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tgtaylor
21-May-2014, 13:00
Anyone making albumin prints?

I mixed up my first 5000mL of albumin and should be ready to start printing in about a week.

Thomas

sanking
21-May-2014, 14:01
That should be albumen (egg white), not albumin (blood serum).

Sandy

BrianShaw
21-May-2014, 14:27
No matter whether blood or egg, I can't wait to hear about and see your results. I think about it often but haven't had the time to experiment.

ghostcount
21-May-2014, 14:38
Albumen + Canson Universal Sketch Pad (http://www.freestylephoto.biz/702192-Canson-Universal-Sketch-Pad-Uncoated-Paper-for-Alternative-Process) = "same feel as the original papers of the 19th century and once mounted with wheat starch paste, burnishes beautifully" - Osterman

My attempts with a glass negative.
http://planetrandy.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/First-Albumen-Print-exposing.jpg

http://planetrandy.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/First-Albumen-Print-in-frame.jpg

http://planetrandy.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/First-albumen-print-5x7.jpg

Negative density range: 2.14 – 0.64 = 1.50
Albumen: 1.5% sodium chloride with vinegar
Paper: 9×11 Canson Universal Sketch (aka. Crob ‘Art) single coated (float method)
Sensitization: 12% silver nitrate, rod method
Exposure: 5 minutes in the afternoon sun

Doug Howk
21-May-2014, 16:57
B&S' kit makes Albumen printing alot easier. They are manufacturing the Albumen coated paper (Stonehenge?). All that's needed is the coating with silver, then treated as other POP processes. My only problem is the coating step. I prefer brush, but anything larger than 5X7 has had streaks. They do recommend the use of a roller rather than a brush (or float sensitizing)

tgtaylor
21-May-2014, 21:37
Yep, used the wrong spelling: In English it should be albumen as Sandy pointed out but for some reason I used the French spelling of albumin. Anyway it took me 3 dozen large grade AA eggs to obtain 500mL of albumin. This was my first attempt so it took a few eggs before I became proficient and to sort out thee difference between the thick mucus-type of albumen from the chalazae. I ended up tossing a few of the former with the latter before I figured it out. Using an electric hand blender I whipped the albumen with acetic acid and ammonium chloride to a thick froth at which point I belatedly realized that I forgot to add 15mL of distilled water to the mixture before blending. So I added the 15mL of distilled water and blended it again. Here is what it looks like about 10 hours later:

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5320/14242105105_e13560bbc7.jpg

I'll leave it sit out overnight and filter it through cheese cloth before work tomorrow morning and transfer it to the fridge for a week or so before coating paper. Initially I'll probably print on Lanaquerelle and Fabriano Aristrico - both of which I have used successfully with salt prints and have on hand. I'm planning to coat the albumin on the paper by floating and then sensitize by brush which I am fairly good at and using a push paddle which I have but have never used - to see what works best with this process.

Thomas

ghostcount
21-May-2014, 21:42
Nicely done!

Don't discard the yolk (http://www.fortysomething.ca/2010/04/recipes_to_use_up_extra_egg_yo.php). :)

Dogs love them too.

Also, a little trick (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AirVOuTN_M)on the yolks.:cool:

sanking
22-May-2014, 05:58
I'll leave it sit out overnight and filter it through cheese cloth before work tomorrow morning and transfer it to the fridge for a week or so before coating paper. Initially I'll probably print on Lanaquerelle and Fabriano Aristrico - both of which I have used successfully with salt prints and have on hand. I'm planning to coat the albumin on the paper by floating and then sensitize by brush which I am fairly good at and using a push paddle which I have but have never used - to see what works best with this process.

Thomas

If you heat the albumen solution in a bain-marie to about 100º F it will go through the filter a lot faster. At room temperature it takes a very long time. When you pour the solution in a try to float coat there will be a lot of bubbles on the surface. You can get rid of most of them by floating first a sacrificial sheet of paper to pick up the bubbles.

Mixing albumen from eggs is fun, but powdered eggs also work very well, and allow you to make a more concentrated solution. A good source for the powdered eggs is http://shop.honeyville.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=powder+egg+whites.

Sandy

Cor
22-May-2014, 06:53
Ages ago I did some Albumen printing; I recall:

Best results with double coating the paper with albumen (hardening with iso-propanol in between)

Never got really clear highlights, a problem inherent with Albumen printing I believe.

There is an exhaustive text:
'The Albumen and Salted Paper Book'(1980) by James O'Reilly I believe there is a free on line version somewhere.

Toning is mandatory if you want to keep your prints a long time

But you probably knew that anyway.

Good luck, the few prints I made were quite beautiful as print

best,

Cor

ghostcount
22-May-2014, 07:34
...
There is an exhaustive text:
'The Albumen and Salted Paper Book'(1980) by James O'Reilly I believe there is a free on line version somewhere.
...

Good book (http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CDUQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Falbumen.conservation-us.org%2Flibrary%2Fmonographs%2Freilly%2Falbumen-reilly_delivery.pdf&ei=swp-U624NtSsyATdi4GoBA&usg=AFQjCNG3ZpnelTjrgX1HgBJ1OzHiSlYWUA&sig2=WIwlG73tICeRXcczjyayzQ&bvm=bv.67229260,d.aWw)on the subject.

BrianShaw
22-May-2014, 07:42
... but powdered eggs also work very well...

Sandy

Do the egg whte in the "milk carton" work OK also?

taulen
22-May-2014, 07:45
115734
First albumen, done on Monday this week =) From a terrible wet-plate negative, re-developed with pyro.
Double coated, both albumen and silver. On canson universal sketch pad

sanking
22-May-2014, 08:14
Do the egg whte in the "milk carton" work OK also?

If the product is 100% egg white it should work. I use a product called "Liquid Eggs" for applying an albumen size to papers for carbon transfer printing, and harden it with 90% Isopropyl by rolling on the solution.

The advantage of powdered egg whites is that you can mix the solution stronger than what you get with regular eggs, or with liquid eggs, which allows a thicker albumen coating that is less likely to stain in the highlights. Of course, you can always double size with the regular solution.


Sandy

Drew Wiley
22-May-2014, 08:42
I've never had the opportunity to work in albumen, but I collect them. A wonderfully subtle kind of print, and quite distinct from pt/pd or carbon. Low DMax, so best
suited to open shadows and high key tones. But the lower tones still take on quite a bit of visual vicarious depth with the intensity of the browns. They seem to be
quite permanent, but should not be mounted on alkaline substrates like "buffered" board. What seem to get to them over time is mildew, if they're been stored in a
damp environment without adequate air circulation.

UlbabraB
22-May-2014, 09:36
I restarted albumen printing this year after some tests in the past and I must admit that I really enjoy it. I print on Canson Crob'Art paper (80 g/m^2) and double coat it to gain a glossy surface and even coating. I use pasteurized albumen since it's clean, cheap and I hate separating yolks.

Wet plate negatives and x-ray film prints nicely. The only inconvenient is that Crob'Art paper curls like hell when albumenized and it's difficult to handle when floating on the sensitizer.

BrianShaw
22-May-2014, 10:56
If the product is 100% egg white it should work. I use a product called "Liquid Eggs" for applying an albumen size to papers for carbon transfer printing, and harden it with 90% Isopropyl by rolling on the solution.

The advantage of powdered egg whites is that you can mix the solution stronger than what you get with regular eggs, or with liquid eggs, which allows a thicker albumen coating that is less likely to stain in the highlights. Of course, you can always double size with the regular solution.


Sandy

I saw an very interesting Discovery Channel (I think) show that meringue from that product, a test that I believe would prove or disprove the purity. Maybe there is a Pavlova in my future!

tgtaylor
22-May-2014, 19:04
The albumen is in the fridge and if everything goes as planned I'll try my first print during the first weekend in June.

If anyone is interested in the process here is a very informative website devoted to the Albumen print: http://albumen.conservation-us.org/about/. Interestingly it is maintained by Stanford University which houses several hundred albumen prints by Carleton Watkins. A current exhibition of about 150 of his prints are currently on exhibition at the Cantor Arts Center on the campus till 17 August. http://museum.stanford.edu/news_room/watkins.html. I've viewed the prints twice now making a more careful inspection on the second visit looking for printing imperfections. The most common that I have noticed (on close inspection) is a loss of contrast running about 1/2 to 1 inch wide on the edges but seldom if ever on the sky edge. At first I thought that it was due to albumen getting on the backside of the print but now I don't think that is it. It may have been due to a coating problem but if that is the case why not also on the sky side? But his highlights have not yellowed to the extent seen in Charles Marville's prints. Was this due to the paper Watkins used, his processing, or both? They are clearly archival as they are 150+ years old but look as if they were printed yesterday notwithstanding that they were originally bound in volumes and no doubt viewed numerous times by people thumbing through as you would a coffee table book. Of course they weigh 30lbs each so you couldn't take them in the bathroom or similar venues.

Why did he choose 18x22" as the format for his "mammoth" camera? I suspect that he choose that size because that was the size of the paper. The best albumen paper manufactured back then came from mills in Dresden Germany in reams of 480 sheets in 46x58 cm (standard size and the size of his camera) or 92x116 cm.

Thomas
Thomas

Erik Larsen
22-May-2014, 19:29
Great site Thomas! Very enjoyable

stawastawa
22-May-2014, 22:25
Thanks for the book and site! I hope to join in the albumen printing very soon!

j.e.simmons
23-May-2014, 04:31
I've used the "milk carton" egg whites from the supermarket. It seems to work well.

Jim Noel
23-May-2014, 07:06
Do the egg whte in the "milk carton" work OK also?

It is according to the brand. I make sure that they are pure, unadulterated whites with absolutely no additions. When I can find them I but kosher whites.

BrianShaw
23-May-2014, 07:29
It is according to the brand. I make sure that they are pure, unadulterated whites with absolutely no additions. When I can find them I but kosher whites.

Ah, interesting. Yes, it appears that those that are 100% egg white and nothing else will say so onthe packaging. I just looked at a few brands on their internet site and found that most appear to be 100% egg white. But one brand, Eggbeaters, has two products - one that is 100% and another (original) that does not make that claim nor states clearly what else may be in the product... but they clearly state that it is from real eggs.

p.s. Eggbeaters also has some flavored varieties, Florentine, etc, but I figure those additions are quite obvious in terms of being non-white of an egg.

Ramiro Elena
29-Dec-2014, 13:41
After some difficulties with floatation coating I used a foam brush which gave me a more even surface. I should probably go for double coating but I am not sure how to do it without isopropyl alcohol. I might try the iron at home. I am a bit tired of the lack of control over salt and albumen printing so adding one more step isn't very exciting.
These came out better than the 4 images before them which gave me all kinds of trouble. The negatives are, at least good for albumen and salt; super dense.
They are quite hard to scan. You can see some gloss show up in certain parts.
I did try to flatten a few prints with a hot iron which made a big change in color in most of them. Salt prints that looked very chocolaty turned cool brown which I am thankful for.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8597/15518171554_66b84e0efc_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/pDhFKY)
img322 (https://flic.kr/p/pDhFKY) by rabato (https://www.flickr.com/people/71073452@N00/), on Flickr

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7515/16139743342_d23988e894_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/qAdpoW)
img324 (https://flic.kr/p/qAdpoW) by rabato (https://www.flickr.com/people/71073452@N00/), on Flickr

tgtaylor
30-Dec-2014, 08:50
They look fine to me Rairo. Makes me want to try the process.I made the albuin about 9 months back and its been sitting in the fridge ever since. I wonder if it is viable after being in the refrigerator for so long? Are you supposed to store it at room temperature?

Thomads

Ramiro Elena
30-Dec-2014, 09:27
They say the older the better. I left mine in the fridge for about three months. It's turned a bit green but it doesn't smell bad.

tgtaylor
15-Dec-2019, 23:36
Well 5 years later I can report that I have successfully made my first albumen print this afternoon. A few months back I coated a sheet with the albumen that I mixed in 2014 and tried to apply it with a puddle pusher. Didn't work out and I tossed that batch of albumen. Then, a few weeks ago after reading the new Tyler Green Carleton Watkins book and pursuing Carleton Watkins: The Complete Mammoth Plates, I decided to give the process another try. This time, instead of extracting the albumen from fresh eggs as before, I bought a carton of liquid egg whites (about 500mL) and prepared the coating according to the accepted formulas. However not paying careful attention to the instructions I added the optional photoflo to to the mixture before blending with an electric blender. But I didn't think this would be a problem since the photoflo would be more evenly distributed throughout the mixture then if added after the blended mixture is poured into its final storage bottle for use.

After a week in the refrigerator the albumen was ready for use and I bought a Pyrex casserole dish especially for the process (~$6.00 at Walmart) but the dish is contoured and an 8x10 sheet of paper does not lay flat on the bottom so 1 sheet of paper was wasted. I transferred the albumen to a flat-bottom Cresco tray that I had originally planned to use and folded up the sides of the paper to make a boat for floating but that ultimately turned out not to be necessary. Five sheets of paper were floated for 3 minutes each and then lightly dragged over the smooth edge of the Cresco tray but an uneven coating was the result. However those 5 sheets taught me that making a boat wasn't necessary and how to lay the sheet flat on the albumen. The bubbles that appear after each sheet are easily moved to the side of the tray – I used a wooden coffee stirrer stick like they have at Starbuck's or Pete's. As before I lightly dragged the sheet over the edge of the tray but this time I squeegeed the coated paper with the puddle pusher to even out the coating. One pass is sufficient. Before hanging I left each sheet upright for several minutes to allow the albumen to sink into the pores of the paper and the last sheet I left upright without hanging. No difference was discernible.

The next week was rainy but a favorable weather forecast was for today. The negative that I choose was of a view off of Stage Coach Road in San Gregorio that I had photographed over 20 years ago. Due to its proximity to the coast with the attendant water vapor issue and expansiveness encompassing about 20 miles rolling landscape and valleys, obtaining a “sharp” photograph throughout is probably impossible. I closely monitored the local weather forecast and chose the day and time when the relative humidity would be at it lowest which also coincided with the best lighting which was the afternoon when the sun provided for frontal lighting from the west. The view was captured on Ilford 5x7” FP4+ film with a 610mm Apo-Nikkor lens on a Toyo 810MII field camera fitted with a 5x7 back. I first printed that negative a few year ago as a Kallitype toned with a Gold Thiocynate toner and in comparison the Kallitype has the greater Dmax but the coloration of the Albumin print – which I didn't tone – is much more pleasing to my eye. But this was the first print with this process,which was single coated with albumen and without adding a contrast enhancing agent to the sensitizer so a print with greater Dmax is certainly possible.

In summary, the albumen silver print is a viable process capable of producing both unique and aesthetically pleasing images and is now in my toolbox.

Thomas

koraks
16-Dec-2019, 00:32
Nice!
How did you apply the sensitizer? Puddle pusher, brush, or float?
Back when I experimented a bit with albumen, my personal conclusion was that only floating (especially the sensitizer, but preferably the albumen as well) would consistently yield usable results with good evenness. That's also why I bookshelved this process, as I didn't particularly like the necessity of a tray of silver nitrate solution.

tgtaylor
16-Dec-2019, 11:23
I applied the silver with a new hake brush that I bought from B&S a while back - a nice brush which they no longer carry on their website. Floating the silver would have been a mess and would result in wasting lot of silver. After coating several hundred salt, kallitypes, etc with a hake brush I was pretty confident of my ability with a hake brush. I liberally apply the silver by dipping the brush into a small circular watercolor palette that I picked up at a local art store and lightly brush the silver on until the paper takes up a shiny pearl sheen - just like with the other processes. No brush strokes resulted. I posted a scan of the print at the end of my blog entry https://www.spiritsofsilver.com/blog/the_albumen_silver_print_12152019. which doesn't capture the actual rich color of the print.

Thomas

koraks
16-Dec-2019, 12:12
I your brush and your skills in using it; I always got strokes with mine. And a puddle pusher never worked quite well for me with the fragile albumen coating. For that reason I stick to salt prints and a puddle pusher for both the salt and the silver, but I may give it a go with a better brush one day.

tgtaylor
16-Dec-2019, 12:57
Actually I don't think the brush makes that much of a difference. For years I used the cheapest Chinese made Boar hair hake brush sold at Blick - ~ $3 for the 1.75" version now a little more costly. They have a metal ferrule and it is advisable to apply super glue along the edge to keep the bristles from shedding on the paper. Works fine and I thought of buying a new one at Blick for the albumen when I remembered the B&S brush I bought some time back but never used. It's a Joto C-5 hake brush made in Japan using goat hair without a metal ferrule and no need to use glue.

Thomas

Tin Can
16-Dec-2019, 13:58
Thomas,

Thank you for a great description. I printed it.

I was going to try egg white powder, I will follow you.

Drew Wiley
17-Dec-2019, 10:52
It's such a beautiful medium. I've never tried it, but do have a number of lovely old albumen prints in my collection.

Cor
18-Dec-2019, 03:57
Thomas,

Nice description ! When I did albumine printing I always double coated the albumin (harderned the first layer in isopropanol if I recall correctly). Dmax increased considerably. I also floated on the silver nitrate. And I always toned with gold, but what I found dissapointing is that I never could get pure white (well the white of the base), there always was a light yellowish veil in the highlights, sometimes this is no problem, but not always.

Best,

Cor

cmug
31-May-2022, 05:46
I restarted albumen printing this year after some tests in the past.
I follow the as much as possible the steps according to the book of Chr. James (but also have the books of Reilly and Radosław Brzozowski)
Now much better result. Didn't use a gold color bath. That is much too expensive for me.
Important aspect I have already learned; The negatives must have really very high Dmax (best result with negative that I had with gradation 00 still too contrasty with traditional printing technique with enlarger and silver gelatine paper)
https://i.postimg.cc/zDFfbL6b/Singel-Albumine.jpg (https://postimg.cc/Jtt8Sh1M)