Kallitype and exposure question

[padraigm]

Hi All,

I am fairly new to the alternative UV printing process. I have been successful with pd/pt printing so far, so i decided to try my hand at Kallitype. I read i can come quite close to pd/pt. First try last night and i can't say I am happy so far. I just don't see the highlights rendered as well as pd/pt and they have tended to be yellowish. For those experienced out there how do I minimize that aspect?

Also for DR I have been measuring highlights at about 1.4. Is this a good range for highlights using this process? Another issue I encountered is the bleach out of the highlights. I am not getting quite the same results as my test strip. Could this be a function of the light being on longer during a test strip and thus getting "hotter" and therefore not the same as a single shorter exposure?

Thank you all in advance.

 

[Mark Fisher]

Are you fully clearing the print? I used to do kallitypes and found them much harder to clear than Pd prints. I had the best luck with Perma-wash. Citric acid and oxalic acid didn't work for me . I never became an expert at the process, but that was my experience.

 

[Klainmeister]

Where are you? I ask because humidity can actually play a role here. Kallitypes are much more difficult to control, in my experience, compared to PT/PD, so expect some trial and error.

 

[padraigm]

I am in San Diego. humidity is pretty low for the most part. I will try again tonight and certainly try clearing longer.

 

[doughowk]

Sandy King has a very good article on Kallitypes at unblinkingeye. Dick Stevens is a good reference.
As far as image bleaching after processing, toning before fixing helps. I used gold-toner.
Like others,though, I found Kallitypes too imprecise to be able to fine tune the prints. It seemed like some variable changed between prints that I wasn't able to control. pt/pd printing is much easier.

 

[padraigm]

I agree Doug. Not liking it so far. I will finsih out the bottle i have and if i can't nail it by then, I will be done with it. Thanks for all the advice.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

When I tried kallitype printing for the first time several years ago, I had many issues with yellow high lights. I realized that my tap water was suspect (too alkaline), so to my rinse bath (which was a big bucket of water) I added a sprinkle of citric acid. No more yellow high lights. Which paper are you using? Which developer are you using? How do you clear? How is your tap water?
With your film, have you done a max black/min time test? You can try adding a drop or two of potassium dichromate to the sensitizer to increase contrast. A DR of 1.40 is pretty low. My negatives DR's are never below 1.70.

 

[Herzeleid]

Where are you? I ask because humidity can actually play a role here. Kallitypes are much more difficult to control, in my experience, compared to PT/PD, so expect some trial and error.

I have no experience with kallitypes, I am doing other alt. processes, but I have been controlling the humidity in my workplace since last month. It made a huge difference. There are lots of sound advice in these posts, do not overlook controlling/checking the humidity.

 

[Jim Noel]

I live in San Diego and have made a few hundred Kallitypes, as well as having taught the process to a few hundred students.
I had to put a humidifier in the darkroom in order to control humidity. as humidity in the paper fluctuates, so does the exposure time. If paper is too dry, the image is weak and will never produce a good d-max. A definite schedule to follow between coating and exposing is a big help in maintaining consistent humidity in the paper.
Clearing is a problem,especially if you don't tone prior to fixing.
The first rinse must be slightly acidic. I use a little citric acid at this stage and it eliminates a good 80-90% of the yellow. The subsequent clearing baths take care of the rest.
Prints should be toned, and this is done prior to fixing in dilute sodium thiosulfate only.
Gold is the traditional toner. If you want it to look like a platinum print, tone with Pt. If you want it to look like a palladium print, tone with that.
Papers are important. Any buffering causes problems.
If you have Stevens book - get rid of it. It has led many beginning printers far from the correct path.

 

[davido]

I have a humidified area for coating and tried different developers (Sodium Citrate and Ammonium Citrate/Sodium Acetate) and clearing baths (EDTA Tetrasodium and Disodium). After trying all different strategies and papers (Platine and Stonehenge), I was still getting yellowed highlights (sometimes subtle but there). So I almost went crazy and finally gave up and have recently been experimenting with Argyrotypes.
I have recently discovered Buxton paper which is really beautiful but expensive (as it is recommended by Mike Ware for Argyrotype) and am now thinking of trying Kallitypes with Buxton?
However, I recently found this in my collected notes on clearing kallitypes:

"The wet-processing procedure requires reagents which perform both the developing and clearing (chiefly the latter). These are solutions of the sodium salts of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid - otherwise known as EDTA, for short. Two separate clearing baths, each of strength about 5% w/v, are recommended: dissolve 50 g of the solid in each litre of water at room temperature. The first bath is of disodium EDTA, with a pH around 3 to 4, which is optimum for complexing iron(III) and is acid enough to avoid hydrolysis leading to yellow iron stains; the capacity of a one-litre bath will be about 50 10"x8" prints.
Clearing of the residual iron compounds from the paper is improved by immersion next in a bath of Kodak Hypoclearing Agent interposed between the two EDTA baths; the inorganic sulphite in this tends to reduce any residual iron(III) to iron(II) which is then removed in the final tetrasodium EDTA bath; the advantage is that these last two baths have a high pH (around 9) which is optimum for complexation of iron(II) and leaves the paper in a beneficial alkaline condition"

I believe this is from Mike Ware. Though, I just looked and can't find the original.
Once I had discovered EDTA Disodium, I never went back to using Tetrasodium for the reason said of it causing "hydrolisis" but perhaps I will try this process of using both EDTA's ?

Good Luck, It's a beautiful process, I much prefer over Vandyke as it only requires a single coating but the staining of highlights was a constant issue with me.

david drake

 

[davido]

I have found the origin of the quote above:

http://www.mikeware.co.uk/mikeware/Platino-Palladiotype.html

Jim, I'm assuming you are you referring the Dick Stevens book "Kallitypes, A definitive Guide"?
I see that he has new book out called " Kallitype, the Processes and the History" I wonder if this is revised version of the original?

 

[doughowk]

The Mike Ware quote is from his article on pt/pd printing, not Kallitypes. The normal clearing bath for Kallitypes is 3% citric acid.
I use Mike Ware's recommendation with pt/pd printing, and find it very effective.

A new book on Kallitypes by Dick Stevens? Couldn't find any description other than published this year and 400 pages which is double the earlier book. Very interesting, thanks for the info.

 

[davido]

Doug, I realize that. However the processes are close cousins. They both use ferric oxalate. It's really just the metal salt that's different.
Many people use EDTA with Kallitypes as well. Citric acid is not usually enough to remove the iron completely.
I forgot to mention that I do also tone my kallitypes with a noble metal like gold or platinum.
Dick Steven's new book: http://www.amazon.com/Kallitype-The...895183&sr=8-1&keywords=dick+stevens+kallitype