FAQ - Lith & Alt Print Exchange
Thanks for your interest in the Lith & Alt Print exchange. It will be great to have you all participating; it will be great fun for all of us. This short introduction is to make sure that we are all on the same page and it´s fun for everybody:
PLEASE READ THIS INTRODUCTION CAREFULLY BEFORE SIGNING UP FOR THE LITH & ALT PRINT EXCHANGE
How does the Lith & Alt Print Exchange work?
I will make a call for the each round of the Lith & Alt Print Exchange. Forum Members who wish to participate sign up during the signup month via PM to the organizer (me).Participants PM their full name and mailing address.
After the signup period has passed, I will match the participants so that every participant receives the name & address of one other participant in order to send one or more print(s) to one other participant. Likewise, all participants will receive a print(s) from a different participant than the one to whom they sent.
When you send/receive, please post immediately on the status thread so that the organizer can more easily keep track of overall progress. Et voila. You print is in the mail & you're done. Printing Time is two months, followed by a month of recess.
COMMUNICATION IS KEY!
Please post immediately in the status thread upon either sending or receiving prints. We are really anxious to know and doing so would be a huge help. If you need to contact me, please feel free to PM me about any old thing your heart desires. Always note the Round to which your correspondence refers.
After sending your print, you are invited to post it in the status thread or the Photrio Gallery and share it with all of us.
IMPORTANT. If you cannot honor your commitment and have already received your print, please send the print you received to the person to whom you were supposed to send your print. Please notify the organizer immediately. If you have NOT received your print yet, please contact the organizer ASAP so that a correction can be forwarded, if possible.
So, what exactly do I send?
Print exchange is about the joy of printing and the satisfaction of sharing. The fulfillment of preparing a print you are proud of, and the delight of receiving a print somebody else is proud of. So send a print, you are pleased showing around, because it is the best you can do. It does not have to be museum [whatever “museum quality” means?] quality, but there definitely shouldn't be spilled coffee on it!
In general, your print should be at least 18x24 cm / 8x10 inches or bigger – but depending on your art & interpretation, equivalencies are acceptable of course.
The print should be enlarged or contact printed, NOT INKJET PRINTS. The print should be sufficiently permanent and light resistant, so no print should fade away when put on the wall. And it should be printed on a flat surface like paper, linen, glass, aluminum or similar. I know liquid light can be coated on virtually anything, but this is about print exchange and not about coating the craziest item you can find.
Mounting/matting your print is optional.
Say something about your print. I'd encourage everyone to add a note, especially if you are a newbie that is looking for some feedback, with some basic information about the print such as the following.
Camera– Film- Exposure settings
Location
Process – Substrate used– Developer- Development times
Other pertinent info
Acceptable processes: Of course Lith, and “Alt”. And that “Alt” is a tough one, as there are so many processes out there, which are somehow put in that category, yet they are all different. Let´s be open-minded, I think the following should be ok:
Argyrotype
All kind of Handmade Emulsion, including POP
Athenatype
Bayard´s Direct Positivs
Calotype (fixed, please)
Carbon / Cabro
Chinese Prints (only if you make them whacky enough!)
Chrysotype
Cyanotpye (both the negative process or the direct positive process)
Gum Bichromte / Diazo
Hand Colored Prints (http://dwrphotos.com)
Hand Coated Papers
Kallitype
Multi-Color Toning (http://lostlabours.co.uk/photography/formulae/toners/handcolouring.htm)
(Note: really Multi Color – just an orange from sulfur & gold is not enough. Neither is Selenium & Sulfur or Gold – Multi Color!!!!!)
Orotone (I´d love to have one of those!)
Platinum & Palladium
Salt, Albumen & Collodion Prints
Van Dyke Brown
Wax paper à la Gustave Le Gray
Wetplate / Tintype / Ambrotypes / etc.
Whey Process
Ziatype
A lot of other processes out there will also do, although they are not on the list. This list is to give you a general idea. If your process fits to this general idea, it will be exciting to see your results! (And please PM me to include your particular process in the list)
Prints made from a hybrid method are fine, as long as the final print is handmade. I don´t think it matters how you took the pic, this exchange is about different analogue printing processes.
So once again: NO INKJET PRINTS!
PACKAGING
Here are some known methods that people have been sending their prints:
flat, sandwiched in between two stiff cardboards, in a flat cardboard mailer or a soft bubble wrap mailer <--very good for unmounted prints, OK for mounted prints
flat, loose with popcorn, bubble wrap, newspaper or other soft material in a cardboard box mailer <--good for mounted prints
rolled in a cardboard tube <--very not good for mounted prints
hand delivered <--now that's dedication! Please advise the receiving part first, maybe you are invited into the darkroom!
If you decide to prepare your print on glass, or metal sheets, please pack it sufficiently. Single glass plates are very sensitive, probably it needs to go sandwiched between two wooden board.
OTHER SIDE NOTES
Please be aware that you will need to mail your print internationally since you will eventually get someone overseas.Note that for customs purposes, value your print under $10 USD or 10 EUR when sending a print overseas to reduce holdup in customs.
Please do not signup if you still have past Print Exchange commitments you still need to honor. Complete them first then feel free to sign up for subsequent rounds.Make certain you have the correct address on your mode of shipping. Triple check it. I would rather be deluged with PMs than need to have someone reprint and pay postage a second time.
And last but not least. This is a member-organized function. There is no one 'legally' responsible for anything! If a problem arises, please contact me first. We can generally figure these things out and we'll go from there.
Disclaimers. Nothing can be taken for granted, nothing is guaranteed. Just have fun. Please realize that there is a possibility that you may not receive a print. Your sender might have to move and will have no darkroom for a year or more. They may, for personal reasons put up their cameras and gear for sale. Maybe other members might send additional prints to those who have not received a print. This might not be the case. Just so you realize that it a possibility.
Data Protection: This is a user-organized exchange, which due to its nature requires your name / address if you want to participate. That´s all we need it for, no sharing with google and 500 other marketing partners, no personalized advertisements to enhance your exchange experience, no opt-out options, no absolutely required tracking cookies. But no data protection policy either, no officer you could contact, no hotline, nothing. That´s all there is.
PLEASE USE THIS THREAD TO POST GENERAL QUESTIONS SO THAT OTHERS MAY BENEFIT FROM THIS FAQ.
Special thanks to Eugene Anikin and his “Introduction to the Blind Print Exchange” which served as inspiration for this FAQ (and I might I have copied a section or two).
Thanks for your interest in the Lith & Alt Print exchange. It will be great to have you all participating; it will be great fun for all of us. This short introduction is to make sure that we are all on the same page and it´s fun for everybody:
PLEASE READ THIS INTRODUCTION CAREFULLY BEFORE SIGNING UP FOR THE LITH & ALT PRINT EXCHANGE
How does the Lith & Alt Print Exchange work?
I will make a call for the each round of the Lith & Alt Print Exchange. Forum Members who wish to participate sign up during the signup month via PM to the organizer (me).Participants PM their full name and mailing address.
After the signup period has passed, I will match the participants so that every participant receives the name & address of one other participant in order to send one or more print(s) to one other participant. Likewise, all participants will receive a print(s) from a different participant than the one to whom they sent.
When you send/receive, please post immediately on the status thread so that the organizer can more easily keep track of overall progress. Et voila. You print is in the mail & you're done. Printing Time is two months, followed by a month of recess.
COMMUNICATION IS KEY!
Please post immediately in the status thread upon either sending or receiving prints. We are really anxious to know and doing so would be a huge help. If you need to contact me, please feel free to PM me about any old thing your heart desires. Always note the Round to which your correspondence refers.
After sending your print, you are invited to post it in the status thread or the Photrio Gallery and share it with all of us.
IMPORTANT. If you cannot honor your commitment and have already received your print, please send the print you received to the person to whom you were supposed to send your print. Please notify the organizer immediately. If you have NOT received your print yet, please contact the organizer ASAP so that a correction can be forwarded, if possible.
So, what exactly do I send?
Print exchange is about the joy of printing and the satisfaction of sharing. The fulfillment of preparing a print you are proud of, and the delight of receiving a print somebody else is proud of. So send a print, you are pleased showing around, because it is the best you can do. It does not have to be museum [whatever “museum quality” means?] quality, but there definitely shouldn't be spilled coffee on it!
In general, your print should be at least 18x24 cm / 8x10 inches or bigger – but depending on your art & interpretation, equivalencies are acceptable of course.
The print should be enlarged or contact printed, NOT INKJET PRINTS. The print should be sufficiently permanent and light resistant, so no print should fade away when put on the wall. And it should be printed on a flat surface like paper, linen, glass, aluminum or similar. I know liquid light can be coated on virtually anything, but this is about print exchange and not about coating the craziest item you can find.
Mounting/matting your print is optional.
Say something about your print. I'd encourage everyone to add a note, especially if you are a newbie that is looking for some feedback, with some basic information about the print such as the following.
Camera– Film- Exposure settings
Location
Process – Substrate used– Developer- Development times
Other pertinent info
Acceptable processes: Of course Lith, and “Alt”. And that “Alt” is a tough one, as there are so many processes out there, which are somehow put in that category, yet they are all different. Let´s be open-minded, I think the following should be ok:
Argyrotype
All kind of Handmade Emulsion, including POP
Athenatype
Bayard´s Direct Positivs
Calotype (fixed, please)
Carbon / Cabro
Chinese Prints (only if you make them whacky enough!)
Chrysotype
Cyanotpye (both the negative process or the direct positive process)
Gum Bichromte / Diazo
Hand Colored Prints (http://dwrphotos.com)
Hand Coated Papers
Kallitype
Multi-Color Toning (http://lostlabours.co.uk/photography/formulae/toners/handcolouring.htm)
(Note: really Multi Color – just an orange from sulfur & gold is not enough. Neither is Selenium & Sulfur or Gold – Multi Color!!!!!)
Orotone (I´d love to have one of those!)
Platinum & Palladium
Salt, Albumen & Collodion Prints
Van Dyke Brown
Wax paper à la Gustave Le Gray
Wetplate / Tintype / Ambrotypes / etc.
Whey Process
Ziatype
A lot of other processes out there will also do, although they are not on the list. This list is to give you a general idea. If your process fits to this general idea, it will be exciting to see your results! (And please PM me to include your particular process in the list)
Prints made from a hybrid method are fine, as long as the final print is handmade. I don´t think it matters how you took the pic, this exchange is about different analogue printing processes.
So once again: NO INKJET PRINTS!
PACKAGING
Here are some known methods that people have been sending their prints:
flat, sandwiched in between two stiff cardboards, in a flat cardboard mailer or a soft bubble wrap mailer <--very good for unmounted prints, OK for mounted prints
flat, loose with popcorn, bubble wrap, newspaper or other soft material in a cardboard box mailer <--good for mounted prints
rolled in a cardboard tube <--very not good for mounted prints
hand delivered <--now that's dedication! Please advise the receiving part first, maybe you are invited into the darkroom!
If you decide to prepare your print on glass, or metal sheets, please pack it sufficiently. Single glass plates are very sensitive, probably it needs to go sandwiched between two wooden board.
OTHER SIDE NOTES
Please be aware that you will need to mail your print internationally since you will eventually get someone overseas.Note that for customs purposes, value your print under $10 USD or 10 EUR when sending a print overseas to reduce holdup in customs.
Please do not signup if you still have past Print Exchange commitments you still need to honor. Complete them first then feel free to sign up for subsequent rounds.Make certain you have the correct address on your mode of shipping. Triple check it. I would rather be deluged with PMs than need to have someone reprint and pay postage a second time.
And last but not least. This is a member-organized function. There is no one 'legally' responsible for anything! If a problem arises, please contact me first. We can generally figure these things out and we'll go from there.
Disclaimers. Nothing can be taken for granted, nothing is guaranteed. Just have fun. Please realize that there is a possibility that you may not receive a print. Your sender might have to move and will have no darkroom for a year or more. They may, for personal reasons put up their cameras and gear for sale. Maybe other members might send additional prints to those who have not received a print. This might not be the case. Just so you realize that it a possibility.
Data Protection: This is a user-organized exchange, which due to its nature requires your name / address if you want to participate. That´s all we need it for, no sharing with google and 500 other marketing partners, no personalized advertisements to enhance your exchange experience, no opt-out options, no absolutely required tracking cookies. But no data protection policy either, no officer you could contact, no hotline, nothing. That´s all there is.
PLEASE USE THIS THREAD TO POST GENERAL QUESTIONS SO THAT OTHERS MAY BENEFIT FROM THIS FAQ.
Special thanks to Eugene Anikin and his “Introduction to the Blind Print Exchange” which served as inspiration for this FAQ (and I might I have copied a section or two).
