Re: Gum Sizing

My experiment with this for classic cyanotype was sort of awful (probably
because I didn't do it right due poor technique; it was just a very basic
and simple experiment...). Actually I liked the combination of cyanotype
with the warm background (which is tanned gum - probably plus the dichromate
stain too); a little bit greenish... but the sharpness was poor compared the
non sized print and there was staining, bleeding of the image and loss of
contrast. The blue wasn't strong, the wet image was very delicate - very
easy to abrade. Also, it took hours to get tanned gum dry completely and
loose tackiness...

Anyway see my "poor" result here:
http://www.loris.medici.name/images/taner_cyano_over_gum_size.jpg
See the edges for signs of bleeding, also there's a finger print on the top
right corner (this was made my touching while processing - remember the
delicate emulsion?).

And this is another print made from the same negative on the same paper:
http://www.loris.medici.name/images/taner_cyano_no_gum_size.jpg

I'm not sure why one would bother with doing this... I couldn't see a point
that time. I would like to be enlightened on why people prefer this and also
hear suggestions for better results.

Best regards,
Loris.

----- Original Message -----
From: "dan jones" <cacadanebay@pacbell.net>
To: <alt-photo-process-l@sask.usask.ca>
Sent: Monday, September 20, 2004 8:25 PM
Subject: Gum Sizing

> With all the discussions on sizing paper...does anyone
> have any experience with the old method of sizing
> using plain gum and dichromate?
Received on Mon Sep 20 13:11:56 2004