Palladio paper for Platinum printing

[Natha Congdon]

I realize that it is temporarily out of production, but has anyone used Palladio paper (the machine-coated Pt/Pd paper) for Pt/Pd printing? How does it compare with Arches, Crane and other papers that people have used fort hand-coating? T he advantage would appear to be convenience and repeatability; are there disadv antages that outweigh this?

Thanks for your help,

Nathan

[Chris Partti]

I haven't used it, and it may be worth a try. Some disadvantages I can think of: higher cost; loss of all controls (over contrast, tone, etc.) that are based on sensitizer formulation; loss of control over paper type which itself can be very important to the final image; limited paper sizes (no good size for 5x7 negs, for example, although you could cut the 8x10 9.5x11.5 paper in half); no arty brush strokes around the edges of your image; apparently inconsistent availability; no POP process (which is what I usually use). Overall, I'm not tempted.

[Michael_527]

Nathan,

I haven't used Palladio, but the comments I have heard from some that have tried it is that the results are quite inferior to those from a hand coated print.

I believe the consistancy of the paper was the main reason they discontinued production, at least that's what I was told. Apparently one batch of paper would work very well, and then next would be a dismal failure...

Since you mention Arches and Crane, I would strongly recommend that you do not start pt/pd printing on Arches, as this paper (Platine) can be quite tempemental, and will be very frustrating to a printer that is learning the ropes. Crane's Platinotpe is by far the most tolerant paper that I have used, and I would suggest that you start out using it until you have gained a basic level of competancy, at which time you may want to experiment with other papers.

Platinotype is used by many people as their primary paper. Just because it is inexpensive and fairly tolerant doesn't mean it can't produce an excellent print.

---Michael

[Christian Nze]

Hi

I never use the palladio paper but a friend of mine use some and make nice image on it.

I will agree with michael that you better not begin with arches paper if you wan to hand coat. Crane's make really nice paper which work nice. Arches paper are a little more tricky.

for any info contact the palladio company http://www.personal.psu.edu/users/w/c/wcr112/palladiopaper/index.htm

or for hand coated www.bostick-sullivan.com



christian Nze

[Sergio Ortega]

Nathan,

I used the Palladio palladium pre-coated papers for some time. I do not believe they make/made a platinum pre-coated paper.

It was quite consistent and satisfactory. The tone was warmer than the handcoated platinum materials I've used, as is usual for palladium materials. With the right kind of negative it yielded lovely prints, with all the typical characteristics of a palladium print. I'm not sure what type of paper stock Palladio uses/used, but it was very nice and had a pleasing texture.

One interesting bit of trivia: At the time I was using it the Palladio folks were including disclaimers with their instructional literature--or, more accurately, defensive clarifications--emphatically stating that their Palladio pre-coated platinum papers did NOT contain any silver. Apparently someone was spreading rumours to that effect, and they were quite upset about it. I'm not sure what to make of this, if anything.

Good luck, Sergio.

[Joe Lipka]

I used Palladio paper from 1991 until it was no longer available (about 1999). Palladio had the paper custom made by some small paper mills in the Northeast. When the small mills were bought out by bigger companies, they lost their paper supply. That's why it has not been available for a while.

There was some contrast control possible with Palladio paper through adding hydrogen peroxide to the developer, but once you determined what the proper negative density was, it was very easy to get very pleasing results. It was convenient and it was very repeatable. It was also quite expensive in comparison to hand coated paper. (There always is a price for convenience)

Now that Palladio paper is not available, I have gone to Cranes Platinotype and chemistry from B & S. With a little experimentation, I can pretty well duplicate prints made with Palladio. The question of repeatability was not as tough as I had expected. If you get your hadn coating process down, and repeat it faithfully, consistent materials are not an issue.

[pat krentz]

You might try contacting Bostick & Sullivan in Taos,NM. They make a P/P paper. Pat

[Linas Kudzma]

Nathan, I've never tried Palladio paper, but there really is no need to use precoated paper. Buy Richard Sullivan and Carl Weese's book "The New Platinum Print" and buy some chemicals from www.bostick-sullivan.com.

I found it remarkably easy to start making Pd/Pt prints on handcoated paper, and the contrast and color control you have when coating your own is fantastic. Bostick & Sullivan sell Cranes Cover paper (they call it "Platinotype") which coats consistently and reproducibly. When you get more experience, try other papers. I recommend that you start with what Sullivan/Weese call the "Ziatype". It's a print out process that allows you to fine-tune the UV exposure by inspection as you print. Very convenient if you use sunlight!

Linas

[Carl Weese]

Several folks mention inconsistency or difficulty with Arches Platine. One likely cause is low humidity. Platine thrives on a high humidity environment, even for traditional develop-out technique. With the darkroom at 65%-70% Rh I find Platine works beautifully. After drying the sheet, let it have 15 minutes or so to regain humidity from the air and then print it. If you find it impossible to get your lab up to those humidity levels, another paper choice would be wise.-