Re: hot and cold press papers

Kate,
It's a musty, mildewy, swampy kind of smell. If you don't smell it,
count your blessings. When I started using Arches I kept pouring lemon
juice down the drains and searching the house for perhaps a damp towel
that may have been left somewhere and gone sour, it was that kind of
smell. I finally began to notice (speaking of an ABAB research design)
that the smell was present when there was wet Arches nearby, absent when
there was no wet Arches nearby.

I loved the paper and was willing to put up with the smell, until it
became problematic to me for other reasons. But as I may have mentioned
before, I'm puzzled by Christina's observations that it sinks and takes
a long time to dry, because neither of those observations are consistent
with my experience. Apparently the paper has changed for the worse in
the two or three years since I've used it..

kt

Kate Mahoney wrote:
>
> This amazes me - I use Arches Aquarelle as the paper of choice, have a very
> sebsitive nose and have never ever noticed a bad smell.....?????What
> gives???
> Kate
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "William Laven" <wmlaven@platinotype.com>
> To: <alt-photo-process-l@sask.usask.ca>
> Sent: Thursday, April 01, 2004 4:29 AM
> Subject: Re: hot and cold press papers
>
> > I once used Aquarelle for Pt/Pd and got a great image, but couldn't
> > stand the smell either. I thought I had a rotten (sic) batch and
> > didn't try it again because I preferred the Arches Platine.
> >
> > What's the smell from?
> >
> >
> > >Hi all,
> > > I just wanted to share my experiences with different papers, for
> what
> > >it is worth.
> > > I had previously posted on the sinking of aquarelle to the bottom
> of
> > >the tub when presoaking and shrinking my paper. It also held in moisture
> the
> > >longest, so it took FOREVER to dry, unlike Uno and Artistico and Magnano.
> > >It also had clear spots of uneven sizing, and some I soaked had dark
> areas
> > >of what looked like stain. I thought for sure the aquarelle was going to
> be
> > >a "never order again" paper.
> > > However, in side by side comparisons, having never worked before on
> > >cold pressed papers and gum printing (before I only used Rives BFK which
> has
> > >some slight surface texture but is not cold pressed) I am amazed at how
> much
> > >detail you can get. For some reason, I thought the bumps in cold pressed
> > >papers would create a softer image, and not so. In fact, there is more
> > >depth to the image, but not less detail. I was using cold and hot in Uno,
> > >Artistico, Aquarelle. Magano is bumpy, too.
> > > The aquarelle no longer sank to the bottom once sized with a
> hardened
> > >gelatin layer.
> > > The one thing I found was that I had a much easier time getting an
> even
> > >coating with no streaks with the cold pressed papers. This reminds me of
> > >Charles Ryberg and one other person on the list who was having difficulty
> > >streaking. Try cold pressed paper. Once I was past the first layer, the
> > >hot pressed, smooth papers would streak more. The first layer never did,
> > >tho, so somehow the buildup of hardened gum contributed to the streaking.
> > > Speaking of which, I was using the roller method on some, but could
> > >only get an even layer on the first layer but not thereafter. I think I
> > >need to make my gum solution thinner to use that method. Otherwise, I
> always
> > >use a 3" hake brush.
> > > I'm trying to decide on a paper to stick with, and contrary to what
> I
> > >was expecting, cold press may be it. Probably not aquarelle, as it does,
> as
> > >Katharine says, smell bad. I liken it to wet dog. Plus the other
> problems
> > >with it and uneven sizing etc. But it sure looks nice in a print...
> > >Chris
> >
> >
> >
Received on Wed Mar 31 21:15:41 2004