Has anyone done van dyke brown on hahnemuhle platinum rag?

Ethan Brossard · Jan 7, 2023

Have any of you had success making van dyke brown prints on hahnemuhle platinum rag? I've mostly used stonhenge in the past, but the latest batch of stonhenge I acquired appears to be a much colder press than the previous batches I've got, and though it may still work I thought I would try platinum rag since I've got a big roll of it and I assumed it would be a fine paper for this. However, all the tests I've done have come out very grainy. The tones appear smooth after exposure, but once I put the paper into the acidified water bath, they become very grainy. I thought this may be a humidity issue, so I spent far too much time humidifying the paper before coating, before exposure, and before development, to see if that fixed the issue, as I know in platinotype printing humidity is a big factor. There wasn't any change in the van dyke though, so I don't think that was my issue.

Have any of you managed to make van dyke brown prints on hahnemuhle platinum rag? If so, would you mind telling me your process? If not, I'll attempt to use the colder press stonehenge tomorrow and hope that works.

revdoc · Jan 7, 2023

The word "grainy" could be interpreted in many ways, so posting an image of the problem will help diagnose the issue.

removedacct1 · Jan 7, 2023

I have done Van Dyke on HPR, but I have always sized it with Arrowroot starch first. It comes out stunning if you size the paper first.

awty · Jan 7, 2023

I like it, wish it was still available locally. I find it sharper and more contrasty than other papers. I have never had the need to size.
You could try less acid in the water, I just used a pinch of citric acid in a three bath set up.

Ethan Brossard · Jan 8, 2023

Here’s what it’s looking like on the platinum rag.

Thinking that platinum rag just wasn’t going to work for me, I took out my package of the new, colder press, Stonehenge, and it has the same issue. Here’s a picture of that:

This has me wondering if the problem is the paper, and it just happens that these papers both have the same problem, or if it’s my chemistry.

The chemistry was mixed fresh yesterday from dry chemicals that I’ve been using without problem up until a month ago. However, a month ago i was also using the older, seemingly hotter press Stonehenge. It’s annoying that all these variables changed at once, and I’m not sure which is the culprit.

Thinking back, I also printed a ziatype about a month and a half ago on platinum rag that had this issue, could it be an issue with the environment I’m working in?

If any of you have thoughts on what might be causing this, I’d greatly appreciate your input.

fgorga · Jan 8, 2023

Ethan,

Two thoughts...

Are you using Tween-20 in your sensitizer? If not, you might try adding some.

Do you keep track of which side of the paper you are coating? If so, try the other side. I've never had the "sideness" issue with HPR, but I have a vague memory that it is an issue with Stonehenge and some processes. With some papers the two sides coat very differently even though the look the same to your eye. I've usually seen this with 'oddball" papers not with the papers typically used for alt process.

--- Frank

Ethan Brossard · Jan 8, 2023

fgorga said:
Ethan,

Two thoughts...

Are you using Tween-20 in your sensitizer? If not, you might try adding some.

Do you keep track of which side of the paper you are coating? If so, try the other side. I've never had the "sideness" issue with HPR, but I have a vague memory that it is an issue with Stonehenge and some processes. With some papers the two sides coat very differently even though the look the same to your eye. I've usually seen this with 'oddball" papers not with the papers typically used for alt process.

--- Frank

Thanks, I’ve got some tween 20 I’m going to add tomorrow and see if that helps at all. The Stonehenge cane in a pad, and I’m coating the top side, which is slightly tougher than the bottom.

Have you bought any Stonehenge recently? In November they changed something and it became rougher. I couldn’t find any info on the change, but the pad cover changed slightly as well, and the paper is definitely a different texture

fgorga · Jan 8, 2023

Ethan Brossard said:
Thanks, I’ve got some tween 20 I’m going to add tomorrow and see if that helps at all. The Stonehenge cane in a pad, and I’m coating the top side, which is slightly tougher than the bottom.

Have you bought any Stonehenge recently? In November they changed something and it became rougher. I couldn’t find any info on the change, but the pad cover changed slightly as well, and the paper is definitely a different texture

Coating the top side of padded paper is certainly what I would do.

I haven't bought Stonehenge in a while and not in pads for a very long time. These days I buy large, typically 22x30 inch, sheets of most papers and cut them down.

It would not be the first time a mill changed a formulation without announcing it. Nor would it be the first time a particular batch of paper doesn't work for alt process.

Ethan Brossard · Jan 9, 2023

I’ve solved the Stonehenge issue, or at least figured out what it is. A friend of mine had some Stonehenge she bought last year, which I did some tests with, and it’s working fine. Looks like the latest batch of Stonehenge just doesn’t cooperate with van dyke.

FotoD · Jan 9, 2023

Ethan Brossard said:
Here’s what it’s looking like on the platinum rag.
View attachment 326159
Thinking that platinum rag just wasn’t going to work for me, I took out my package of the new, colder press, Stonehenge, and it has the same issue. Here’s a picture of that:
View attachment 326160
This has me wondering if the problem is the paper, and it just happens that these papers both have the same problem, or if it’s my chemistry.

The chemistry was mixed fresh yesterday from dry chemicals that I’ve been using without problem up until a month ago. However, a month ago i was also using the older, seemingly hotter press Stonehenge. It’s annoying that all these variables changed at once, and I’m not sure which is the culprit.

Thinking back, I also printed a ziatype about a month and a half ago on platinum rag that had this issue, could it be an issue with the environment I’m working in?

If any of you have thoughts on what might be causing this, I’d greatly appreciate your input.

I can't zoom in far enough to see, but it could be that certain fibers don't absorb or bind to the sensitizer.

I've solved a similar issue by coating the verso on HPR instead. Both sides of the paper look identical, but they aren't.

Coating with a very soft brush may also help. And working quickly, not coating the same spot more than 4-5 times.

Good luck!

Andrew O'Neill · Jan 9, 2023

Probably the batch of Stonehenge that you have does not have neutral buffering. The stuff that I had required acidify first, before coating. I used 10% Sulfamic Acid to acidify the paper. Worked beautifully. My main paper for years now has been Hahnemuhle PR. No acidifying is necessary. How strong is your acid bath when developing? Is your tap water alkaline, so that you have to acidify it?

Has anyone done van dyke brown on hahnemuhle platinum rag?

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