Re: fastest gum printer in the west-er-east

On Thu, 4 Mar 2004, Christina Z. Anderson wrote:

> >
> > Chris... I am also dedicated to spray, but could never find a "cheapy drug
> > store bottle" where the spray wasn't so coarse it left holes, tho I tried
> > about 6 types, from flower mister to "atomizer." I figure either you

> I have 2, one is a plastic one with painted flowers which is more forceful
> by a company called Bottle Creek, one is an industrial one with frosted
> plastic and red lettering by Envirokind, both probably $2 models. I don't
> think it is the spray bottle that does the trick, it is matching the
> It's a mist spray, but a forceful mist. It has an adjustable nozzle that
> goes from stream to spray, you know?

Thinking about this -- and the dozen or so bottles I've tried that all
sprayed too hard, I think I figured it out... I don't do all the
development by spray, just use it to lighten or open certain areas. I've
already essentially developed the print by "still" or "automatic"
development, but want to separate a shadow area more, or maybe clear an
area for a later coat... So the emulsion is quite soft... even the gentle
*mist* from the Dahlia Mister can take too much off if it's not used
carefully...

If I get far enough away for it to be gentle enough, the spray radius can
be too wide, and affect areas I don't want to touch. I sometimes cut a
sort of frisket or mask to spray through -- which is a big help but really
requires 3 hands.

However, I also suspect that if you're printing digital negatives that
have been tweaked in Photoshop this kind of delicate manipulation may
not be necessary, or much less. (I can hardly wait.)

> Yes, I think all detail is printed down to body hairs, but since gum is a
> relief process more or less, the depth of the details is physically higher
> and softer.looking. Plus it's printed on a soft paper surface. I printed
> on some Fabriano Artistico Hot Press (which seems to be very dimensionally
> stable in large sizes) and that print was super sharp, as opposed to
> printing on Rives BFK. But certainly not albumen sharp.

I've printed one-coat gum on the same paper I did cyanotype & VDB on (a
fairly hard Strathmore drawing paper, kid finish), and it still wasn't as
*sharp,* tho every bit as detailed.

Judy
Received on Thu Mar 4 21:03:53 2004