Silver gelatin on Yupo (was Re: Help with what I believe is a hardening issue)

From: Katharine Thayer <kthayer@pacifier.com>
Subject: Re: Help with what I believe is a hardening issue
Date: Mon, 15 Nov 2004 06:24:36 +0000

> Ryuji Suzuki wrote:
> > I have been looking for Yupo and a few other plastic papers at a local
> > store but they just tell me "someone else asked for it but we don't have
> > it" for past several months... I'm generally happy with hot press +
> > gelatin size, but sometimes I want to get more details sharply rendered.

> Ryuji, I really think you ought to check out the Yupo. It is perfectly
> smooth but with a matte surface that takes gelatin surprisingly well.

Finally my order from Cheap Joe's arrived and I got a chance to print
on it today. I coated Yupo with my silver gelatin emulsion (about 4%
AgX, 5% gelatin, 4% polyacrylates --- this proportion seems to work
better for brush coating) hardened with glut. No sizing, sanding or
any other surface treatment. The adhesion of the emulsion is very
good, better than glass. The image is generally very sharp but I get
more streaking (brush marks) than on papers, which is a bit
annoying. Unhardened emulsion was easily damaged but hardened emulsion
didn't get damaged even with touching on the wet surface.

So I have to work on the brush marks... Maybe Yupo works better with
glass rod or screen coating.

I ordered "clear" Yupo but it was pretty opaque translucent white.

--
Ryuji Suzuki
"People seldom do what they believe in.  They do what is convenient,
then repent." (Bob Dylan, Brownsville Girl, 1986)