A question on fumed silica

[Mainecoonmaniac]

I just started integrating fumed silica for my alternative processes. I've been using a roller and I'm still learning how to apply it. Can I apply fumed silica on a stack of paper the day or two before printing? Or do I have to apply it right before I do the print? Any insight will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

I believe it absorbs moisture in the air, so I would probably keep coated papers in a plastic bag...

 

[dpurdy]

I use it dry though I find some of the new papers don't do well with it. The paper I use most is old stock Cranes cover and it loves to be brushed with the dry silica. For me the secret is to use very little. I coat several sheets at one time and they stay perfectly good for days even weeks but I do keep them in a plastic sleeve to keep dust off them. My work space is a basement with pretty high humidity and if I am printing for several days at a time I just leave the pre silica coated sheets out on my counter. I have never seen any affect from that. None of the other papers I use like platine or Hahnemuhle or Cot seem to benefit much from the silica and when I have coated them dry the silica made for blotchy grainy prints. I have coated those papers with wet silica with no problems but not much affect either.
Dennis

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

I use it dry though I find some of the new papers don't do well with it. The paper I use most is old stock Cranes cover and it loves to be brushed with the dry silica. For me the secret is to use very little. I coat several sheets at one time and they stay perfectly good for days even weeks but I do keep them in a plastic sleeve to keep dust off them. My work space is a basement with pretty high humidity and if I am printing for several days at a time I just leave the pre silica coated sheets out on my counter. I have never seen any affect from that. None of the other papers I use like platine or Hahnemuhle or Cot seem to benefit much from the silica and when I have coated them dry the silica made for blotchy grainy prints. I have coated those papers with wet silica with no problems but not much affect either.
Dennis

Thanks for the info. Again, I'm still learning how to use fumed silica. But my preliminary test that it does give slightly better Dmax for Ziatypes. I have some Arches Platine which I haven't tried fumed silica with yet.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

None of the other papers I use like platine or Hahnemuhle or Cot seem to benefit much from the silica and when I have coated them dry the silica made for blotchy grainy prints. I have coated those papers with wet silica with no problems but not much affect either.

Yes, I find that these papers do not require acidifying or fumed silica. I save that for papers like Stonehenge, and a cheap stuff from Daiso (Japanese dollar store).

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

None of the other papers I use like platine or Hahnemuhle or Cot seem to benefit much from the silica and when I have coated them dry the silica made for blotchy grainy prints. I have coated those papers with wet silica with no problems but not much affect either.

Yes, I find that these papers do not require acidifying or fumed silica. I save that for papers like Stonehenge, and a cheap stuff from Daiso (Japanese dollar store).

Is fumed silica a way to make cheap paper work? Been to Daiso and never noticed art paper. Now I might make a special trip to San Francisco.

 

[Tetium]

Is fumed silica a way to make cheap paper work?

I recently made an experiment with a few bad sheets of Arches Platine paper,
the paper wasn't good for any reason, stains everywhere, fogging, and the emulsion turned blue immediately after being coated.
(When coated the paper was releasing a curious ammonia smell… not good).

So I give the sheets a coating of fumed silica just to see what would happen.
The emulsion didn't turn blue from itself, and at my surprise the development went very well with no contamination at all, as the paper was good in the first place.