Historical

Processes (PMA 305) Technical Supplement Fall 2011 Edward Stapel MAKING DIGITAL NEGATIVES FOR CONTACT PRINTING 1. Any method or format will work for making digital negatives as long as you make sure that your image will give you 300ppi at desired image size. Keep this in mind when processing your files, using a scanner, etc. 2. If your image is in color, desaturate it to grayscale or apply a B&W filter (or convert it to grayscale - but this sometimes throws away useful data). 3. Alter your image as you like. 4. Adjust Curves to give you an image with contrast appropriate for the process you intend to use. You may prefer to load one of the curves provided for your use (these curves are not fool-proof you may want to perform further tweaking). 5. SAVE your image at this point to keep all of your layer information. 6. Flatten your image. 7. Go to Image > Rotate Canvas > Flip Horizontal. This will flip your image so that when you print it emulsion to emulsion it will come out oriented properly. 8. Then go to Image > Adjustments > Invert (or Apple+I). This will invert your positive to a negative. 9. SAVE this negative version of your image as well. Save your files to a flash drive, CD, etc. and then print it out onto transparency material. Pictorico OHP is recommended and should be printed with our Epson printer (with the appropriate profile or preset). For a grittier looking image, you can also take your files to a copy shop and have them printed onto transparency material (Staples or Kinkos, etc.). OR print out a nice, clean print onto paper, head to a Xerox machine, and make copies onto transparency material. 10. Take care of your outputted materials - store them in plastic sleeves. Covering the emulsion side with a piece of plain paper is also a good idea. These materials are quite delicate and can get dings, creases, and half-moons in them very easily. Remember, these are negatives, and you should treat them carefully.

DIGITAL NEGATIVES AND SEPARATIONS FOR 3-COLOR CYANOTYPE-GUM PRINTING For this printing process we will use a combination of cyanotype and gum pigments to replicate a full color print, mimicking a rudimentary CMYK print process. The cyanotype layer will contain cyan (C) and black (K) information. Subsequent yellow and crimson gum bichromate layers will carry the yellow (Y) and magenta (M) information. The first step is to make digital RGB color separations in Photoshop. 1. Any method or format will work for making digital negatives as long as you make sure that your image will give you 300ppi at desired image size. Keep this in mind when shooting and/or scanning. 2. You will need a color image for this process 3. Keep your image size in the 4x5 range for your first attempt. 4. Alter your image as you like. 5. Curves adjustments: Option 1: On a Curves adjustment layer, load a gum printing curve. OR Option 2: Do step 6 and then apply a cyanotype curve to the Red channel and a gum curve to the Blue and Green channels. Option 2 is more accurate. 6. Go to the Channels palette > submenu > Split Channels. 7. SAVE your work at this point to preserver all of your layer info. 8. Flatten your image(s). 9. Then go to Image > Adjustments > Invert (or Apple+I). This will invert your positives to negatives. 10. Open a new document (Apple N) with dimensions 8.5 x 10 at 300ppi, RGB. 11. Drag your 3 channels into this new space. MAKE SURE YOU KEEP TRACK OF THESE CHANNELS. Its a good idea to name each layer as you drag it in and then use the text tool to label your channels R, G, and B. 12. Then go to Image > Rotate Canvas > Flip Horizontal. This will flip your images so that when your print them emulsion to emulsion they will come out properly oriented. Reposition your images - you should be able to fit 3 images onto one page. 13. Save your image(s) to a flash drive or CD and then print it out onto transparency material (I recommend Pictorico OHP, but other options are available). 14. Cut your negatives apart making sure that you dont cut off the letters (R,G,B) that identify each channel. 15. Take care of your outputted materials - store them in plastic sleeves. Covering the emulsion side with a piece of plain paper is also a good idea. These materials are quite delicate and can get dings, creases, and half-moons in them very easily. Remember, these are negatives, and you should treat them carefully.

 It is VERY important that you keep track of your channels and print them in the proper order. Print layers will be made in the following order with specified channel: 1. Red Channel to print cyanotype layer (C,K) 2. Blue Channel to print yellow emulsion (Y) 3. Green Channel to print red (crimson) emulsion (M) Your initial cyanotype layer should be printed to roughly 50% - 75% of the time required for full cyanotype print density. You will need to make multiple layers of Y and M layers to achieve your final desired print density and color balance. Dont expect to make images that look like true color prints. Accept the results you get and be prepared to experiment. CYANOTYPE FORMULAE Solution A Potassium Ferricyanide 8g Distilled water (room temp.) 100ml Solution B Ferric Ammonium Citrate (green) 20g Distilled water (room temp.) 100ml Mix the two solutions separately, and store in brown glass bottles away from strong light. Over a period of time (months) both chemical solutions will break down. The ferric ammonium citrate may form a mold. If this happens, strain it through a coffee filter. The mold does not affect the solution. If the potassium ferricyanide breaks down it should be replaced.

Mix A and B 1:1 for use. 1ml A + 1ml B = 4x5 print

CYANOTYPE PRINTING ASSIGNMENT For this assignment you will need: Negatives for printing Paper 140lb. Watercolor, Rives BFK, or similar Scrap mat board or cardboard 11x14 Pencil Drafting tape Foam brush The process: Cut a piece of paper larger than your negative by roughly 2 inches in both dimensions. Tape paper to mat board and mark area for negative with pencil Coat paper according to process described below Coating cyanotype: 1. Measure out emulsion into small cup (1ml of A + 1ml of B for 4x5) 2. Pour emulsion across paper 3. Quickly and evenly spread emulsion with foam brush Dry paper carefully with hair dryer set to LOW Sandwich negative and paper in contact printer Place contact printer into exposure table exposure times will vary Development: 1. Remove paper and negative from contact printer 2. Place print in tray and gently run water over surface to develop image for roughly 1 minute. 3. Then place print into developing bath (water with acid added to it = 10ml stop directly from box OR 10ml white vinegar per 1 liter of water) gently agitate for 5 minutes (this bath should be dumped and re-mixed every 10 prints or so when the water gets really blue, dump it) (we add acid because the water in Chester is hard you may not need to add acid elsewhere) 4. Wash print in gently running water for 10 minutes 5. Lay print face up on screen to dry (DO NOT SQUEEGEE PRINTS) Due: 4 lovely cyanotype prints You are encouraged to use both film and alternative negatives.

PLATINUM PALLADIUM PRINTING Mixing and coating emulsions: The chemicals used to make your Platinum/Palladium print come pre-mixed. You will use a combination of 4 solutions to make your emulsion: Sensitizer #1 (1), Sensitizer #2(2), Platinum #3(Pt), and Palladium #4(Pd). These solutions are measured in drops using a specific TOTAL number of drops for a given print size with a slightly higher number of drops of metals (Pt and Pd) than sensitizers (1and 2). For certain papers 1 drop of End Run will be added to the mixture. Contrast can be controlled by adjusting the ratio of 1 and 2 within the overall total number of drops: more 1 and less 2 DECREASES contrast and more 2 and less 1 INCREASES contrast. Be aware that increasing the ratio of 2 will result in a slower emulsion (longer exposure time) AND using too much 2 in your emulsion can result in a grainy appearance. When mixing your emulsion, use a combination of platinum and palladium to take advantage of palladiums speed and platinums depth. Your metal ratio should be a MAJORITY of palladium with a touch of platinum. PLEASE CONSERVE PLATINUM. Excessive use of platinum is wasteful and increasing its amount in your emulsion will result in a slower emulsion (longer exposure time). Please refer to the Drop Chart below for suggested emulsion mixtures. Pour you emulsion mixture onto your paper and quickly spread the liquid around with a hake brush, synthetic sable brush, or puddle pusher. Let your coated paper air dry or dry it with a hair dryer, put in a contact printer with your negative and expose. Development, clearing, and washing prints: There are a variety of developers and clearing agents that can be used for making Platinum/Palladium prints. We will be using Ammonium Citrate as our developer and EDTA as our clearing bath. Developer is pre-mixed and is used straight. Clearing bath is 1 TBS of EDTA per quart of water. After coating and exposure your print is very vulnerable. Any water or other substance that comes into contact with your emulsion will dissolve that area, resulting in a blotchy print.

1. Place exposed print in clean, dry tray. Quickly and evenly pour developer over print development is complete after 20 seconds or so. After development, carefully pour developer back into its pitcher 2. Prints are to be cleared by pouring clearing bath into the tray over the print. Prints are to be cleared in 3 successive baths of clearing agent 5 minutes each. 3. Wash prints for 15 minutes and lay on screen to dry. **

** If you are using Canson Vidalon Vellum or Bienfang 360 you should set up your own wash tray and monitor the print as it washes. These papers are very delicate and can get crumple, ripped, or creased in the wash if left unattended. Also, these papers tend to curl when they dry. If they dont want to flatten out properly, gently steam them until they soften slightly and place them between two books, taking care not to mar the print surface. FYI: the kits used in the class come from Bostick and Sullivan (bostick-sullivan.com). They include the 2 sensitizing liquids (1 and 2), the two metals (Pt 3 and Pd 4), developer, and clearing agent. Currently, they cost $198.75 and should make 35 8x10 prints.

Platinum Palladium Printing Edward Stapel Drop Chart You may use the following chart to determine your emulsion mixtures for making platinum palladium prints. Keep in mind that these are suggested starting points and that your actual mixtures may vary. Standard sizes are listed first (followed by square inches for that size different print dimensions may cover a similar area and can help determine mixtures), followed by other somewhat common sizes. You are encouraged to add your own mixes and sizes. Adding one drop of End Run to your emulsion mixture will help it spread more evenly on heavier papers (Bergger COT 320, Lana Aquarelle, Arches Platine). Hake Brush Synthetic Brush/Puddle Pusher Print size (sq. inches) 4x5 (20) 5x7 (35) 8x10 (80) 4x6 (24) 5.5x8 (44) 6x9 (54) 1 2 3(Pt) 4 (Pd) : Total 7 0 2 6 : 15 12 0 3 11 : 26 20 0 4 18 : 42 8 0 2 7 : 17 15 0 3 13 : 31 16 0 3 15 : 34 1 2 3(Pt) 4 (Pd) : Total 6 0 2 5 : 13 10 0 3 9 : 22 18 0 4 16 : 38 7 0 2 6 : 15 13 0 3 11 : 27 14 0 3 13 : 30

PLATINUM PALLADIUM PRINTING ASSIGNMENT For this assignment you will need: Typical alt. process supplies plus the following: Synthetic sable brush, or hake brush, dedicated to Pt/Pd printing Small jam or pasta jar 1 flat bottom photo tray, or similar, roughly 11x14, dedicated to Pt/Pd Paper Towels Paper: A variety of papers can be used for this process look for smooth surface (hot press) acid-free paper. I will supply a few different types of paper for you to try Negatives: Ideal negatives for platinum/palladium printing should be a little dense and punchy. Pinhole negatives work great! A negative that prints on silver gelatin paper with a #1 or #1 1/2 filter will print nicely in platinum/palladium. In Zone System parlance, that would be adding +1 to your development time (ie: N development would become N+1, or N-2 development would become N-1, etc.). Due in critique: 6 lovely prints using at least two different kinds of paper GUM BICHROMATE FORMULAE Potassium Dichromate 80g Distilled water at 120 F 500ml Gum Arabic comes in two forms: dry powder and prepared liquid. We will be using the prepared liquid, however, for your information, heres the dry powder formula. Gum Arabic 150g Distilled water at room temp. 500ml If clumps form, strain through cheese cloth Potassium metabisulfite 5g Distilled water 500ml Clearing bath: Water with acid added to it 10ml of stop directly from box OR 10ml white vinegar per 1 liter of water gently agitate for 5 minutes (this bath should be dumped and re- mixed every 10 prints or so when the water gets really blue, dump it) (we add acid because the water in Chester is hard you may not need to add it elsewhere)

 GUM BIRCHROMATE PRINTING PROCEDURE Pre-soak your Paper: Water color paper (140 lb Arches or similar) Any heavy acid free fine art paper will work (Rives BFK, Bergger COT, Lana Aquarelle) Soak paper until it is saturated this usually takes a couple of minutes. Lay paper on screens or hang to dry. Low-tech negative registration: Lay your negative on your paper. Mark the corners with pencil. Using two thumbtacks, punch holes through opposite corners of your negative (these holes will be used to line up your negative for successive print layers). Mixing emulsion and exposing your print: Determine the color(s) of pigment for your print. Its generally a good idea to coat your layers going from lightest pigment to darkest. For an 8x10 print: Mix 1/2 gram of pigment (a small blob the size of a pencil eraser) with 6ml of gum Arabic solution. Add 6ml of potassium dichromate solution. Coat paper quickly and evenly. Dry the emulsion with a hair dryer. Line up your negative with the tacks, tape your negative in place using drafting tape, and remove tacks. Put your negative/paper sandwich into a printing frame and expose to UV light for 10-30 minutes. Clearing your print: During exposure, the gum dichromate solution hardens where is has been struck by light (shadow areas). The highlight areas receive less light and thus dont harden as much. The clearing baths will remove the soft areas (highlights). Clear print in 3 successive trays of clearing bath. Print should be laid face down in clearing bath 1 and not disturbed for a couple of minutes. The emulsion is very delicate at this stage it can also be manipulated. Prints should be place in two more trays of clearing bath (5 min. each) to clear the chemicals. After the third clearing bath, give your print a short, gentle rinse, then dry gently with a hair dryer and repeat emulsion coating procedures. Multiple layers are often required to achieve desired image quality. When all printing is complete, spray surface of print with potassium metabisulfite, let sit one minute, then wash 10 minutes. (This step is necessary only if you see staining.)

 GUM BICHROMATE PRINTING ASSIGNMENT For this assignment you will need typical historical process supplies plus the following: Watercolor pigments (with watercolor pigements, you get what you pay for: Winsor & Newton and Sennelier are the best and most expensive, Grumbacher Academy and Cottman are cheaper, but will work) Suggested pigments: * Cadmium Yellow Deep (Y) * Alizerin Crimson (M) * Burnt Umber * Burnt Siena Cobalt Blue Neutral Tint Foam brushes Palette knife, plastic knife, or similar White palette or plate Paper: Water color paper (140 lb Arches or similar) Any heavy acid free fine art paper will work (Rives BFK) ** Paper must be pre-soaked and dried before printing so that it will shrink before printing if you do not do this your gum layers will not line up. Negatives: Ideal negatives for gum bichromate printing are hard to define. You can create negatives, conventionally or digitally, for specific areas of your print, or for specific pigments (this will make more sense once you start printing). If you are working digitally, you may use the gum curve but remember: its not foolproof. As is the case with the other processes covered in this class, a normal or dense negative will work better than a thin negative. Due in critique: 4 lovely prints as listed below: 2 prints that are a build up of gum layers 1 print that is a 3-color cyanotype-gum print 1 print that is a cyanotype or platinum/palladium print with gum layer(s) added