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Thread: The Salt Print Thread

  1. #201

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    Re: The Salt Print Thread

    I'm glad to hear that, I've been enjoying your salt prints and I've also learned from a few of your posts when I picked up the process recently again. It's fun to revisit ground you've covered before, if only for the new vistas that you'd missed last time.

  2. #202
    http://www.spiritsofsilver.com tgtaylor's Avatar
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    Re: The Salt Print Thread

    I've been adding a few drops of Tween 20 to the Kallitype sensitizer with good results and would like to try for salt printing. I wonder if you would add it to the salt solution, the silver solution, or split it up between both?

    Thomas

  3. #203

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    Re: The Salt Print Thread

    I'm no expert, but I like to keep surfactants out of my processes as much as I can. Whenever I use them, they tend to create more problems than solve them. And when they seem to be called for, i.e. with certain papers of low absorbency, adding something like Tween or Photoflo doesn't really resolve the issue for me anyway. The exception is albumen when coated with a rod, which I've been doing quite a bit lately, with moderate success. In that case, I find it's sometimes necessary to add the surfactant both to the albumen and (more importantly) to the consecutive silver nitrate coating. With Van Dyke Brown or regular salt prints, I personally see no virtue in the addition of a surfactant, at least with the papers I use.
    I can only recommend to try it out. How do you coat your papers? Rod, float or brush, or a combination thereof?

  4. #204
    http://www.spiritsofsilver.com tgtaylor's Avatar
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    Re: The Salt Print Thread

    I use a $2 hake brushes that I get from a local Dick Blick store. Before first use I apply super glue around the metal fuerrel to prevent hake hairs from dislodging - of course some do so I check the print throughout the coating - rinse the well in hot running water when finished and store them in zip lock sandwich bags when dry. I must have coated 15 prints with the last Kallitype brush and it's still going strong.

    Thomas

  5. #205

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    Re: The Salt Print Thread

    Cheap brushes often work just fine, particularly for sensitizers that are a true solution as opposed to a dispersion. I have never managed to get even coating with any brush with salt printing, but with Van Dyke, cyanotype etc. I still prefer brush coating.
    Nice idea about the super glue to prevent hairs from dislodging, I might try that myself one time. Currently my favorite brush is a €15 synthetic hake type brush that has coated many hundreds of prints so far without shedding a single hair. I hesitated when I bought it as it seemed a little pricey at the time, but it's turned out to be a great investment.

  6. #206
    http://www.spiritsofsilver.com tgtaylor's Avatar
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    Re: The Salt Print Thread

    I bought a Richardson brush, used it one time, and went back to the Blick hake brush. For sensitizers that have multiple parts (A, B, etc) I mix by the drop in a shot glass (shake the bottle, 10 drops in the shot glass, reshake the bottle, 10 more drops, etc). When all parts are in the shot glass I mix the contents thoroughly with a Pyrex rod and quickly pour the mixture in a small petre dish where I dip the brush. Very important to coat with minimal force with just the weight of the brush on the paper. When the paper begins to loose its wet appearance and takes on a pearly white sheen its time to stop and allow the paper to dry face up naturally. I do not try to speed up the drying process with a hair dryer.

    Thomas

  7. #207

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    Re: The Salt Print Thread

    I always use the hairdryer these days, even for carbon tissue. I haven't noticed any ill effects so far, but it's conceivable that the heat could induce fogging under certain circumstances. Also, the risk of airborne particles may cause concern in some.
    Your approach to mixing and coating is the same as mine. Despite what some sources claim, a sensitizer such as Van Dyke Brown doesn't require any ripening in my experience.

  8. #208
    http://www.spiritsofsilver.com tgtaylor's Avatar
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    Re: The Salt Print Thread

    One of my best salt prints to date:

    Port of San Francisco, 2013.


    It's been on the wall under regular picture glass for over 4 years now and looks like it was printed yesterday. I'm going to replace the glass with museum grade acrylic for UV protection.

    Thomas

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