Steffen_Muc
Hello NG,
I’d like to try the processing of liquid photo emulsion on handmade paper soon. Has anyone here had any experience with this? Do you need to pre-treat the handmade paper with gelatin, or is that not necessary? How long should you leave the emulsion to dry? And how long should you soak the paper afterwards, to make sure it doesn’t dissolve? Thanks for your help!
Best regards from Munich,
Steffen
Urnes
Hi Steffen,
I haven’t worked with liquid emulsion yet. But since no one else seems to be around, I’ll share what it looks like if you were to make cyanotypes. The emulsion is much more liquid, but perhaps this will help you.
Whether you use gelatine or not is a matter of personal preference. With the thin cyanide solution, the gelatine prevents it from penetrating too deeply into the paper felt, thereby improving the sharpness. I tried it and then abandoned the idea after I’d made a right mess of the kitchen with the gelatine.
How long does the emulsion need to dry? If in doubt, always leave it until it’s dry. That way, you’ll definitely be on the safe side.
Wetting. I’d stick to the procedure for baryta paper. Handmade paper doesn’t tear. At least not from wetting, only from being removed from the tray incorrectly or something like that. But it also depends on how heavy it is. I’ve always worked with 300g paper.
Regards, Sven.
uworischki
Hi Stefan,
Gelatin definitely makes sense, as the handmade paper will be very absorbent. If you apply gelatin first, it will be easier to apply the emulsion and you’ll need less of it.
The emulsion should normally be left to dry for 24 hours. Otherwise, the processing procedure (developing, fixing, rinsing) should be roughly the same as for baryta paper, although it naturally depends on how thick your handmade paper is – the thicker it is, the longer it takes for the fixer to be rinsed out of the paper.
Perhaps this will be of help:
http://www.fotografie-in-schwarz-weiss.de/Prozesskontrolle_fuer_SW_03.htm
Best regards, Uwe
