From: Christina Z. Anderson (zphoto@montana.net)
Date: 04/02/03-09:34:18 AM Z
Judy et al,
I think maybe there is confusion with Page's terms staining and
lifting, perhaps? Whether a paint lifts or not, shown by her little color
squares, is one thing. Staining is another, and her chart on p. 161 has a
list of staining colors, on which *is* PR209, PV19, and PB 15:3 etc. A
color can lift partially and still stain (it lifts but still leaves some of
itself behind). But a color that does not stain obviously will lift, too,
but completely so.
Now in practice, whether it stains or not probably depends on your
amount of gum included in your mix coupled with exposure, correct? I have
had less staining with Livick's 6g pigment to 12ml gum ratio than I have
with my old 3g pigment to 50ml gum ratio. I think it boils down to my (or
your) giving the sensitizing mix enough body to prevent the pigment from
hitting the paper and allowing it to stain, coupled with not overexposing.
And that would account for no staining with some people, and stain with
others. There is no one truth here, only experience, and all people's
experience is valid in gum printing, I am coming to find. The one
conclusion I have come to, tho, is that with the staining pigments, you'd
have to be more careful with your proportions.
Now, interestingly, D. Smith's Q Coral is one of my favorite colors, a
real milky lipstick peach. I did strips of it side by side with an 8x10 neg
like this : Z's method of just pigment and sensitizer 1:4, Z's possible
method of pigment and gum mixed 1:1 and then that mixed 1:1 with sensitizer,
and then Livick's 6g/12ml mixture which probably, depending on weight of the
pigment, averages about a 40% ratio of pigment to gum and that mixed 1:1
with sensitizer, and got complete stain on the first, still stain on the
second, and minimal stain on the third. Intense color on all three, so I
know that next time I try it I would cut it down, maybe half the strength of
the L test.
In practice, I found the most staining problems with q violet, diox
purple, and the thalos, so far anyway.
That list on p. 161 is really helpful as well as the D Smith catalog
chart with staining ratings from 1-4.
<Judy says> In fact Hilary lists "the ability to stain your paper" as one of
the
> *desirable* qualities of paint. My recollection is that that's her entire
> definition...
The desirable power of a pigment to stain is for one thing in watercolor:
when you are glazing layer upon layer of watercolor on top of one another in
the glazing method (not the mixing method of mixing pigment together on your
palette to create the color; glazing gives you less muddy, more brilliant
tones) you want the next layer of watercolor to NOT lift, with its moisture,
the layer of watercolor below. You want the layer below to stay put. If
you layered unstaining pigments on top of one another they would continue
to lift the previous colors and you would have a mess. Thus, stain is a
good thing in watercolor if you are using the glazing method of painting.
In oil paints I use the glazing method of painting, too, but I have to let
each layer dry completely before putting the next one on.
This capacity of a pigment to stay put relatesdirectly to gum printing
if we used no vehicle of suspension (gum) but because we do, and how much of
it we do in relation to the pigment, will determine the staining power.
So--direct relation in theory, and would, in my opinion and how I will
practice, determine that I use more gum to alleviate this natural ability of
the pigment to stain. My morning two cents (before I've had a full cup of
coffee).
Chris
I think BTW that's what Mayer called "covering power,"
> which is much more to the point. When a pigment has high covering power
> you can use only a little & get good color without having the emulsion get
> too thick.> Judy
PS THIS would be wonderful to know for each pigment. Maybe Page should
write another book.
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