Re: Everclear Alcohol and Gum

Clay,

Do you use the foam or the fiber type roller to coat the gum?

Marek M
>
> 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 Thu May 27 08:11:53 2004