Hahnemuhle Platinum Rag for Salt Printing

After a few attempts I have achieved a fully coated and sensitized area that when exposed goes from dark Plum, to red-brown in the first wash with tap water, to almost orange in the Hypo Fixer. But then in the final washing (tap water) the paper seems to develop this mottled blotchy translucent pattern that runs all the way through the paper. It dries this way. Even the area that was under a black paper mask exhibits this issue.

Using the B&S kit with HPR exposed using a cheap picture frame with some extra padding to force contact.

So wondering if the paper has a reaction to tap water once all the salts and hypo are rinsed out? It seems to happen about the 2nd minute of the final wash. Wondering if temperature has an impact as my tap water is about 67*F this time of year.

I have not used the B&S kit as I make things from scratch generally following the instructions in Christina Anderson's book with excellent results, but here are a few thoughts...

I doubt that the paper is an issue. I use HPR as my main paper for salted-paper and have not had issues with it.

The processing described in the B&S instructions is rather simple compared to Anderson's method (wash 2x with 5% salt, 1x water, 2x alkaline fixer, 1x water and 1x hypo clear; 4 min in each tray with intermittent agitation.) This is followed by a final wash. You might consider trying this method.

Regarding your tap water... are you on municipal water or a private well? Municipal water is generally very consistent in its properties as it is monitored and adjusted before distribution. Water from a private well can be quite variable over time, often varying with the seasons.

I'm on a private well and the hardiness of my water increases significantly over the summer especially in drier than average years. I have not seen this affect my salted-paper prints, but it does affect my cyanotypes which are sensitive to alkalinity.

Tap water can also present problems. To say that it is consistent is not to address the treatments for sanitation — chloramine and chlorine can wreak havoc on these processes. These are often changed from season to season as well and usually with zero notice to the public. The consistency is more in its pH, which is easily tested and can easily be corrected. Dealing with the chlorine and chloramines is not. I have kallitypes and argyrotypes with severe cases of the "measles" to prove it.

If you can't easily access distilled water try boiling up water and using it after it's cooled. Electric kettles are especially useful in this regard as they're usually around a liter or so in capacity.

Thanks I will try switching to the salt water initial rinses and distilled / dechlorinated water for final washing and using the hypoclear. Is the two step alkaline fixing really needed or is that a habit carried over from 2 bath hypo fixing?

Per my county water service, Chlorine is 2.78 PPM (range 0.75 to 2.95) so running it through the Britta filter and/or boiling should also eliminate that.

Dennis' point about chlorine compounds in municipal water is a good one, as is your idea of treating the water to remove said compounds.

As for the processing of salted-paper prints... When I began making salted-paper prints, I followed the instructions in Anderson's book closely and with great success. Thus, I have no reason to change what works!

Her recipe for fixer is 150g hypo and 2 g sodium carbonate (washing soda) per liter mixed fresh. She states this has a capacity of 10 to 15 8×10 prints. Hypo clear is 10g sodium sulfite per liter.

I think you should try a "futility" test. Process a small sample of your HPR paper without any salt or AgNO3. Give it a good long wash, and then examine it. I had an old batch of Revere Platinum ( from Magnani, not the current version of "Revere" ) where grey blotches appeared inside the paper after it had been wet ( with just water ) long enough. That is probably not the explanation in your case, but it is worth checking to avoid frustration of tying lots of "remedies" that cannot work....

NedL said:

I think you should try a "futility" test. Process a small sample of your HPR paper without any salt or AgNO3. Give it a good long wash, and then examine it. I had an old batch of Revere Platinum ( from Magnani, not the current version of "Revere" ) where grey blotches appeared inside the paper after it had been wet ( with just water ) long enough. That is probably not the explanation in your case, but it is worth checking to avoid frustration of tying lots of "remedies" that cannot work....

Click to expand...

Thanks Ned, No splotches in plain cold or HOT!!! tap water after 1 hour. So I am going out on a limb and thinking my initial wash is not doing the job in removing all the silver and it is being redeposited on back and outside of exposed areas. Will try the salt washes and new fixing routine.

You might be getting the silver nitrate too far into the paper - which then becomes extremely difficult to remove. If that's the case, the key is not let that happen. Is the paper too absorbent - I have read some complaints about that being the case for some batches of HPR (or was that Arches Platine?) May require additional sizing step.

:Niranjan.

I have used the gelatin sizing version of the Salt Print process, which prevents the sensitizer from soaking into the paper. Most practitioners I know use the gelatin sizing method to avoid problems with paper absorption. I have had good results using both the Hahnemuhle and Bergger COT 320 papers.

Maybe you need to go the next step to albumin prints.

Update: I made a few changes and have some success. My splotches are gone and contrast improved.

Coating: I used a 2% gelatin sizing as a first step. Then increased the salt to 40drops (5x12) with 2 drops of Potassium Dicromate (1% solution) as a second step to help contrast. Then the Silver Nitrate. The coating was a nice yellow so it made it easy to see where it was coated.
Exposure: I built a UV box with the black lights recommended by Gary Beasley and Tim Layton. I built my supports so that the light sits 8" above the printing frame but that led to about the same exposure as a cloudy day, 1 hour. I may shorten the risers.
Develop: 2x 5% salt bath 4 mins with frequent agitation , 1x 8 mins plain water flipping every few minutes.
Fixer: Formulary TF4 1:3 for 8 mins
Wash: 30mins in plain tap water with frequent flipping and agitation.

Wet the images look very much like a matte paper toned in Thiourea with sepia highlights. I am sure they will turn brown or grayer upon drying. Its interesting to watch the color change from yellow to dark plum then orange then brown-ish in the different baths.

I would love to see this in person at some point Eric. If the pandemic ever allows for a normal life.