>
>Hi everyone. I am reposting my platinum/palladium printer's survey in
>the hope that a few more of you will participate. I have received a
>handful of responses from this list (Bjorn, Mike Ware, Bill Laven, and
>other fine people), but I would still like to get some response from
>everyone else. Surely, there are more than 7 of you printing Pt or Pd.
>
>I would especially like to hear from those of you who have pioneered
your
>own formulae/working methods. Pradip, Richard Sullivan, Luis are you
there?
>
>I also mailed out my survey to about 400 Pt/Pd printers (with the very
>kind help of Bostick & Sullivan). Thus far I have recived about 60 or
so
>of those surveys back, so I am getting some good material for the book.
>
>I would think that responding by e-mail would be easier than filling
out
>the form and mailing back a hard copy as 60 others have done. <Ed:
this
>is the guilt trip part>.
>
>I will be working on processing the surveys for a number of weeks, so
if
>you can return a completed survey within the next few weeks that would
be
>great.
>
>So without further ado, here is the survey (and original cover letter).
>
>
>Dear Fellow Platinum/Palladium Printers,
>
>My name is David Fokos, and I am a platinum/palladium printer living
near
>Boston, where I have been printing in platinum for the last 15 years.
I
>am posting this message in the hope of persuading you to participate in
a
>new project that will be of certain benefit to us all.
>
>I am compiling and cataloging the formulae, materials, and methods used
by
>platinum/palladium printers around the world - sort of the platinum
>printer's version of the human genome project. It seems to me that we,
>and a lot of our fellow printers, have worked very hard to develop our
own
>personal working methods and chemical formulations. Many of us have
>probably spent countless hours, and significant money re-inventing and
re-
>discovering processes already worked out by others. My goal in this
>project is to produce a spiral-bound notebook which catalogs all of our
>methods so that we will all be able to work together to improve the
state
>of our art.
>
>Over the 15 years that I have been printing platinum, it has been my
>experience that the members of the platinum printing community have,
>without fail, been generous in their willingness to share their time,
>advice, and results of their work. I believe that it is this openess
and
>encouragement that has brought us all together in what is, in the
truest
>sense of the word, a community. I hope that you will be willing to
share
>your work with your fellow platinum/palladium printers. And, of
course,
>in return you will receive a terrific wealth of knowledge from printers
>around the world!
>
>I have absolutely no profit motive in undertaking this project. Once
the
>book is complete, it will be made available to those who participated -
at
>the cost of printing and postage. I am donating my time and effort to
>this project. Everyone who participates will receive full credit for
his
>or her contributions. To participate, just answer the questions which
>follow and e-mail them back to me at: beakman@netcom.com.
>
>Note: Some of you may have already received a copy of this survey in
the
>mail via Bostick&Sullivan who were kind enough to help me with my
mailing.
>
>Thanks in advance for participation in this project!
>
>
>Sincerely,
>
>David Fokos
>
>
>-----------------------------------------------------------------------
--- >cut here > > > > -=@ Platinum/Palladium Printers Survey @=- > > >1. Please give the following information, (only your name will be used in >the final publication). > >Name: >Address: >Telephone: > >2. Briefly describe the type of work you do (i.e. large-format contact >prints vs. medium-format with enlarged internegatives, landscape vs. >portraits vs. collage, etc.). > >3. Which negative film/developer combination do you prefer, and why? >Also, how do you expose and develop to get a good negative for printing >Pt/Pd? > >4. Why have you chosen to work in platinum and/or palladium? > >5. Which paper do you currently use, and what is it about the paper that >you like? > >6. What is your recipe for: > > a) your platinum solution (if any) - if you get any of these > solutions pre-mixed, say "pre-mixed" and give the source. > > b) your palladium solution (if any) > > c) your ferric oxalate solution(s) If you use more than one ferric > oxalate solutions please give information on all of them. > > d) your developer(s)If you use more than one developer (e.g. if > you have different developers for different contrast grades) > please give information for each one. > > e) your clearing agent(s) > > f) any miscellaneous solutions that you use > >7. Which method do you prefer for contrast control, and why? > >8. Where do you get your materials? > >9. Please outline your working process. Be sure to include: > > a) how you mix your chemistry > > b) how you coat and dry your paper, incl. # of drops/image area > > c) your printing technique, including type of light source and > distance from it. > > d) your development technique > > e) your clearing process > > f) any finishing processes including treating the print, > flattening, and spotting. > > g) any other special techniques, such as humidification, > incantations, prayer, etc. > >10. Finally, if I were to organize something like "The First Annual >Platinum/Palladium Printers Grand Portfolio Exchange", would you be >interested in participating? > >The portfolio exchange would work thusly: Let's say 20 printers each make >20 copies of one of their own images. These are then used to make up 20 >portfolios, each containing one copy of each printer's prints. Each of >the 20 printers would then receive one complete portfolio of 20 different >images. > >If you would be interested in participating in such a program, what would >your limit be on the number of prints (of a single image) that you would >be willing to make? Twenty? Fifty? One-hundred? > >11. Please add any additional comments that you might like to make. > >Please e-mail your completed survey to: beakman@netcom.com > > > >I've never done any platnuum printing, which is why I've not responded. But I'd certainly be interested in the survey results if this is possible. Cost has kept me (and probably many others) away from Platnium printing, and if we had more facts going in we might be more willing to give it a try. Gini