RE: Iron

Hi Etienne.

-----Original Message-----
From: etienne garbaux [mailto:photographeur@nerdshack.com]
Sent: 27 Mart 2006 Pazartesi 07:44
To: alt-photo-process-l@sask.usask.ca
Subject: Re: Iron

"...I, personally, do not always place as much emphasis on archivality
as Loris appears to do..."

Well, archivality is a concern to me...

"...If archivality is more important to Loris,..."

...but not more important that the image itself. Said that, I must add
that to me, the image and the method of printing it are irrelevant most
of the times (for my images, that is). I mean I don't do installations /
mixed media, I simply exhibit / sell matted and framed monochrome prints
- very conventionally. I can't say I have images that would only work
with... lets say gum or palladium or vandyke et al. (But on the other
hand, I have images that benefit from being presented as cyanotypes.
Since cyanotype is one of the most archival-stable processes, that cause
no problems at all...) I come from quadtone carbon pigment inkjet
printing, therefore I wouldn't like to deal with something that is
considerably less stable-archival than a carbon pigment inkjet print. I
sell prints occasionally (one per month or two), so I want my prints as
stable-archival as they could be and won't print with a
not-quite-stable-achival process as long as there's a more
stable-achival alternative giving the same feeling / taste (or very
close to it). If it happens that I shoot a photo that will only work
when printed as a ... lets say Vandyke, I'll certainly print it with
Vandyke - but processing it to the highest archival standards the
process permits, claiming a more conservative lifespan. I hope that's
clear now. :)

"...Loris wants to know if residual iron is a worry for iron-based
processes..."

In the light of the previous exchange, I believe residual iron is a real
and serious problem for iron-silver processes.

"...That said, you did raise one worthwhile issue earlier in the
proceedings: Is there any reason to believe that the traditional 1% HCl
clearing bath is insufficient in reducing residual iron to negligible
levels? But to answer this, we need to answer the questions that Loris
is pursuing: What are negligible levels? What effects the levels? How
can we measure the levels?..."

Actually, that was another person's question. My understanding was since
iron is a strong catalyst for silver oxidation + a catalyst won't
exhaust, even a small amnt. is not tolerable. This is not an absolute
fact, it's my (maybe completely wrong) personal take. I hope future
messages on this issue will clear that for us (including me).

Best regards,
Loris.
Received on Mon Mar 27 02:42:49 2006