myself with the ammonia which converts
the casein powder to ammonium caseinate. After my head and throat cleared I
decided to seek a route more amenable to my small darkroom.
       I had purchased my casein powder (Kremer) from Sinopia
(www.sinopia.com) and their site has a section with recipes. I used their
recipe for Borax casein to produce a sodium based caseinate. It works. In
this method, the casein powder is soaked in water overnight and then
hydrolized with Borax and water. This takes about two hours. Then the
caseinate is heated in a double boiler to create a thick translucent liquid.
[ I just used a Tupperware type container from the store to soak and
hydrolize the casein- and then "floated" it in a beaker filled with water on
a hot plate until it thinned.] This stuff has the consistency and odor of the
glue I remember from Vacation Bible school. Trying to mix this caseinate
directly with watercolor pigment ( I'm using Daniel Smith tubes.) created a
muddy mess the first time and I started over. It was so thick I could only
mix a small amount of pigment producing a very light print. I used DS burnt
sienna and DS ultramarine blue, so it was a tan color about the strength of
Davies grey.
       Then I turned the page and read the rest of Sinopia's directions. It
said first mix the pigment with a small amount of water and then add the
caseinate. Amazing. I'm not a painter so this is all new to me. It's clear
that it will be possible to get a lot more pigment in. The pigment dissolves
readily in water. I assume this is a greater revelation to me than others on
the list. Even so, when the caseinate was added it produced a custard
consistency mess which I worked with a #12 round brush. I was able to get
pretty good consistency even though it was very thick. When I added the
Potassium Dichromate solution everything smoothed out nicely. The casein
coats nicely with a foam brush. I used Lukas' technique of applying with the
foam brush and using a foam roller followed by a hake brush to smooth out the
coat. The developed print in both coats so far is smooth with no flaking. The
highlights cleared completely in both coats.
       I also did a Stouffer 21 step print at the same time and am getting
7/8 distinctive steps. The first print was 4'30" with my Olec 9 graphic arts
light. This is half of my gum printing time with the same negative which is
10'. The second print was 3' or 1/3 less than the first. The paper is Lana
Aquarelle from Daniel Smith. I think it is hot pressed. It has two coats of
gelatin.
       I divided the Sinopia quantities ( a pint) by 25 since the caseinate
won't keep. They mention several preservatives, but they are nasty and I
don't know whether they will work for this printing process. I am neither an
experienced gum printer- Judy got me started some months back- nor a painter,
so nothing I have done is optimized. However, it is clear that casein prints
can be done without having to suffer with ammonia. And you can get a trip
down memory lane back to 1st grade.
Cheers,
Charlie


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