From: Darryl Baird (dbaird@umflint.edu)
Date: 01/30/02-09:21:41 PM Z
Hey Clay,
>From my experience (I did a good deal of paper testing last summer
before an
exhibition) paper can lend both contrast and color shifts.
>From top to bottom, all with single coatings:
Arches Platine was the cleanest, whitest, contrasty image... very nice, somewhat
neutral color
Crane's Cover 90# was a good and less expensive alternative, a warmer
image, but it
worked with the particular images I had
Lana Aquarelle (back side - watermark reversed) was nice but a bit
flatter, whites
didn't clear completely, but good enough for most images unless there
are stark
whites areas, color was in between the first two
Strathmore Drawing was pretty good, but a bit flat due to the dingy
paper color, warm
Rives BFK. I dunno what happened with this otherwise great paper... I got
inconsistent results, no real data
Warning, the above was totally from memory, I didn't have time to go
find the test
prints
If I had to print Argyrotypes tomorrow, I'd grab a handful of Crane's
and get
started. If I could justify the 4-5 times price increase Platine was
really snappy. I
order the large sheets - 22 X 29 and get four 8X10 prints out of that
one piece. They
were having a sale recently, but I was poor.
An increase in sulfamic acid is the only other contrast control I've
tried, but it
does work pretty well. I got at least a full grade jump with the
additional 7
grams... it might continue to work to add more, but I'd rather work on a better
negative if time permits.
BTW, I found at Home Depot something (I can't recall the product name)
used to clean
pipes or water fixtures that was 100% sulfamic acid! It can in a golden-yellow
(orange?) round plastic "tin" and cost about $5 a lb.
good luck
-Darryl
clay wrote:
> Hey Darryl:
> I've been messing around with argyrotypes a little lately. Did you catch
> that question I asked the list a while back about increasing the DMax? Do
> you double coat argyrotypes? What paper seems to work the best? I'm curious
> because the first one I printed is just gorgeous, and subsequent attempts
> (not a lot really) have been mediocre compared to Pt/Pd. Is there any
> contrast control other than increasing the amount of sulfamic acid in the
> sensitizer?
>
> Hah. Lots of questions. You never should have mentioned that you used that
> process!
>
> Cheers,
> Clay
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