On May 26, 2004, at 4:13 PM, Tom Ferguson wrote:
> After a few years away from gum printing, I'm working a new gum
> project. My old paper is "discontinued", so I'm sort of "starting
> over". One thing I've noticed is a lot of folks adding a bit of
> Everclear (very high proof grain alcohol) to both the size and the
> pigment mix. Interesting....... what is the advantage?
For me, it appears to smooth the coating mix out somewhat while I am
mixing the pigment and the gum, maybe acting as an emulsifier of some
sort. There is certainly more visual 'smoothness' that is apparent.
That said, I am beginning to think that my habit may just be
superstition, a photo-equivalent of throwing salt over my shoulder. I
have inadvertently left out the 8 drops or so that I normally add per
10ml of gum and pigment, and the prints have looked just fine. There
perhaps is some benefit to using it if you use a roller like I do, but
again, having said that, I know some other printers who use rollers and
NO everclear and get perfectly fine results.
Like most things in gum, somebody, somewhere can come up with an
anecdotal result that will question the practice. In short, I wouldn't
sweat it. It does make for a good laugh when people see the Everclear
bottle on your darkroom shelf, however, which may make it worthwhile
separate and apart from any chemical efficacy.
Clay
Received on Wed May 26 15:25:40 2004
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