Re: Kallitypes, Digital Negatives, and Dust Specs

That is definately a possibility. I've been using a foam brush and not paying much attention to the amount of force I use as I apply the sensitizer. I'll give the Hake brush a try next time around. Thanks.

  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Tom Ferguson
  To: alt-photo-process-l@sask.usask.ca
  Sent: Saturday, November 15, 2003 7:52 AM
  Subject: Re: Kallitypes, Digital Negatives, and Dust Specs

  Are you "sure" they are dust? If you brush too hard (for a given paper) you will raise the "nap" of the paper. When exposed and processed these "raised naps" will appear as white spots/threads. What you are seeing are individual strands of fiber. They were once compressed into the paper and are now "floating" free. This is a big problem when using a foam brush on non sized paper (or at least it was for me when I started). If you have a "puddle pusher", try using it (and limiting the passes) to see if your problem goes away. Or, just try a real soft brush and minimal working. An inexpensive hake brush is cheap and soft. They also tend to leave bristle behind, but it would be a cheap test.

  On Saturday, November 15, 2003, at 04:05 AM, Mike Klemmer wrote:

    I did try dusting off the paper prior to printing. There seemed to be little improvement. I haven't tried dusting the paper prior to coating.

    ----- Original Message -----
    From: Ender100@aol.com
    To: alt-photo-process-l@sask.usask.ca
    Sent: Saturday, November 15, 2003 1:28 AM
    Subject: Re: Kallitypes, Digital Negatives, and Dust Specs

    Did you brush the dust off the paper too prior to coating & printing?

    Mark Nelson

    In a message dated 11/14/03 10:44:08 PM, mklemmer@comcast.net writes:

    I am fairly new to alt photo processing of kallitypes. I am using a Nuarc exposure unit consisting of a vacuum frame and mercury vapor lamp, and negatives produced with Pictorico OHP film on an Epson 2200 printer.

    My question is this: I've been having a problem with lots of light dust specs appearing on my final prints. I've been very careful with eliminating dust at every possible point....the negatives and the glass are both cleaned prior to exposure, but the dust specs appear none the less. I've even noticed dust specs in the areas of the sensitized paper outside of the negative area.

    My suspicion is that these spots might have more to do with the coating and drying of the paper, rather than a problem with dust on the negatives and glass. Perhaps those of you with more experience can share some tips on how to avoid/solve this problem.

  --------------
  Tom Ferguson
  http://www.ferguson-photo-design.com
Received on Sat Nov 15 09:21:57 2003