Exposing paper to light after development.

Rainbow · Apr 25, 2019

I'd like to do some prints where I:

Expose the paper to an image.
Develop, stop, then rinse.
Turn the main lights on and paint onto the paper with developer and/or fix.
Stop, fix, and rinse.

But I'm not a chemist. I'm not sure if this'll have any detrimental effects to the initial image printed onto the paper.

trendland · Apr 25, 2019

Rainbow said:
I'd like to do some prints where I:

Expose the paper to an image

Develop, stop, then rinse.

Turn the main lights on and paint onto the paper with developer and/or fix.

Stop, fix, and rinse.

But I'm not a chemist. I'm not sure if this'll have any detrimental effects to the initial image printed onto the paper.

Solarisation effects ?

with regards

PS : My solarisation shots I made for school were allways bad after a couple of weeks/months!
The last standing shots came bad after 2years! But that was possible all in concern of
insufficient fixing! (Lack of experience to that time (midt 70s)!

Rainbow · Apr 25, 2019

No, I want to leave the image area alone and paint black lettering into blank areas of the paper using developer.

The image areas will just go through a developer, stop, rinse, exposure to light, another stop, fix, then rinse.
While the black text areas will go through a developer, stop, rinse, exposure to light, painting with developer, another stop, fix, then rinse.

Wonderful image, though!

koraks · Apr 25, 2019

Rainbow said:
I'm not sure if this'll have any detrimental effects to the initial image printed onto the paper.

Yes, it will. The painted on image will be overlayed on top of the existing image. But perhaps that's exactly what you want?
There's an older Borut Peterlin video where he uses this technique. It's fun, I've done it as well on occasion.

Rainbow · Apr 25, 2019

I just went and found that exact video, I think?

Fantastic stuff!

Yes, that's exactly what I wanted! Thank you!

awty · Apr 25, 2019

Be interesting to see how it works for you. Think that method looks a little hard to control.
You could also simply paint on spotting ink or use masking stencils in the exposure, for something more precise.

koraks · Apr 25, 2019

@Rainbow that's the one! Yes, it's neat. And yes, it's a tad unpredictable as @awty points out, but you can control the rate of development by diluting the developer and washing it off before development is complete. This also creates nice warm tones.

mshchem · Apr 25, 2019

Rainbow said:
I just went and found that exact video, I think?

Fantastic stuff!

Yes, that's exactly what I wanted! Thank you!

Looks like fun. Sure beats Photo Shop. Maybe after a good fix and wash try some selective toning. Selenium?

RalphLambrecht · Apr 25, 2019

Rainbow said:
I'd like to do some prints where I:

Expose the paper to an image.

Develop, stop, then rinse.

Turn the main lights on and paint onto the paper with developer and/or fix.

Stop, fix, and rinse.

But I'm not a chemist. I'm not sure if this'll have any detrimental effects to the initial image printed onto the paper.

You are playing with fire as far as image stability goes. the image is likely to fade within a few years unless it's fully fixed brfore you turn on the lights, but, if you do that, You can't write on the paper wth developer. I think the whole idea needs a second thought.

Rainbow · Apr 25, 2019

Hmm, OK. I had a feeling this would be the case. I think I'll take a different approach then.

KN4SMF · Apr 25, 2019

RalphLambrecht said:
You are playing with fire as far as image stability goes. the image is likely to fade within a few years unless it's fully fixed brfore you turn on the lights, but, if you do that, You can't write on the paper wth developer. I think the whole idea needs a second thought.

That was my thought too.

jamesaz · Apr 26, 2019

I've tried a very small led light with a rubylith tape mask over it (except for a small hole for the white light) to try drawing on prints in the developer. Mixed results. Not so awful but not exciting. And a lot of time at the sink to figure out hand distance, etc. I'm kind of looking for a fiber optic to maybe try again but ....so many projects/ideas.

KN4SMF · Apr 26, 2019

Get a quill pen and a jar of ink.

koraks · Apr 26, 2019

RalphLambrecht said:
You are playing with fire as far as image stability goes. the image is likely to fade within a few years unless it's fully fixed brfore you turn on the lights, but, if you do that, You can't write on the paper wth developer. I think the whole idea needs a second thought.

You can fully fix the image after the developer-painting trick. Why would exposure to light endanger the already developed silver image?

Neal · Apr 26, 2019

I'm sure once it's fully fixed and washed you will have a print that will last for a very long time.

Exposing paper to light after development.

Rainbow

trendland

Rainbow

koraks

Moderator

Rainbow

awty

koraks

Moderator

mshchem

RalphLambrecht

Rainbow

KN4SMF

jamesaz

KN4SMF

koraks

Moderator

Neal

Exposing paper to light after development.

Moderator

Moderator

Moderator

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency