RE: price of pt/pd printing

Thanks for the link; that seems like a great way to chart the prices. I'd
venture a guess that many students and casual printers, may not be able to
invest $5000 in printing supplies. For those, the smaller quantities that I
quoted may hold more truth. For those looking at print cost, you may wish
to look into gold. Chrysotype prints offer good color choices, and
reasonable prices too.

Substrates most definitely affect cost per print prices. Not only the cost
of the substrate but also by affecting how much coating solution is required
to get a good coating.

Eric Neilsen Photography
4101 Commerce Street
Suite 9
Dallas, TX 75226
http://e.neilsen.home.att.net
http://ericneilsenphotography.com
 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jeffrey D. Mathias [mailto:jeffrey.d.mathias@att.net]
> Sent: Saturday, April 09, 2005 7:08 AM
> To: alt-photo-process-l@sask.usask.ca
> Subject: Re: price of pt/pd printing
>
> Eric Neilsen wrote:
> > Palladium is running about 10.80/g right now but Platinum is about
> 27.00/g
> > and Platinic Acid (H2) is about 23.5/g. The way I mix palladium, that is
> > costing about 1.35/ml. SO at (20drops/ml) 13 drops = .88 cents/4x6
> print.
> >
> > The paper cost can be as much as the chemical cost or more. 25 sheets
> of COT
> > 320 from Freestyle cost me 135.00. $5.40/sheet Depending on how much
> paper
> > edge you like to see, you might get 6 to 12 prints out of one sheet. Or
> > .90/sheet to .45/sheet.
>
>
> I just purchased some metals from Englehard last month.
> K2PtCl4 100 grams at $16.5209 a gram
> PdCl2 500 grams at $6.79134 a gram
> Thay give price breaks at certain amounts, but their price fluxuates
> with the market and the final price is set after the order is ready to
> ship. A good way to anticipate the market is at www.kitco.com
>
> The fabric I use wholesales at $15.00 a yard (you have to order about
> 150 yards.) If I use an 11x14 size piece for a 8x10 print, that's about
> 10 prints per yard (there is some trimming.) So that's about $1.50
> per 8x10 print. Paper tends to be less, although some good papers can
> cost twice what Eric describs.
>
> An 8x10 on Sea Island fabric requires about 3.0 ml metal solution
> An 8x10 on Crain's paper requires about 1.4 ml metal solution
>
> For a typical mixture of 1 part Pt solution 3 parts Pd solution using a
> standard 26% FO solution, that works out to $0.38145 for just the metals
> metioned above if using fabric and $0.17801 for the 8x10 on paper.
>
> Keep in mind that there are other chemicals used per print. And then
> the depreciation of equipment used. But so too with other processes.
>
> Point is, as I believe made by others, that it is a cry baby's excuse to
> claim that the Pt/Pd process is just too exspesive only due to the Pt
> and Pd metals. As with any of the alt processes, the substrate seems to
> be the big ticket item.
>
> --
> Jeffrey D. Mathias
> http://home.att.net/~jeffrey.d.mathias/
Received on Sun Apr 10 14:07:11 2005