Thanks koraks, that could be it. I fixed for 6 minutes in 10% sodium thiosulfate. Yes, I am pretty convinced my brush wasn't saturated enough. Will try again this week.Originally Posted by koraks
I got the impression double coating didn't work as nicely as in Cyanotype. I think it made my highlights murky and didn't see any benefit in the shadows.
I am on a roll! Can't seem to get enough of fucking up. This time I did the unthinkable, fuck up a Cyanotype!
This is Mike Ware's new cyanotype formula which gives a wider tonal range and better detail. Now for some unknown reason the highlights turn to brown in the water rinse...
img409 by rabato, on Flickr
Ah, that looks familiar! I get that result with the Ware formula as well (it's much more sensitive to mishaps than the original! ) under the following circumstances:
* initial wash water slightly alkaline; I use a 10% citric or acidic acid first wash
* alkaline paper base; use a different paper or pre-wash the paper in an acidic solution (and let dry) before coating
* insufficient oxalate; follow the instructions of Dr Ware carefully and pay attention to the ratios in the sensitizer
I also tried controlling contrast with dichromate and that ended up in weird prints as well, but the above seems like the result of one of the issues pointed out above. I think it's either the wrong sensitizer formula or the first wash.
Btw, on the acid used in the first wash: yes, I really meant 10%! It seems to help with the contrast of the print. Maybe as little as 5% could work, but contrast will drop slightly. Also, with citric acid, the tone shifts a bit towards purple as if the image is bleached (but with full density and contrast). With acetic acid (disregard the confusing typo above), I get a cooler tone that leans towards green/yellow.
Funny you'd say that...
I instantly started thinking what I did different from the first batch which came out fine: The developer. In order to get more contrast I decided to rinse in plain water. The moment I added some ascetic acid the tone went down but still remained a little.
This time, all I had left was Scholler paper which I like because of its super fine grain. I'll try something different tomorrow.
The oxalate I believe was fine. One mistake I made was with the dichromate. I added 2 grams instead of 1. I wonder what the consequence of that could be since I find my prints a bit flat (compared to the traditional super contrast formula). Although more dichromate should mean more contrast if I am not mistaken...
I get very flat prints with dichromate as well; whatever it does to the contrast, it also reduces dmax as far as I could tell by my testing (which is all but scientifically sound), so after a couple of dozen test prints with various levels of dichromate and citric acid added to the sensitizer, I gave up on the dichromate and settled on just one drop of 40% citric acid per ml of sensitizer, which suits the contrast of most of my TMAX100 negatives quite well.
As to adding acetic acid: how much did you add, i.e. what is the acid concentration in your first wash? Also, I tried adding acid to the first wash after the print had already gone in, but by then, the damage is already done. The print must hit acidic water right away.
I have no experience with the paper you mentioned, but it is definitely true in my experience what Mike Ware says about his new cyanotype process: it's *very* picky in terms of paper. And all other factors. It yields beautiful prints if all goes well, but it's about as iffy as carbon printing - just a whole lot faster, which allows for a steeper learning curve. I have considered going back to the original formulation a few times, and I probably will at times, if not for the huge negative contrast that the New Cyanotype process can deal with. There's no way I could print my silver negatives with the traditional sensitizer. I proofed a couple of 4x5's today with the new formula since it's almost as quick as scanning them for proofing, just more fun. And it allows to see detail in both highlights and deep shadows almost as well as a good scan.
I don't add citric acid to the sensitizer and I thought the dichromate was mandatory for Mike's formula. I would have to make a fresh batch and I don't have the chemicals with me right now...
My acetic acid bath is totally moronic, I mix a a cup, or half a cup of Tetenal stop bath in maybe 1 liter of tap water (ph7). I will try citric acid tomorrow.
I am leaning towards the paper choice as the main problem. I salvaged a couple Fabriano 50% cotton sheets from my father's place. The coating feels much more natural.
I am glad you pointed me to the possible causes. I was starting to get quite pissed off at my recent alt processing. Thanks!!!
@koraks and @Ramiro A quick tip about acidicing your paper. On apug is a thread to use Sulfamic Acid to get rid of the calcium stuff as acid buffer in the paper. Especially for the new cyanotype. Also Dr. Mike Ware mentioned it. I use it now for my kallitype prints. And it works like a charm.
Here is the url: http://www.apug.org/forums/showthread.php?t=118153
Excellent! Thanks!
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