Re: Gum - gelatin sizing or not?

Dwayne Sandall wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>
> Just a quick check in with you more experienced folk. I have heard
> mixed opinions on gelatin sizing for gum. Curious to hear your
> opinions, or is the need more related to paper choice or pigment
> choice? Or does the size of the finished print have a role as well?

Hi Dwayne,
You're going to hear the same mixed opinions here as you apparently have
heard elsewhere, but here's my 2cents: I sized in the beginning because
all the instructions said to size, but one day I printed some tricolor
prints without sizing and found that they printed beautifully without
it, and for the most part haven't sized since. The one paper I've sized
since then was Fabriano Uno, since I found that without sizing its DMax
was unacceptable, and even with sizing, it was pretty lame. You can see
what I mean by looking at a demonstration I put up some months ago about
glutaraldehyde that is still sitting on my website. Look at the at the
difference between gum test prints on Lana paper (the upper set of test
prints) compared to the same mix printed on the Fabriano Uno below.
(Don't pay any attention to the graininess, which is a function of the
glutaraldehyde, but look at the tonal scale of the print). So yes, I'd
agree that paper choice can in some cases dictate sizing.

I wouldn't say that pigment choice has any bearing on the need for
sizing, nor would I say that size of the print has any bearing, as I've
printed up to 30x40 without sizing.

Katharine Thayer
Received on Sat Oct 9 12:34:07 2004