Hi Jens,
Good luck with the baryta paper!
Regarding the development time for PW: The paper doesn’t contain any built-in developer, so it needs to stay in the developer for longer. Even after three minutes, it’s still developing.
The fact that you need to perform significantly longer exposures with PW is down to the emulsion simply being less sensitive. However, this has nothing to do with embedded developers; it’s more like with film, where there are 100 ISO and 400 ISO options. Compared to Agfa MCP (PE paper), I perform exposure times that are about two to three times longer, depending on the batch.
On drying: The adhesive tape method has already been described. I’ve modified this slightly and stick the prints free-floating in a wooden frame, with tape on the back of the print and the surface facing inwards in the frame. This way I get two prints in one frame and have absolutely no dust problem.
Note: The adhesive tape pushes through the print, so only stick it at the edges. This is particularly annoying with small formats, as you need about 5–10 mm all round for a secure bond.
The alternative is drying in a drying press. Dried against the cloth (face down) this gives a nice ‘matt sheen’. Make sure you allow plenty of time for drying. Don’t turn the press into a frying pan; just slightly warmer than lukewarm is enough. Before removing the print (you can feel on top of the cloth when it’s dry), let the press cool down, then store the print overnight between two heavy books – done.
For a high-gloss finish, Friedrich Helms once wrote a great guide in the parallel forum:
Dear photography enthusiasts,
(If you’re interested, it’s best to leave the internet or save this and read it later, as the text is quite long; it’s also intended more for beginners in high-gloss drying)
Perfect high-gloss, but how?
Well, perfect high-gloss is probably rarely achieved, but a very good result is certainly possible.
I would now like to draw an abstract here of everything I have learnt on the subject since 1950 (my first attempt), as I have noticed that this topic is discussed very frequently and failure seems to be the order of the day (it was the same for me at first, though back then there were still photographic shops where one could ask such questions).
1) Meticulous cleanliness: the high-gloss plate (high-gloss film means the same thing) must be spotlessly clean, as gelatin accumulates on it over time.
2) The final bath for the photos must not contain any contaminants (dust, hair, etc.), as this can otherwise lead to specks (small matt spots).
If the high-gloss plate is not clean (free of gelatine residue), the photos will stick fast; one should always clean it with spirit; if this is not enough, use talcum powder.
Sprinkle the talcum powder onto the high-gloss plate, rub it in and remove the residue with water; vinegar cleaner helps against limescale stains.
If none of this works and the photos are still sticking, your only option is chrome polish – which I don’t like at all, as it can very easily scratch the plate; however, I am not aware of any alternative in this case.
If these hairline scratches, which are barely visible, bother you, you will simply have to buy a new high-gloss plate.
3) The basic procedure
Remove the photos from the final bath and place them, still dripping wet, onto the high-gloss plate – which should have been switched on for at least about 10 minutes – and press them onto it.
The pressing itself is done as follows: small photos are pressed once with moderate pressure using the roller press; larger photos are pressed from the centre outwards in a star shape, again with moderate pressure.
The high-gloss plate is, of course, removed from the drying press, after which you allow it to cool slightly before pressing the photos.
For particularly good results, the plate is placed in spirit between each pressing to remove contaminants (though, to be honest, I rarely do this).
The drying temperature should be between 70° and 80°.
After pressing, the high-gloss plate is placed on the press and the press is closed.
4) Aids
There are essentially two ways to simplify the high-gloss process, which can also be combined.
In the first case, a wetting agent bath is used by soaking the paper for about 1 minute and then pressing it onto the high-gloss plate.
I would prepare the wetting agent bath using distilled water, particularly if the tap water is hard.
In my opinion, the results are rather modest, especially since Tetenal ‘Glanzol’ is no longer available; Ilford ‘Ilfotol’ might serve as a substitute.
I cannot comment on ox gall preparations, but they are likely to have a similar effect.
In the second case, you should soak the photos in spirit for about a minute beforehand and then squeeze them out; this halves the drying time.
In my view, this method yields the best results, though the smell of the spirit is a drawback (do not use any that has been denatured with petrol, as the smell lingers for ages).
You can also add a wetting agent to the spirit, but I have not yet seen any benefits from doing so.
With both methods, the prints should not be too wet when placed in the press, so that they are not unnecessarily diluted, but they should be dripping wet when placed on the high-gloss plate.
Formalin additive is not a high-gloss agent, but a fixing bath and, moreover, highly harmful to health; it was used with ‘Agfacolor paper’ prior to 1971 (which was otherwise not suitable for dry pressing; this applied to all colour baryta papers before they were discontinued; Kodak may have been an exception) and for the hot drying of matt and textured photographic papers.
5) Next steps
After 10–15 minutes (5–8 minutes with spirit) for card-thick photo papers and 5–8 minutes (3–5 minutes with spirit) for paper-thick photo papers, open the press; the prints will now have come away.
The prints will not lie flat at this stage; simply place them on a smooth, preferably cool surface, after which they will settle.
To help them flatten further, trim the edges by about one millimetre (though this is hardly necessary and rather time-consuming).
6) Problems
If speckling occurs, the final bath or the high-gloss plate may have been contaminated; work more cleanly (something I often have to tell myself too). It cannot be entirely avoided, unless you wish to set up your darkroom as a cleanroom, as in microelectronics – if you’re willing to pay for it.
Joking aside, large areas of mattness are caused by poor contact between the images and the plate, or by a drying press that heats unevenly (very rare with modern and good older machines).
Of course, you shouldn’t expect this from an amateur 18×24 model from the 1950s, although even those produce quite passable results.
Wavy cracks in the photo are known as ‘shell breakage’; they are caused by drying at too high a temperature.
If your drying press does not have a thermostat, switch it off for about 1 minute beforehand (during the wetting agent or spirit bath and whilst the high-gloss plate is cooling down – so you won’t lose any time); this will virtually eliminate shell breakage.
Poor gloss can also be caused by incorrect cloth tension, though this is usually regulated automatically.
Stains on the back of the prints are caused by a dirty cloth; boiling it out or simply replacing the cloth usually helps (ask for linen fabric).
7) Further information
To begin with, you should start your high-gloss work with paper of standard thickness, as achieving a high gloss is easier on this type of paper.
To my knowledge, there is also Forte ‘Bromofort’, the identical ‘UNIVERSAL B’ from Banse and Grohmann (Wernigerode/Harz), and the Kentmere ‘Bromide’ in paper-weight grade, available via phototip (Kiel).
Furthermore, to keep costs down and gain more experience – as you can produce more prints – I recommend starting with small formats.
UNIVERSAL B is available from 7×10 cm and Bromide from 9×14 cm; I prefer Bromide slightly, though it is considerably more expensive.
It’s best to develop everything suitable for high-gloss in this way; even today, I still don’t use PE paper for this, not even in the small formats – with a bit of practice, it all works almost as quickly as on PE paper.
If this has sounded a bit dry and pedantic, I ask you to overlook it, but this is simply the nature of the subject, and isn’t that exactly how explanations should be?
I hope I haven’t left any questions unanswered and wish you, my fellow photography enthusiasts, every success.
Best of luck
Friedrich Helms
Best regards,
Franz
