How much does it cost to print in platinum...and is it worth it?

[Jim collum]

As the others have said.. you need to find some well done prints, since there really is no difference between a platinum, silver and inkjet if viewed as a digital representation or a book. You can get good blacks with a platinum.. not as deep as a silver print (but then a inkjet print will give deeper blacks than a silver.. )

But viewing an actual print still doesn't mean that you'll like them (have some friends who don't like them because they're not glossy)

.. and mushy just means it might not be a good platinum print.. there are plenty of mushy silver, carbon & inkjet prints out there as well. I've been printing Ziatype for well over a decade, and always found that it was easier than printing silver.

(pointer to a scan of a platinum print that has a bit of contrast to it.. Window #4, Fort Point )

[Jim Noel]

Platinum prints are beautiful, but expensive. Palladium, it's lower cost cousin, is equally beautiful, and is the most used of the two.
Some common mistakes made by beginners in the process are: Improperly processed negatives and buffered papers.
Negatives must be developed to produce a longer scale, and palladium requires a longer scale than does platinum. Longer scale does not mean chalk and soot contrast, but a full scale.
If you don't have access to a class taught by a real, not self stated, expert, start by purchasing "The New Platinum Print" by Sullivan and Weese from Bostick and Sullivan. http://www.bostick-sullivan.com/
If you decide to go ahead, purchase a palladium kit frm them over the telephone so Melody or whoever happens to answer the phone can guide you through choice of papers and give you other very helpful hints.
After 40 years of Pt/Pd printing, I still enjoy it immensely.

[Jim collum]

Bad news on the book The New Platinum Print. It's been out of print for a bit now, and no plans at all to re-print it. You can find copies on Amazon & ebay (some have been priced at $300 - $400.

And yes, Bostick & Sullivan will become your new best friend....

Platinum prints are beautiful, but expensive. Palladium, it's lower cost cousin, is equally beautiful, and is the most used of the two.
Some common mistakes made by beginners in the process are: Improperly processed negatives and buffered papers.
Negatives must be developed to produce a longer scale, and palladium requires a longer scale than does platinum. Longer scale does not mean chalk and soot contrast, but a full scale.
If you don't have access to a class taught by a real, not self stated, expert, start by purchasing "The New Platinum Print" by Sullivan and Weese from Bostick and Sullivan. http://www.bostick-sullivan.com/
If you decide to go ahead, purchase a palladium kit frm them over the telephone so Melody or whoever happens to answer the phone can guide you through choice of papers and give you other very helpful hints.
After 40 years of Pt/Pd printing, I still enjoy it immensely.

[Bruce Barlow]

You might consider taking a workshop to learn how to do it. Some friends and I took Tillman Crane's a couple years ago. I thought, before the workshop: "Oh, this will be fun to hang out with nice people, but I'm not seriously considering printing with PT/PD."

At dinner the first night, I was the one leading the conversation on making our own UV exposure boxes... So much for ambivalence...

Since Richard Ritter, one of the friends there, is a genius, we held a UV Box Building Party and made them one weekend day not long after. Richard rode us hard, but we got them done, and they're fabulous. I'm hooked, and can't wait to get back to it.

[bob carnie]

I have done some price comparisons of a museum quality silver print from negative, and a pt pd museum quality print from digital negative using a balanced QTR program. 16 x 20 print size.

I would say they are even or the silver is more expensive. This shocked me.

[Drew Wiley]

The last folks who actually marketed a pre-coated platinum paper are now in this neighborhood, and have moved on the other media. Back during its brief foray,
it was a very expensive product compared to silver. But you could get almost any size you desired. They coated up to six foot widths, and had a formula that would
acheive a deep DMax much like silver - but why?? Yet in the general discussion of Pt/Pd, one has to understand that the archival properties of the image and of its
absorbent paper substrate are slightly different things, each with its own requirements. There's something to be said about an ordinary silver print, archivally toned,
being protected on one surface by a gelatin overcoat, and on the other by drymount tissue. With most platinum prints, just like watercolor paintings, the paper itself
is pretty vunerable.

[invisibleflash]

Thanks for ALL the advice.

I will need to do a lot more research before jumping in.