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Thread: margins for alt process prints?

  1. #11

    Re: margins for alt process prints?

    Quote Originally Posted by martiansea View Post
    1/2 of an 11x14 works really well for 5x7
    Thanks Brian, IIRC LFPF member Holden Richards gets a 6x6 or 6x8 out of an 8x10 neg onto an 8x10 sheet...y'all might have more manual dexterity than me, though.

    Martiansea-- thanks for elaborating, I've been pondering which paper to standardize on first, being drawn to HPR just because it seems to have market share. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure after shooting a few 8x10's just for grandiosity's sake I'll use a film splitter in my Sinar Norma and shoot mainly 5x8's while afield.

  2. #12

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    Re: margins for alt process prints?

    Here is an example of a 5x7 printed on 1/2 of an 11x14 sheet, to give an idea of the margins it has. I find this a very comfortable size to work with.
    Click image for larger version. 

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    The HPR is a good paper, but it can be a pain with some processes. It seems to have a hard sizing on its surface, that, in my experience, gives "crisp" results with some processes, but gets ugly uneven coating with others. For example, with Kallitypes, I found I had to apply two layers of sensitizer with HPR to get results as good as what I got with one layer on COT 320. But, because of this hard sizing, I found I can do a nice gum print on HPR without the need for additional sizing. I believe Bob Carnie does this as well; in the video he has up where he demonstrates making a gum print, he uses HPR and doesn't make any mention of additional sizing being used.
    I'm saying HPR is good, but there's some caveats to watch for regarding the hard sizing. Depending on the process, Tween20 can help. COT 320 has very similar characteristics without the hard surface.

  3. #13

    Re: margins for alt process prints?

    Quote Originally Posted by martiansea View Post
    with Kallitypes, I found I had to apply two layers of sensitizer with HPR to get results as good as what I got with one layer on COT 320.
    Excellent, that's very good to know. The other paper on my radar was Arches Platine, so that might be an option along with the COT 320 until I get my workflow sorted.

  4. #14

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    Re: margins for alt process prints?

    I've done one kallitype print on Arches Platine, and it turned out very well.

  5. #15

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    Re: margins for alt process prints?

    One thing I've also done is because I don't like to keep the image margins in my prints (show the brush strokes), I cut some ruby lith masks for my 8 x 10 negatives with different sizes (7 1/2 x 9 1/2 is the standard) and some slightly smaller sizes if I want a small amount of cropping in the image. Just tape the negative to the mask when you do your contact printing and it gives you perfect edges to your prints. This also allows you to over mount a mat that is larger than the image size and sign your prints on the print (hope this makes sense). I work with 11 x 14 paper sizes as well and always use corner mounts for alt prints.

  6. #16

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    Re: margins for alt process prints?

    I print whole plate and 8x10 on 11x14 paper. I now use a glass puddle pusher rod exclusively. One time I let a friend borrow my two brushes, and upon their return, they were never the same... With glass rods, cleaning them after use is many, many times easier. Overcoating the format's dimensions I find very aesthetic when I or others lift up the mat. At the bottom of the paper is usually printed technical data along with my signature, title, and date printed. I still have to come up with a consistent way of recording the data. Once air dried, the prints are flattened overnight between four 4-ply archival boards (two above and two below the print) in a Seal press that has been very slightly warmed up only to a little over 100 degrees. Final prints that are keepers are stored in circa 1980s 11x14 Light Impressions white envelopes until they are matted. My initial stack of several hundred of them is getting frightfully low after all these days. I also use them to store 11x14 negatives. Digital negatives are stored between 11x14 2- ply archival boards.

  7. #17

    Re: margins for alt process prints?

    Dan, Greg--thanks for the input! I've been mocking up some of the combinations in case I want to change aspect ratios along the way (out of an 8x10 negative)...e.g. for some reason, I'm digging WP on 13x15, but only in portrait orientation, but for some reason my "squares" have to be 7x7 for some reason.

    Otherwise, I've been pondering the glass rod/brush choice before my next Bostic & Sullivan order--very useful input.

  8. #18

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    Re: margins for alt process prints?

    There is a set of brushes from Royal & Langnickel with the product number "RSET - 9532". It is a set of 3 flat brushes in 1", 2" and 3" sizes with "Gold Taklon" synthetic bristles. I found they work very well and the set is extremely cheap (got mine for less than $10 at Hyatt's). Taklon brushes have a good reputation for not soaking up too much emulsion liquid. You want low absorbency with the brushes, generally. I'm not sure if there is a difference between the gold and white varieties of Taklon in this regard, but it may be they are different because Christina Anderson recommends specifically the white ones. Need to check on that.

    The big issue I've found with cheap wood-handled brushes is that eventually the wood starts to shrink away from the ferrule and the whole thing gets loose. My cheap R&L set has started doing this a bit, but hasn't had any problem with getting loose thus far. I drilled hanging holes in the handles so they can hang bristles down to dry, which seems to help with this. I had an extremely cheap one I bought in China that the bristles started falling out in clumps after the wood started to shrink, but it cost me maybe 50 cents so it's hard to complain, LOL. I got one of those seemingly-nice Yasutomo hake brushes from Blick, but it didn't last a year before being ruined. The wood shrank away and revealed a metal ferrule glued inside it (it gives the outward impression of having no such ferrule; it's imbedded in the wood). The wood cracked and split and eventually half of it broke off and the whole ferrule, bristles included, fell out. I was able to rescue it by gluing the ferrule back in, and I now use it as a utility trash brush. It constantly sheds broken off pieces of bristle and absorbed way too much. Avoid that one, and I'd say avoid all natural bristle hake brushes generally because they absorb and shed too much. The R&L Taklon brushes have not been shedding at all.

  9. #19

    Re: margins for alt process prints?

    Quote Originally Posted by martiansea View Post
    There is a set of brushes from Royal & Langnickel with the product number "RSET - 9532". It is a set of 3 flat brushes in 1", 2" and 3" sizes with "Gold Taklon" synthetic bristles.
    Excellent, paddle vs. brush vs. "all of the above" has been on my mind lately--good to know that there are options that allow you to economize somewhere in the alt print world. (I'm imagining all us aesthetes suddenly pouring over Precious Metal ETF's these days...)

  10. #20

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    Re: margins for alt process prints?

    I tried a glass rod for the first time a couple days ago. The results were not good. I don't know if it was either because I need much more practice or need to use much more emulsion. Seems counterintuitively that it needs more emulsion to get the same coverage as with a brush. Guess I need to keep messing with it. I was trying with cyanotype so I'm not wasting money. I see people in videos just sorta pushing it around; when I tried that, it was a horrible uneven mess. Looks like they're using way more emulsion than me, and then wasting a large portion by having a big puddle on the edge? I can't believe a brush is less waste-y than a rod. I have yet to see a definitive tutorial that gives any insight.
    Always learning!

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