My Kallitype Printing Is a Freakin Disaster

[Pawlowski6132]

I have no idea what'going on. But, I suspect it might be the light. It's just a CFL Black light I got from Home Depot.

Anywho, I wanted to start by just creating a test strip looking for "black." I used a blank HP5+ negative. I exposed in five minute increments. Then I processed using the method I found online authored by Sandy King.

Anywho, my test print looks like shit. First lesson I learned is don't dry your prints face down on a drying screen, you'll get a waffle pattern on your prints.

Second, the whold print is exactly the same shade of brown. Take a look. Why don't I get darker to lighter shades???

Actually, I mislabled the print if you're looking at it. The numbers at the bottom shold be in reverse order.

Anywho...what's up??

What did I do wrong??

[MIke Sherck]

Is it possible that the true exposure is less than five minutes? Can you try a new one with exposures in 30 sec. increments? Or possibly an f-stop print with half stops?

Mike

[Zaitz]

I'm not sure why it's all brown unless light was getting through the whole time. Perhaps try using something solid and heavier and do another test strip? A book or something and just move it down an inch every 5 or so minutes. I'm not sure how small that print is but 1 black light isn't a lot. I have 12 for ~8x10 and it takes 20minutes to get a great black (double coat) with the lights maybe 1-2" above the print/glass.

Don't fret! Problems are generally easily overcome in my (limited) experience.

Using digital negatives I think has made things a bit easier for me, even though it added another step and potential issues. My test strips were easy to print out though and I could try a variety of methods (colors/curves).

[D. Bryant]

The print is either fogged over exposed.

[Michael Mutmansky]

The print is either fogged over exposed.

What kind of light did you mix and coat the solution in?

Coat up a small sheet of paper and let it dry. Then, try again, but this time, put an area of it (that borders the edge of the coating so you have some plain paper in the region) and make it 'paper white' buy covering it with goldenrod and never uncovering it until it is time to process.

That will ensure that you have good chemicals.

Considering that I can't see any lines between the printing times at all, I suspect you have fogged or bad chemicals. This is the way to test it.

You can also test this by coating, drying, but never exposing, and then developing.

Report back with the results...

---Michael

[Michael Mutmansky]

Well??? Any results of the various suggestions?

[Pawlowski6132]

Well??? Any results of the various suggestions?

Funny you should ask...

I was just looking at a print from this weekend. I am making some progress. The answer to my initial problem was that I was way over exposing. I made some adjustments to a point whrerein I could get reasonable exposures:

1. When using one bulb, make sure light is diffused. I did this by raising it about 12" off the print and inserting a piece of diffused glass between the light and the print.
2. I put the print at the bottom of a box and lined the box with aluminum foil to ensure the light scattered and covered the print more evenly
3. My exposure for an 8x10 print on Arches is about 15min. I think that's reasonable. Don't you?

And I also learned somethings they don't teach you in Alternative Print Kindergarten:

1. Paper must be completly dry before you print.
2. Don't over do it if you want to moisten the paper before you cover it with emulsion
3. Don't force the emulsion into the paper (with over brushing)
4. Even coverage of the emulsion is important (e.g., a good brush technique or rod)
5. A small second coat (1/2 the volume of the first emulsion) can lead to deeper "blacks"


These recent learnings helped me solve the mystery of the horrible grain and blotchiness in my prints.

However...

I still think there's not enough contrast and there's more grain than I would expect based on images I've seen on the web.

I added some amonium dichromate to the developer to develop the image attached.

1. Is there anything else in the print process I can change to increase contrast?
2. What can I do to reduce grain?

[MIke Sherck]

I'm interested in your exposure unit. What bulb(s) are you using, how many? 12" from the print for a 15 minute exposure, is that right?

I'm currently "fixin' to get ready" to make a new UV exposure box for Salt printing and have been focused on a conventional 8-light T8 fluorescent box, but I am interested in alternatives, particularly if they're less expensive and simpler to make (I'm rather dangerous with tools; the fewer I have to deal with, the better.)

Mike

[Pawlowski6132]

I'm interested in your exposure unit. What bulb(s) are you using, how many? 12" from the print for a 15 minute exposure, is that right?

I'm currently "fixin' to get ready" to make a new UV exposure box for Salt printing and have been focused on a conventional 8-light T8 fluorescent box, but I am interested in alternatives, particularly if they're less expensive and simpler to make (I'm rather dangerous with tools; the fewer I have to deal with, the better.)

Mike

Mike, lemme take a few pix for you tonight. I think that will tell you much more!

[Jim Noel]

Low contrast in the print is best improved in the negative. The addition of dichromate in the sensitizer will usually increase grain.
Don't use a fast film because they don't expand well. Use a 100-125 ISO film, my choice is FP4+. Develop 40%-100% longer than needed for a silver gelatin print.

[Pawlowski6132]

Low contrast in the print is best improved in the negative. The addition of dichromate in the sensitizer will usually increase grain.
Don't use a fast film because they don't expand well. Use a 100-125 ISO film, my choice is FP4+. Develop 40%-100% longer than needed for a silver gelatin print.

Thanx Jim. That makes a lot of sense now.


Any advice on grain? I think I have too much.

[tgtaylor]

FWIW I recommend not overexposing the negative but developing it for at least 2x the recommended time. I coat in the bathroom under a Thomas safelight with a hake brush using a small plastic condiment salsa holder that I picked-up from a local El Polo Loco restaurant and moisten the bristles well and sqeeze against the sides of the salsa holder to remove excess sensitizer and then brush with horizonal strokes down to the bottom of the paper switching the side of the brush at 3 stroke intervals. Upon completing the first horizontal pass I re-dip the brush in sensitizer and brush vertical again switching sides with every 3 strokes. I then brush horizontal down and vertically up (and once or twice horizontyally) without redipping in the sentizer until the coating is evenly spread on the paper checking for any bristles that may have come off the brush. Once coated I leave it "set" for about 2 or 3 minutes and then air dry it by applying a hand hair dryer set on the cool setting to the rear surface. It's bone dry in 12 to 15 minutes max. I expose in the sun.

Mike Sherck was a recipient of one of my Van Dykes (Kallitype Brown Print) in this years print exchange.

Thomas

[MIke Sherck]

Mike Sherck was a recipient of one of my Van Dykes (Kallitype Brown Print) in this years print exchange.

Thomas

And a very happy recipient he is, too! ;)

Mike

[Pawlowski6132]

And a very happy recipient he is, too! ;)

Mike

Sorry I didn't get those pix for you. I didn't get home until 9:30pm. Ugggh.

[MIke Sherck]

Sorry I didn't get those pix for you. I didn't get home until 9:30pm. Ugggh.

I work in IT: I'm familiar with that. :)

Mike