Chris,
It seems like the paper does not soak the sensitizer before it evaporates. You can try prehumidifying the paper before coating. Maybe you can also try some Tween 20 in your sensitizer. At one time I remember somebody saying that it helped with palladium in dry Southwest. It never does anything for me in the humid gulf air, here in Houston. Tween 20 breaks the surface tension and allows the sensitizer to soak faster into the paper.
Marek
From: Clay <wcharmon@wt.net>
Reply-To: alt-photo-process-l@usask.ca
To: alt-photo-process-l@usask.ca
Subject: Re: palladium bleeding still
Date: Sat, 12 Aug 2006 05:38:04 -0500
>Really weird. I have never seen this problem to this degree in my
>darkroom. On question: What is your ambient humdity? The reason I
>ask is that I observed the same thing happen at a workshop at the
>Formulary in August many years back. And I know it is more arid
>there, than say, Houston in August (Otherwise know as
>Dhaka-on-the-Gulf.
>
>Clay
>On Aug 12, 2006, at 12:22 AM, Christina Z. Anderson wrote:
>
>>Good evening dear all,
>>
>>One benefit of living in the same state as Photographer's Formulary
>> is occasionally a visiting dignitary will pass through town and
>>grace me with his/her presence, which was the case today. Mark
>>Nelson is here on his way to do a workshop up there, and I roped
>>him into coming over to my house to observe said platinum/palladium
>> bleeding problem.
>>
>>Sure enough, I printed 6 tonal palettes and had him watch my every
>>move, from coating to drying to exposing to developing. It was a
>>very tense moment of performance anxiety when the first tonal
>>palette did not bleed and I thought he would think I was making it
>>all up for a little list activity, but lo and behold, the next 5
>>did and really impressed Mark (as in "Holy S--t!). He had not seen
>> that before.
>>
>>I used both Arches Platine and Crane's Cover, and used THREE
>>developers this time--sodium citrate, ammonium citrate, and brand
>>new fresh Potassium Oxalate (hence eliminating the acid/alkaline
>>issue). Platine bled like a banshee in all developers, even the
>>sodium this time. I printed on the back/bumpy side of Platine and
>>still it bled. Cranes bled much less but did bleed minimally.
>>
>>I have more things Mark said to try: dilute the mix half with
>>water and do 2 coats, try Cot 320 with my usual practice, change to
>> a fresh ferric oxalate (mine was only a couple months old tho),
>>test to see if I am losing density in the highlights as well as the
>> shadows, and as two have told me offlist, reduce my palladium
>>salts. Actually I will next try this last first (whoa dudette--
>>weird sentence there).
>>
>>That's all for now folks!
>>Chris
>>CZAphotography.com
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
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