Arches Aquarelle and Pt/Pd

I've been using Arches Platine ever since it appeared, though
occasionally test other papers for myself and/or with students in
workshops.

Nearly 7 years ago I made some prints with Arches Aquarelle which I
liked, but I stuck with Platine. I recently tried Aquarelle again
with lousy results: grainy, flat, low dMax, nearly a stop slower than
Platine. Yucky.

Out of curiosity I made two prints with the same neg with identical
exposure/development, etc, one on a loose sheet of Aquarelle 7 years
old, the other on a sheet from a block bought yesterday. While the
old paper performed better, it was still pretty bad, esp. compared to
the Platine.

Which begs a couple questions: Is the difference I'm seeing between
the old and new Aquarelle reflect that the paper had changed a lot
over the years or that they actually formulate the paper differently
for blocks vs. loose sheets? Secondly, is anyone using Aquarelle
successfully for Pt/Pd and, if so, with what sensitizer/developer,
special techniques, etc?

I like the slightly cooler tones of Aquarelle vs. Platine, but don't
want to start a Sisyphian battle if I hear from others first that
I'll lose.
Received on Wed May 12 18:11:01 2004