Re: price of pt/pd printing

Sandy -

Thank you for the helpful remarks. Actually, I think of Kallitype in the same
classification as Van Dyke, but you are right in making the distinction. The
consideration of contrast is one of the primary reasons I am moving to digital
negatives, so hopefully that otherwise frustrating issue will be resolved in
the near future.

Thanks for chiming in.

Cheers -

george

--- Sandy King <sanking@clemson.edu> wrote:

> 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

Handmade Photographic Images - http://www.GLSmyth.com
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Received on Fri Apr 8 14:02:29 2005