Can you possibly provide a link? - David LygaI picked up some "pigment liner" pens at my local office supply store. They make a nice clean line and are considered highly permanent.
I'm curious as to why you're trying to avoid establishing the lines/border directly through exposure. Would contact masks not be more reliable and easier than trying to draw content onto the print?
My experience of pens which can do a thin black lines is that on RC paper there is a tendency for it to smudge when applying the line and it never seems to completely dry into the surface and become permanent.
Pelican offer different such inks, not all are technical ones. The crucial term is "drawing ink". Though other non-technical versions might work too.a high quality India ink, such as Pelican, and a straight edge should do the trick.
Pelican offer different such inks, not all are technical ones. The crucial term is "drawing ink". Though other non-technical versions might work too.
Essentially, a black border, not necessarily only a thin line surrounded by white. Far from 'hijacking' my thread, you add to its theme and i thank you. Also, I am interested in BOTH fiber based and RC. - David LygaDavid I am a little unsure what you meant by black border but from the answers you have received the respondents think you mean a single thin black line or what seems to be referred to as a pen line so the border is white then black pen line then white to the edge of the sheet or the penline is on the edge of the picture then white all the way to the edge of the sheet.
Penliner templates exist but seem to be expensive and scarce nowadays. My question which may be yours as well or at least tie in with yours is: Does India ink pens or pigment liners form a permanent line on RC paper which dries into the paper? My experience of pens which can do a thin black lines is that on RC paper there is a tendency for it to smudge when applying the line and it never seems to completely dry into the surface and become permanent.
FB paper might be quite different of course and your paper of choice may be FB but while not wishing to hijack your thread I'd appreciate knowing what kind of pens can do the job on RC
Thanks
pentaxuser
I use odd sizes oftentimes and the difficulty of perfectly aligning in near dark conditions is difficult. Maybe better done 'after' the processing. - David LygaI'm curious as to why you're trying to avoid establishing the lines/border directly through exposure. Would contact masks not be more reliable and easier than trying to draw content onto the print?
This is something that I also had in mind, but wanted to also explore the viability of doing this directly on the print. One advantage of doing it your way, Bill, is that you do not lose any real estate, because nothing is taken away from the print area. - David LygaYou could dry mount and draw the outline on the mat board.
Can you possibly provide a link? - David Lyga
I use odd sizes oftentimes and the difficulty of perfectly aligning in near dark conditions is difficult. Maybe better done 'after' the processing. - David Lyga
You might want to try a Rubylith mask cut with a clear the border to your taste.I can very clearly understand the frustration from frequent use of non-standard sizes. I imagine that will always be a can of worms.
Have you experimented with using a safelight filter for your enlarger, and an external border-exposure-light?
Possibly the neatest way I've seen someone do aligned black borders on random sized prints was to do their print exposure normally, then put a safe light filter in so they could keep the projected image visible on the print. From there they would put a solid mask on the print while leaving one edge uncovered, use a bright lamp next to the enlarger to expose the edge, then repeat for the other edges. - Sharp, well aligned borders with a perfect match to the print's black tones.
This thread reminds me that I need to sort out a reliable way to do this with my contact prints. I had been planning to make mask frames for white borders, but after experimenting with my prints without a mask just for the general trial exposures, I've decided that I kind of like the black edge instead... but I haven't yet settled on a plan that sounds quick and easy to keep alignment on everything for the print exposure [with the glass and negative press] and the border exposure. Building a two stage vacuum table may solve some of my problems however...
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