Re: New Cyanotype

My paper is all soaked with my preshrink step.
However, I'm thinking tween might be a good thing to use.
Chris
PS Gordon, thanks for helping me out with my internet snafu :)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Gordon J. Holtslander" <holtsg@duke.usask.ca>
To: <alt-photo-process-l@skyway.usask.ca>
Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2004 12:15 AM
Subject: Re: New Cyanotype

> Loris - I wonder if soaking/washing the paper prior to coating would
> change the way it works with cyanotype.
>
> If the paper has some sort of sizing or finish of some kind soaking it may
> remove or alter something the manufacturer put in the paper. I don't
> remeber if you said what kind of paper you are using.
>
> A soak/wash prior to coating may raise the knap of the paper and make it
> more absorbant. You will have to let the paper dry before coating.
>
> Have no idea whether this would change anything - but its an easy thing to
> try.
>
> I've always suspected thay cyanotype is very sensitive to the pH of paper.
> Is there a standard way of checing the pH of paper. I don't have a pH
> meter, but I have plenty of litmus paper.
>
> Oh - by the way - Rick's cyanotypes or gorgeous :)
>
> Gord
>
> On Wed, 19 May 2004, Loris Medici wrote:
>
> > Judy, happy for you but ... blue water is a standard issue for me (I
double
> > coat). That's why I'm overexposing my cyanotypes incredibly - I never
> > understood the "expose for highlights becoming one - one and a half stop
> > darker than what you want in the final print" suggestion... If I do it
that
> > way, I get empty highlights, highlight-like midtones and weak shadows.
But
> > if I expose the print until the shadows are completely reversed,
midtones
> > reversed but less than shadows and highlights blue (zone IV I'd say)
then I
> > get the print I want (after the print turning the first development tray
> > dark green/prussian blue - 2 mins - and the second one very weak
cyan/aqua -
> > 2 mins - and clear in the third one - again 2 mins). The only case I
hadn't
> > blue water was when I was adding gum arabic (4 drops to 20ml sensitizer)
and
> > 10% potassium dichromate (2 - 3 drops to 20ml sensitizer) to the
emulsion.
> > In that case the shadows would look almost whitish in development and
won't
> > dissolve in the development water (in my case, it's mainly the
dissolving of
> > shadows that makes the water prussian blue) and sometimes it would
convert
> > to deep blue in peroxide bath only, not before. And yes, my paper's not
very
> > absorbent - I had best results adding 2 - 3 drops of ILFOTOL to 20ml
> > sensitizer (that's a wetting agent similar to Photo-Flo) - but I don't
see
> > any puddling when I coat; the paper gets matte in one to two mins. BTW,
I
> > use 0.1% citric acid as developer (1gr to 1lt) in order to compensate -
> > maybe - alkaline wash water (not scientific, I didn't even try to
measure
> > the PH of our tap water - what I know is it stinks chlorine!).
> >
> > Regards,
> > Loris.
> >
> >
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------
> Gordon J. Holtslander Dept. of Biology
> holtsg@duke.usask.ca 112 Science Place
> http://duke.usask.ca/~holtsg University of Saskatchewan
> Tel (306) 966-4433 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
> Fax (306) 966-4461 Canada S7N 5E2
> ---------------------------------------------------------
Received on Thu May 20 09:51:01 2004