Re: Gum Chemicals - starting out question

DWAYNE SANDALL wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>
> I am, after much time and agonizing, finally going to start some gum printing this fall. I have a question about some kits out there in the market, namely the one from Bostick & Sullivan and the other from Photographers Formulary.
>
> I am mainly interested in the raw chemicals in each kit, is there a difference in quality or some other intangible? or am I better off to pick up the chemicals seperately? The paper and pigments aren't as much of a concern as the chemicals, as I am a failed painter from my university days :-)
>

Dwayne,
There's a difference in the gum. The B&S kit includes a high-quality
pure gum arabic, one of several good pure gum arabics you could choose
from, while Photographers' Formulary, last I knew anyway, has gone to a
dark lithographers' gum. I write about the difference between the two
types of gum on this page (scroll down to the heading Gum Arabic):

http://www.pacifier.com/~kthayer/html/materials.html

If you have been a painter, you might like to mix colors by eye as I do,
and in that case you may prefer a gum that allows you to see the colors
as you mix. One type of gum is not inherently better than the other;
it's a matter of personal preference which you choose, but it's good to
know what you're choosing between.
Katharine Thayer
Received on Wed Sep 8 11:31:04 2004