Erik, thanks! In real life, the first one has my preference, although I find they complement each other.
Williaty, partial gold toning produces a warm, reddish tint, but when toned to completion, the tone shifts to a bluish grey. While only complete toning is considered as archival by some, the intermediate stages can be beautiful.
Hi Folks
I know this is going to be a question that should be on a different thread, but since most of the alt workers on this site are here I think this is the appropriate place to bring this up.
I have been using a Nu Arc 26k for all my alt work, but I want to go up in size, I think I want to be able to do 22 x 30 cut sheet or larger . This will not fit in my machine, but I have another particular
type of print I want to make and that is large silver contacts from the lambda negatives I am making which will require a different light.
Over the weekend I witnessed a TV crew in my space adjusting their LED lighting systems to daylight and tungsen with a simple dial and it once again inspired me to search out a system.
I am absolutely four thumbs when it comes to equipment hardware, so I am not thinking of building one myself, but I am thinking about an LED vacuum system that can do both silver and platinum exposures. I am not concerned about price
as this unit would pay for itself in short order as I do have clients wanting larger alt prints.
My goal is a single unit that can have the LED lights pre programmed for different process times,... Silver prints, Lith prints, Platinum Palladium, Gum, and Cyanotypes.
I would like a solid unit that can easily be worked with a glass vacuum system like the 26K but be very adaptable in the light source. I do not want to sacrifice time of exposure on the Platinum Print therefore
a very robust unit, and I do want to be able to dial down the system to accept Ilford Warmtone exposures.
This is an area that I think some of your are considering or may have some input... I have absolutely no intentions of making this unit myself so I do admire the self starters who can do these kinds of project
but I am looking to purchase..
Any Ideas, comments or suggestions. I thank you all in advance. I will appreciate data that is experienced based, first hand knowledge , rather than speculation or second hand details, I am aware
that Nuarc makes a LED unit but to date I have never heard of anyone using such a device.
I think you should have a chat with Sandy King, as he has some very useful experiences to share when it comes to using LED for alt. process printing. As I understand (I apologize for the second hand info, which is all I can offer), it boils down to the following concerns:
* Most cost-effective UV leds that are currently in the market have a spectrum that centers around 390nm, which is on the long side for alt. process printing, making them relatively inefficient in comparison with e.g. BL(B) tubes.
* The cheap, Chinese leds seem to actually be white leds with an organic coating that converts the visible light into UV. This coating degrades over time, bringing down the UV output to minimal levels within a year of intensive use.
In addition, as far as I know, there are no LEDs that span the entire spectrum of UV to visible light. For mixed printing of UV-sensitive materials and regular papers (perhaps even VC), this would mean that the light source would either have to consist of several types of LEDs or it would have to be easily replaceable, making it possible to switch between a UV source and a visible blue/green source.
Again, apologies for the 2nd hand info. I have read up a lot on both LED sources for enlargers as well as UV LEDs for alt. process printing in the past year or so. Haven't built anything yet, but I am planning to build a modestly sized UV contact frame. It will use UV tubes and not LEDs due to the issues outlined above, as I don't feel like replacing the LEDs after a relatively short period of time or face excessive contrast and long exposure times due to bad matching between the source spectrum and the sensitivity curve of the photographic material. For VC printing, LEDs have proven to be a useful light source for several users, so I wouldn't hesitate to take that route for this purpose.
Santiago Rusinyol's birthplace, at carrer Princesa. It will probably be demolished soon.
Palladium print on gampi paper, from a 8x10 negative.
Santiago Rusinyol's birthplace, carrer Princesa. by Pau Martín, on Flickr
That's beautiful, Pau. I'd love to see the print.
Kallitype on Strathmore 300 gsm paper. From original 8x10 negative.
Thanks, h2oman, Hendrik, Erik.
I buy most of my chemistry at Disactis, a french dealer: sodium chloropalladite,
gold chloride, different oxalates and pyrogallol, among other things. However, they
do not have potassium chloroplatinite. In fact, I don't know any European
dealer that supplies platinum, and I'd like to.
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