SALT PRINTING - Wish you knew then but do now?

[pdeeh]

I only had Rapid Fixer and the print now dry is more redder and has darkened.

Now there's an interesting comment.
I might well try making some salt prints again when the sun's out next and test with rapid fixer to see the extent to which it really bleaches or otherwise a salt print.

 

[nmp]

Now there's an interesting comment.
I might well try making some salt prints again when the sun's out next and test with rapid fixer to see the extent to which it really bleaches or otherwise a salt print.

This from my experience with Centennial POP: The print comes out nice and dark black somewhat lightened when going thru pre-wash (I use distilled water followed by tap water.) But the moment the plain hypo fixer falls on the print, poof the print loses nearly all the density. There is some further loss of density as the fixing progresses but nothing compared to the first few seconds. After the fixing is over I take the print outside to wash and in daylight I immediately realize that the print does not look bad at all. All the details are back on the dark reddish yellow print.

So I am wondering whether a part of the "bleaching" is really the just color change from black to red/yellow and it is because of the safe light it looks washed out.

 

[Jim Noel]

Hi John,
I would try both. The first prints made by the inventor WHF Talbot were made without gelatine (= Salted Paper), giving it a distinctive look. Only later the gelatine and/or albumen was added to prevent for the solution to sink to deep into the paper, thus to get a sharper image.
So try both in combinations with several types of paper and see what you like best. And take a look al Albumen Printing too. It's very similar to Salt Printing.

If you're interested in the history of WHF Talbot and the evolution of the salt process, see:
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/tlbt/hd_tlbt.htm
and
http://foxtalbot.bodleian.ox.ac.uk

Enjoy the process!
Bert from Holland

In Talbot's time most good writing paper sized with gelatin. It is ridiculous to attempt a salt print w/o gelatin.

 

[Dibbd]

This from my experience with Centennial POP: The print comes out nice and dark black somewhat lightened when going thru pre-wash (I use distilled water followed by tap water.) But the moment the plain hypo fixer falls on the print, poof the print loses nearly all the density. There is some further loss of density as the fixing progresses but nothing compared to the first few seconds. After the fixing is over I take the print outside to wash and in daylight I immediately realize that the print does not look bad at all. All the details are back on the dark reddish yellow print.

So I am wondering whether a part of the "bleaching" is really the just color change from black to red/yellow and it is because of the safe light it looks washed out.

You don't need a safelight for salt prints. Just an incandescent or LED bulb is fine.

 

[pdeeh]

In Talbot's time most good writing paper sized with gelatin. It is ridiculous to attempt a salt print w/o gelatin.

But of course we are not in Talbot's time; this is 2017, and all sorts of things are available to us that were not available to him.

There's no need to be hidebound by some spurious notion of "historical accuracy" when making prints, unless that is one's sole aim.

If the point is to make a beautiful modern print, then we are quite free to use all the materials available to us, and what Talbot did is not important, save to the extent that we acknowledge and honour him.

If one wants to size one's paper with starch, albumin, or even a "dry size" such as fumed/colloidal silica (e.g. Aerosil) - or indeed to not size one's paper at all - we are perfectly at liberty to do so, and it is certainly not "ridiculous" in any way to not use gelatin.

 

[nmp]

You don't need a safelight for salt prints. Just an incandescent or LED bulb is fine.

Guess you are right. I still have the safe light from the the old darkroom days. But mostly I have been using a yellow bug light lately.

 

[TheToadMen]

You don't need a safelight for salt prints. Just an incandescent or LED bulb is fine.

It's UV light that triggers the process. So if you use lamps that don't emit UV you can work in normal light. Most LED lamps are safe. Tubes often are not!

 

[JOHN McMURTRIE]

Thanks NedL, I am now getting up to speed on my Amonium thiosulfate's and Sodium Thio...'s. I have some new fixer on order and will try some different papers soon. Will also compare papers that have been soaked in acid. This first print above I salted and fixed in daylight, hence the base fogging (which I actually like). The next prints I did have a much better white D-MIN although it is a little grey. As far as the process, I absolutely love it. I sell Ltd Edition prints and I have been digitally trying to replicate this effect for years. Although the prints sales are extremely successful I have not had the satisfaction of actually making them myself. I shot film for 15 years and am very familiar with processing and printing but I have never experienced the satisfaction of 'Printing out' hand made paper in a contact frame. I would recommend it to everyone! Thanks for your advise!