Re: Gum Tri-Color

I'm not looking for perfection. All I am stating is that a "perfect black" is not attainable with just CMY. If one is looking for "perfection" in their blacks, then they need to use black. That's all that I am stating. Katherine made a blanket statement that C+M+Y gives black after several people stated that they had problems getting pure black with CMY. My statement was just to point out that I do not believe you can get to perfect black that way. Nothing more. Nothing less. My request to Katherine for an example was just a request to demonstrate what she is stating.

I fully agree that the allure of the alt process is the lack of perfection, which is what imparts the "hand processed" look to the prints.

--
Bill Leigh
wrleigh@att.net

Date: Mon, 12 Jul 2004 15:34:09 +0000
From: Tom Ferguson <tomf2468@pipeline.com>
Subject: Re: Gum Tri-Color
To: alt-photo-process-l@sask.usask.ca
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Bill, I think part of is being "missed" here is that most folks doing
tri-color gum are after a "look", not perfection. "Perfection" is far
easier and far quicker and far cheaper in modern manufactured paper.
I've been running a lot of paint tests (and thus a lot of step wedges).
I agree, with three colors I don't get a perfect black. My black tends
slightly blue/cyan, I rather like it! If I wanted a perfect black I
would send the file and $0.29 to Ofoto ;-)

Perfect black (or high DMax) is too highly regarded. Platinum has a
much lower DMax than Silver Gelatin. Cyanotype and gum are even worst.
It isn't perfect black that attracts most of us to alt.

Indeed, this "wanting imperfection" is much of what art is all about.
We just read Christina complaining about the objectionable "cross
hatched grain" on Aristico Cold Press. That is what I love about
Aristico Cold Press, I really enjoy paper that looks like paper (has
some surface to it). Christina likes the Hot Press, I found it too
"perfect". Isn't art fun!

On Monday, July 12, 2004, at 07:39 AM, wrleigh@att.net wrote:

> It was not an order, it was a simple request (note the use of the word
> "please".) However, I still stand by my previous statements that
> regardless of how you compute conversions and what the K in CMYK
> stands for, I still doubt that you can get a pure black from just C +
> M + Y.
>
>
> --
> Bill Leigh
> wrleigh@att.net
>
>
>
>>
>>> Please post 2 instances of the same print, one of which was printed
>>> with
>> lampblack and one with some combination of your choice of cyan,
>> magenta, and
>> yellow, which show that the color is identical. Also try scanning the
>> print and
>> see what Photoshop says is in each of the CMYK channels.
>>>
>>
>> Hmm, are you planning to pay me for my time to do this? If not, I
>> don't
>> see that I have any obligation to obey this order. If it looks solid
>> black to me, that's good enough for me.
>>
>>
>
>
>
--------------
Tom Ferguson
http://www.ferguson-photo-design.com

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Bill, I think part of is being "missed" here is that most folks doing
tri-color gum are after a "look", not perfection. "Perfection" is far
easier and far quicker and far cheaper in modern manufactured paper.
I've been running a lot of paint tests (and thus a lot of step
wedges). I agree, with three colors I don't get a perfect black. My
black tends slightly blue/cyan, I rather like it! If I wanted a
perfect black I would send the file and $0.29 to Ofoto ;-)

Perfect black (or high DMax) is too highly regarded. Platinum has a
much lower DMax than Silver Gelatin. Cyanotype and gum are even worst.
It isn't perfect black that attracts most of us to alt.

Indeed, this "wanting imperfection" is much of what art is all about.
We just read Christina complaining about the objectionable "cross
hatched grain" on Aristico Cold Press. That is what I love about
Aristico Cold Press, I really enjoy paper that looks like paper (has
some surface to it). Christina likes the Hot Press, I found it too
"perfect". Isn't art fun!

On Monday, July 12, 2004, at 07:39 AM, wrleigh@att.net wrote:

<excerpt>It was not an order, it was a simple request (note the use of
the word "please".) However, I still stand by my previous statements
that regardless of how you compute conversions and what the K in CMYK
stands for, I still doubt that you can get a pure black from just C +
M + Y.

--
Bill Leigh
wrleigh@att.net
<excerpt>
<excerpt>Please post 2 instances of the same print, one of which was
printed with 
</excerpt>lampblack and one with some combination of your choice of
cyan, magenta, and 
yellow, which show that the color is identical. Also try scanning the
print and 
see what Photoshop says is in each of the CMYK channels.
<excerpt>
</excerpt>
Hmm, are you planning to pay me for my time to do this? If not, I don't
see that I have any obligation to obey this order. If it looks solid
black to me, that's good enough for me. 
</excerpt>
</excerpt><fontfamily><param>Helvetica</param>--------------
Tom Ferguson
http://www.ferguson-photo-design.com</fontfamily>
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