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Thread: Easy alternative processes?

  1. #11
    Tin Can's Avatar
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    Re: Easy alternative processes?

    Waiting for Van Dyke Brown chem from Bostick and Sullivan, with ancillary

    I hope to have my DIY UVA box ready that day

    Not been a fan of computer screen cyanotypes, perhaps better in hand or on wall

    Time may tell, time may be short
    Tin Can

  2. #12

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    Re: Easy alternative processes?

    I make prints using the Ziatype process often. It is not an easy process for the new alternative printer. Judging the print is not as easy as it sounds until one gets used to doing so. ALso, it is not cheap.

  3. #13

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    Re: Easy alternative processes?

    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Noel View Post
    I make prints using the Ziatype process often. It is not an easy process for the new alternative printer. Judging the print is not as easy as it sounds until one gets used to doing so. ALso, it is not cheap.
    Interesting that one of the marketing features of the ziatype is the use of the lest expensive palladium metal in place of platinum.That was true back then when ziatype was first marketed, but not today as cost of palladium today is much more than platinum.

    Some of the silver nitrate based processes such as salted paper, vandyke and kallitype are relatively inexpensive, at least in terms of the metal, but for permanence prints made with these processes must be toned.

    Try carbon printing. Definitely not easy, but materials are very inexpensive.

    Sandy
    For discussion and information about carbon transfer please visit the carbon group at groups.io
    [url]https://groups.io/g/carbon

  4. #14
    http://www.spiritsofsilver.com tgtaylor's Avatar
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    Re: Easy alternative processes?

    I have found Bergger Cot 160 superior for cyanotype compared to other papers that I use for alt work.

    Thomas

  5. #15
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    Re: Easy alternative processes?

    Palladium is still cheaper than platinum. B&S sells Pt at ~$10 per ml and Pd at $7.5/ml (for 100ml), but it is not cheap! I use a 2:1 mix of Pd:Pt...originally to save a little $$ on the cost of Pt, but after working with it, I enjoy the tonality, color, and contrast of the mix (no contrast agent used).

    Working directly with in-camera negatives, 4x5 or 5x7 Pt/Pd prints are not very expensive...but that is all relative. I am comparing them to printing 16x20 silver gelatin prints. I use to zip through a package of 10 sheets of 16x20 FB paper to get a good print or two of the same image. Today, that would be $40 or more bucks. One can make several 5x7 Pt/Pd prints for $40. For an 8x10 print, I use about 20 drops of metal...figuring about 15 drops to a milliliter, that would be about $15 for the metal and good paper (COT320).
    "Landscapes exist in the material world yet soar in the realms of the spirit..." Tsung Ping, 5th Century China

  6. #16

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    Re: Easy alternative processes?

    Quote Originally Posted by Vaughn View Post
    Palladium is still cheaper than platinum. B&S sells Pt at ~$10 per ml and Pd at $7.5/ml (for 100ml), but it is not cheap! I use a 2:1 mix of Pd:Pt...originally to save a little $$ on the cost of Pt, but after working with it, I enjoy the tonality, color, and contrast of the mix (no contrast agent used).

    Working directly with in-camera negatives, 4x5 or 5x7 Pt/Pd prints are not very expensive...but that is all relative. I am comparing them to printing 16x20 silver gelatin prints. I use to zip through a package of 10 sheets of 16x20 FB paper to get a good print or two of the same image. Today, that would be $40 or more bucks. One can make several 5x7 Pt/Pd prints for $40. For an 8x10 print, I use about 20 drops of metal...figuring about 15 drops to a milliliter, that would be about $15 for the metal and good paper (COT320).

    Yes, in terms of the B&S price for the palladium and platinum solutions, palladium is less expensive. However, eventually prices for the solutions will probably reflect market value of the metals themselves, and the spot price per ounce of palladium is now three times greater than that of platinum. Below is spot price on the New York market today.

    GOLD 03/27/2020 $1625.00
    SILVER 03/27/2020 $14.39
    PLATINUM 03/27/2020 $741.00
    PALLADIUM 03/27/2020 $2165.00

    As you can see, Palladium is by far the most valuable of the four major precious metals. The price of palladium has more than doubled in recent years as there is with an acute shortage, the main reason being that palladium is used in pollution-control devices for cars and trucks.

    Last year there was a theft from a chemical warehouse in South Carolina of several barrels of palladium. https://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/ne...233382487.html
    The loss was said (by the Office of the Sherrif of Georgetown County) to be worth $300,000. It was probably at least ten times that.

    Sandy
    For discussion and information about carbon transfer please visit the carbon group at groups.io
    [url]https://groups.io/g/carbon

  7. #17
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    Re: Easy alternative processes?

    Aye, but the atomic weight of platinum is almost double that of palladium...more palladium atoms for the buck!
    "Landscapes exist in the material world yet soar in the realms of the spirit..." Tsung Ping, 5th Century China

  8. #18

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    Re: Easy alternative processes?

    There are several companies who sell precoated cynotype paper. do a search for "sun print" on on amazon to get a list. there is one from UC Berkeley for ~$8 that includes 15 20x30cm sheets. i doubt they are up to the quality that you could get by making your own but it will give you a chance to play around and they are really cheap.

    Best to wash them outside to "process" them as there is a slight amount of cynaide gas that can form.

    -Darren

  9. #19
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    Re: Easy alternative processes?

    Quote Originally Posted by Darren Kruger View Post
    ...Best to wash them outside to "process" them as there is a slight amount of cynaide gas that can form.-Darren
    Interesting -- first time I have heard this and cyanide gas doesn't show up in the chemical reactions I have seen. I would need more info before worrying about this at all. It would take a strong acid and heat to break down the Potassium ferricyanide and form HCN.
    "Landscapes exist in the material world yet soar in the realms of the spirit..." Tsung Ping, 5th Century China

  10. #20

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    Re: Easy alternative processes?

    I was told there was a little bit that comes off when removing it from the contact glass and "don't put your nose by the print" when you check or remove the print. We were printing in the sun so there would have been some heat. More than likely fine outside but I just wanted to mention it as the original poster said that his darkroom didn't have any ventilation. I would rather be over cautious than under cautious.

    It has been manyyears since this conversation so I might be not remembering it correctly and this applied to another alternative process.

    -Darren

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