experience question regarding liquid emulsion

Hans Mulders · Jan 27, 2017

Has anyone experience with the "coating" of liquid emulsion?
I found two brands namely Rollei and Foma.
Foma seems that is has to be melted before appying to the paper.
Also a hardener seems to be needed which is deliverd with the emulsion.
Is is easy to get it liquid and mixed?
What are your experiences?

Thanks in advance
Best regards

Hans

removed account4 · Jan 27, 2017

hi

you need to warm the emulsion before being able to use it.
that means squeeze a little out of the bottle or with a plastic spoon
scoop a little out of the tub it is in, and put it in a small container
that is clean. put that small container in warm water so the water bath
( water "jacket" ) warms and melts the emulsion in the small container it will
liquify so you can use a brush or rod and coat your paper or glass or metal or plastic or rock or wood or ....
painting / brushing it on paper is easy and painless.
on other materials it can be a little more effort ( you have to make sure everything is extremely clean )
i never use the hardener that comes wtih the products, but i use a hardener in my fixer, it works well.

there is information on using liquid emulsion on a handful of websites on the web
i kind gave you the "highlights"
you might poke around the rockland colloid website and read their instructions
https://rockaloid.com/instructions-msds-links
they won't be any different for a different brand emulsion
you might also look at http://www.alternativephotography.com/the-liquid-emulsion-process/
and http://thelightfarm.com too ...

have fun !
john

Hans Mulders · Jan 27, 2017

hi John,
You use a hardener in the fix?
What type of fix / hardener do you use?

Interesting links, thanks for that
Best regards
Hans

removed account4 · Jan 27, 2017

hi hans

i use old fashioned sodium thiosulfate with fixer mixed in ( comes that way when you mix it i think it is a kodak fixer product )
i also use speed fixer ( sprint ) which is ammonium thiosulfate and i add alum hardener as the directions ask.

(good luck) have fun !
john

ps. if you can find this book, its like the bible
https://www.google.com/search?clien...quid+Photographic+Emulsions&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

grab it !

tezzasmall · Jan 27, 2017

Hi Hans,

I was going to recommend a small book to you until I saw the ridiculous prices that copies now go for!

Luckily, it is now available for FREE as a PDF, found here:

http://www.timlaytonfineart.com/making-simple-silver-gelatin-emulsion-osterman.pdf

(I tried copying across a small section without success, so open the link / document and FIND 'chrome alum hardener' for the section you need to answer your question.)

I bought the actual book when it was first released and it is full of information to get you going and beyond.

I personally add the hardener to the emulsion rather the fixer bath, putting in the smallest pinch of Potassium Chrome Alum (a purple crystal, of which a few grains is more than enough in some liquid emulsion quantity to coat about two 10" x 8" or parts thereof, to make up this area). The cheapest and where I think I got mine from is:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CHROME-AL...905408?hash=item3ad6445440:g:0ZMAAOSwa~BYZmmA

Have fun!

Terry S

PS two other links on another photo site may also be worth reading:

http://www.film-and-darkroom-user.org.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=4719&highlight=terry+liquid+emulsion

http://www.film-and-darkroom-user.org.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=9329&highlight=terry+liquid+emulsion

dwross · Jan 27, 2017

It looks like Tim may have lifted the Osterman information from The Light Farm. http://thelightfarm.com/Map/Books/Osterman/MapTopic.htm
Mark shared the information with me for use on TLF. He may have also done the same with Tim, although Mark has told me that his 2007 information has been improved upon and is what Eastman Museum currently teaches. Mark's current recipe and technique is in "The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes, third edition," by Christopher James. My recipe/ technique for a silver gelatin paper is also in Christopher's book -- along with just about everything you've ever wanted to know about historical processes.

The ultimate information on working with liquid emulsions is Martin Reed and Sarah Jones's book "Silver Gelatin: A User's Guide to Liquid Photographic Emulsions." https://www.amazon.com/Silver-Gelat...66&sr=8-1&keywords=silver+gelatin+martin+reed. It's also at abebooks.com https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?sts=t&an=Martin+Reed&tn=Silver+Gelatin&kn=&isbn=

Hans Mulders · Jan 27, 2017

Lot's of info again

I'm not intending to make my own emulsion, but will do it the easy way, for a start.
Thanks all for your information, it will help me for sure.
I will give it a try with the Foma liquid emulsion.

Best regards
Hans

DiegoV · Jan 27, 2017

I second what dwross said about the book "Silver Gelatin: A User's Guide to Liquid Photographic Emulsions."

I have a PDF version somewhere and don't mind sharing it if someone's interested.

EDIT: In any case, I still encourage you to buy the paper version of the book. It supports the authors and personally I find it easier to read that way. Having the PDF is a nice backup, though.

Hans Mulders · Jan 28, 2017

Thanks Diego,

I ordered the book already.
Looks very informative and the writer needs of course to be supported

Just ordered the Foma Liquid emulsion.
will see how things go and maybe it inspires me to create my own emulsion later?

DiegoV · Jan 29, 2017

If you do create your emulsion, please share your results
I'd love to see that.

The only time I created an emulsion from scratch was last year, back in college. It was a very fun process. Hard, but fun!

cliveh · Jan 29, 2017

jnanian said:
hi

you need to warm the emulsion before being able to use it.
that means squeeze a little out of the bottle or with a plastic spoon
scoop a little out of the tub it is in, and put it in a small container
that is clean. put that small container in warm water so the water bath
( water "jacket" ) warms and melts the emulsion in the small container it will
liquify so you can use a brush or rod and coat your paper or glass or metal or plastic or rock or wood or ....
painting / brushing it on paper is easy and painless.

This is good advice and I have decanted this into plastic cassette containers that seem to hold just the right amount to coat an average size of paper.

experience question regarding liquid emulsion

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency