peterwiedenau
I’m having trouble achieving a high-gloss finish on my baryta prints.
Sometimes small patches of the emulsion stick to the high-gloss sheet. These can range from the size of a pinhead to several millimetres in diameter. You can then see the white cardboard underneath.
The problem doesn’t occur with every print and varies in severity – sometimes it’s worse, sometimes less so, and sometimes it doesn’t happen at all – without me having consciously done anything differently.
A few details about the materials and workflow: I use Ilford baryta paper (neutral and warm tone), and I have a Bäcker press which I operate at 60°C (though I have also tried other temperatures, with the same result). I rinse in Mirasol 1:40, use this to clean the film as well (and occasionally give it a thorough clean with alcohol), and always wait until there is definitely no more crackling or popping to be heard. When opening, the sheet comes away from the film immediately and completely; it’s just that a few small pieces of the emulsion sometimes stick to the film.
It would be great if anyone had any ideas or could suggest a solution; I’ve already lost quite a few nice pictures this way, or had to retake them.
Many thanks!
TiMo
Hi Peter,
Have you ever tried a hardener in chemistry?
Best wishes, Tim
MirkoBoeddecker
Ilford uses instant fix. Hardening shouldn’t actually make any difference. However, they had significant teething problems with the new baryta papers, so it’s possible that very fresh paper has reached the market (retailers had been waiting months for their orders).
Have you tried using a different paper?
If that works, it doesn’t mean you can’t use Ilford, but you may need to let it sit for 2–3 months.
High gloss isn’t common these days. It’s possible that it isn’t even tested anymore before the product is released.
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Best regards,
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Mirko
peterwiedenau
Thank you very much for your replies.
I suppose I’ll have to try some different papers – I’ve avoided doing so until now, as I prefer to stick with the paper I’ve been using for many years.
But perhaps a new one might be positive in terms of surprise.
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Many thanks and best regards,
Peter
