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wwilliams
26-Sep-2010, 05:48
Can anyone recommend a book on platinum printing or general alternative processes with a good chapter or two on platinum printing.

BarryS
26-Sep-2010, 07:48
The best option is buying a copy of Platinum & Palladium Printing (2nd Ed.) by Dick Arentz. You can buy a copy at http://www.dickarentz.com/ This is far and away the best source of information on Pt/Pd printing I've read. Alternatively, The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes by Christopher James has a chapter on Pt/Pd printing. I'm not a big fan of James' writing style, but the book is a good resource on alt processes. I've also heard very good things about Ian Leake's Platinum Printing Workshop book (http://www.ianleake.com/platinum-printing/my-book/).

D. Bryant
26-Sep-2010, 16:15
Can anyone recommend a book on platinum printing or general alternative processes with a good chapter or two on platinum printing.

"The New Platinum Print" by Carl Weese and Dick Sullivan. Now out of print but provides an excellent how to by a master (Carl Weese).

Don Bryant

Doug Howk
26-Sep-2010, 17:02
Ian Leak's book is excellent though it concentrates on the Dichro method of contrast control. Luis Nadeau's "history & practice of platinum printing" does cover the Ratio method, though some of his discussion seems dated. Arentz book does go into alot of detail, but it does cover all 3 main methods of pt/pd.The Ratio and NA2 methods are the easiest to learn while Dichro method provides wide range of control with 7 contrast grades.

matthew klos
15-Dec-2010, 10:47
Christopher James book on alt pro gives a nice introduction.

Scott Davis
15-Dec-2010, 14:13
I'll put in another vote for the New Platinum Print by Sullivan and Weese and Platinum/Palladium Printing by Arentz. The James book is just so-so. It's better for things like gum printing, but most things in it are "ALMOST works for me, but not quite". Ian Leake's book is great for doing the AD+developer contrast control, but I prefer the NA2 method for develop-out pt/pd printing. All methods have their limitations, so get a couple of books and try out each technique to see what works best for you. I've recently fallen in love with Ziatypes, which are a printing-out version of a palladium print. You get the benefits of being a printing-out process, the lower cost of palladium with the tonality of platinum if you want, using dichromate (or gold chloride, or sodium tungstate) for contrast (and color/tonality) control.