How much does it cost to print in platinum...and is it worth it?

[invisibleflash]

How much does it cost to print in platinum?

I've only seen repros of platinum prints in books. To me they looked gray and not nearly as nice as a good silver print. I was wondering why they would want a platinum print if they were not as nice looking as silver prints. Is the allure of platinum in the name and prestige of cost? OK, they say they last forever. but so what if it is a crapper print?

Maybe they are trying to capture the old style look and don't mind the poor print IQ? It could also be I only saw a poor example of a platinum print. I don't know.

Please clue me in as to the benefits and drawbacks of platinum printing and the costs.

Thanks

[djdister]

That was an unfair comparison. Did you also compare a printed reproduction of a silver print vs a real platinum print? No? I would suggest you need to see the real thing in person, a platinum print, done by someone with expertise, before coming to your conclusion.

I have seen real platinum prints in person, and they can be magical versus a silver print. But I'm not a platinum printing expert, so find one and see for yourself. Others can tell you about all the other properties of a platinum print.

How much does it cost to print in platinum?

I've only seen repros of platinum prints in books. To me they looked gray and not nearly as nice as a good silver print. I was wondering why they would want a platinum print if they were not as nice looking as silver prints. Is the allure of platinum in the name and prestige of cost? OK, they say they last forever. but so what if it is a crapper print?

Maybe they are trying to capture the old style look and don't mind the poor print IQ? It could also be I only saw a poor example of a platinum print. I don't know.

Please clue me in as to the benefits and drawbacks of platinum printing and the costs.

Thanks

[adelorenzo]

A basic kit that will do 25-30 8x10 prints is $300 then you've got paper and other supplies (brushes, coating rods, etc.) on top of that. Obviously buying the raw chemicals or large quantities can be cheaper. If you plan to use a UV light source that is not the sun then that is $$$ as well.

I'm hoping to try platinum prints in the next six months or so, right now I'm cutting my teeth on some other alt processes. I'm interested in the historic aspect and I like the idea of hand coated paper. Time will tell if I get good results or not but I'm looking forward to trying!

[BarryS]

I think you need to see some platinum prints in person. It's a beautiful form of printing unmatched by any other process. It has nothing to do with cost, prestige, or "print IQ".

[Drew Wiley]

Like any process, the relevant question should not be, what does it cost to do, but what will it cost to learn? Getting good at something can be quite an investment
in time and money, esp when it involves precious metals.

[Bill_1856]

I think that it is an old wife's tale that Platinum prints don't fade.

[Vaughn]

Platinum is not a metal that 'fades' (or tarnish like silver), thus the prints do not either. They can change if not properly processed (to clear out the iron compounds).

Platinum prints can be very very beautiful. And they can be mushy -- just like silver gelatin prints.

I use to burn thru 10 sheets of 16x20 SG paper (16x20) to get three good copies...on a good day. That is about $5 to $6 a sheet -- so that is about $60 for three prints or $20 a piece. I can get an 8x10 platinum prints easily at that price (one keeper out of every two prints). So an 8x10 pt/pd print cost me the same as a 16x20 SG print...and I sell the 8x10 pt/pd print at twice the cost of the 16x20 SG print...with much less mat board cost!

[jp]

How much does it cost to print in platinum?

I've only seen repros of platinum prints in books. To me they looked gray and not nearly as nice as a good silver print. I was wondering why they would want a platinum print if they were not as nice looking as silver prints. Is the allure of platinum in the name and prestige of cost? OK, they say they last forever. but so what if it is a crapper print?

Maybe they are trying to capture the old style look and don't mind the poor print IQ? It could also be I only saw a poor example of a platinum print. I don't know.

Please clue me in as to the benefits and drawbacks of platinum printing and the costs.

Thanks

Plat prints were the style from turn of the previous century to WW1. Then platinum got expensive and commercial platinum paper went away. People DIY now with good results. During that period when they were popular, soft images were the rage. That combination goes together like Jaeger and Redbull. Soft images often lacked contrast. Platinum is about the midtones more than the highlights or strong contrast punch. Old prints of that era show poorly in many cases. It's a silver print, but do a google search for "stieglitz hand of man" and see how many crappy variations are reproduced online from bad sources. You need to find someone contemporary that is known for platinum prints and they are nice, or original prints from a hundred years ago. Not or, do both. Find some photo secession images to see in person, and find contemporary stuff. Tillman Crane for example does contemporary platinum that has the great midtones platinum is known for without looking flat or mushy. The old stuff will have detailed midtones and shadows that are hard to reproduce.

[Andrew O'Neill]

Why don't you start off with the poor man's platinum print, the kallitype? It is just as beautiful as a platinum print, and heaps cheaper to produce. If you tone the kallitype in a platinum and palladium toner, you have a platinum print.

[UlbabraB]

Why don't you start off with the poor man's platinum print, the kallitype? It is just as beautiful as a platinum print, and heaps cheaper to produce. If you tone the kallitype in a platinum and palladium toner, you have a platinum print.

I totally agree, I turned to Kallitype from Pt/Pd because it can give identical results if properly processed plus it's possible to achieve a broader range of "effects" with several combination of toners, developers, reducers, etc at a fraction of the cost.