Re: preservatives for gum and gum dilutions

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From: Katharine Thayer (kthayer@pacifier.com)
Date: 04/23/03-06:30:01 AM Z


Christina Z. Anderson wrote:
>

> In watching Livick's cdRom I notice that his layer of sensitizer is
> quite poster paintish, thick, and opaque. He also says that if you cannot
> get a fully tonal gum in 2 coats, you aren't mixing enough pigment into your
> gum. Students love to hear that :) I have been doing mostly that lately,
> but was wondering if most of you gum printers out there use whisper thin
> layers that approximate water color washes moreso than the thicker layers
> that cover the paper underneath.

It seems to me this question sets up an unnecessary dichotomy, and at
the same time confuses thickness of coating with opacity.

I agree with Livick that with the right pigment mix, two coats should be
plenty to achieve a full tonal scale. But this has little to do with
opacity, as suggested above. Opacity is a quality of a pigment. Using
an opaque pigment, or goauche, which is very opaque, one might "cover
the paper" with a very thin coat. And conversely, a fairly thick layer
of a transparent pigment may not "cover the paper" because of the
transparent nature of the pigment; the paper will always show through.
Most people who print transparently would consider that a good thing,
not a bad thing, because the light striking the paper and reflecting
back through the gum layers creates color complexities and depths that
simply can't be achieved with an opaque treatment. So it depends on the
desired outcome, whether opacity or transparency is "better."


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