Re: price of pt/pd printing

George,

There are several people on the list with the knowledge and
experience to address this question so my opinion is not the only one
you are likely to hear.

I have some experience in printing with VDB as well as kallitype
based on ferric oxalate as well as pt./pd.

1. VDB is relatively inexpensive but for permanent results the image
must be toned. There is little contrast control with VDB, not very
much of an issue if you are working with digital negatives, but very
much one when using in-camera negatives. Also, compared to kallitype
and palladium the image is not as rich, in terms of Dmax. I believe
there is the potential for it to be as rich, but for a variety of
reasons we often lose the richness in processing. It is the least
expensive of the three processes.

2. Kallitype based on ferric oxalate gives images that are generally
higher in Dmax than VDB. Another advantage over VDB is that you have
a lot of control over contrast, in fact the same as you have with
palladium. But kallitypes, like VDBs, must also be toned for
permanence. Kallitypes toned with palladium have the same look and
contrast range as straight palladiums. However, there are more steps
involved in processing a kallitype than a pt./pd. print.

3. Pt./Pd is a simpler process (less steps) and if processed
correctly you have a print that is very permanent with no need for No
fixing or toning. A wide range of contrast control is possible. It
is the most expensive of the three processes.

All three processes are capable of beautiful images and if you are
printing for yourself with no professional objectives it makes no
difference which one you use. If, on the other hand your goal is to
make money from print sales through galleries I would recommend
Pt./Pd because it has more traction in the market, at least when name
recognition is not a factor.

Sandy

>Chris -
>
>This is the reason I work with Van Dyke. My prints sometimes get
>confused with
>pt/pd, which begs the question I posed several years ago on this list, why
>print pt/pd? There is no way I can afford platinum, and Van Dyke allows me to
>make as many mistakes as I do.
>
>Cheers -
>
>george
>
>
>--- "Christina Z. Anderson" <zphoto@bellsouth.net> wrote:
>> Good eeeevveeeening,
>>
>> Well, while Dan B. is chitchatting away to Europe on free internet phones, I
>> am having a ball printing palladium. After gum printing for 2 years solid,
>> I am taking a breather with this ironic idea of the blurry family photo
>> album. I decided I was sick and tired of happy smiley family albums (when
>> dysfunctional families abound), and that I would make my own album that
>> would last 400 years--as pt/pd would--for all posterity to see (probably
>> only to see how weird their great great great great grandma was). So I'm
>> printing a bunch of snapshotty type imagery, blurry, angsty, unpoetic and
>> the like, in 4x6 size, tipped into a black handmade photo album with photo
>> corners. Sam thinks I am nuts, I'm sure.
>>
>> So as I was basking in my oh-so-very-postmodern irony of printing **this**
>> type of imagery in pt/pd, I suddenly freaked about just how much this will
>> ultimately cost. I sat with calculator, droppers, ml graduates, anything to
>> avoid facing my final thesis corrections.
>>
>> This is what I figured, and I am asking all you perfect(ly normal) pt/pd
>> printers out there if these calcs seem reasonable:
>> A 4x6 print with magic brush takes 13 drops (i love that magic brush).
>> A price per drop (B and S pricing at the small quantity 25 ml price) was:
>> 2 cents ferric,
>> 13 cents palladium,
>> and 6 cents Na2.
>>
>> Thus a 4x6 costs 96 cents. At the 100 ml price it is only 64 cents.
>> Heck, that isn't bad at all, given diginegs with curves that give
>> predictable prints!
>> So my blurry family photo album will really only cost me about 4 times as
>> much as if I had it printed at Walmart! And it'll last 8 times as long!
>>
>> Of course this doesn't include the price of ammonium citrate, citric acid,
> > EDTA, Pictorico, paper, depreciation of the magic brush, replacing worn BL
>> bulbs, electricity, time, ink, depreciation of my computer and my
>> printer....
>>
>> Deep thoughts for the night--I really should have gone to bed long ago....
>> Chris
>>
>>
>>
>
>Handmade Photographic Images - http://www.GLSmyth.com
>DRiP Investing - http://DRiPInvesting.org
>
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Received on Fri Apr 8 10:10:00 2005