Kallitype Chemicals in Australia

[ras351]

Hi,

I'm wondering if anyone in Australia might know where I can source small quantities of photographic chemicals? I have in the past ordered chemicals from Vanbar/Photochem however I'm currently interested in trying my hand at Kallitypes but they don't appear to stock either Ferric Oxalate or Sodium Citrate. The latter I can probably work around but the former is a bit of a problem. Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Roger.

 

[Lukas Werth]

I live in completely different part of the world (Germany), so I don't know whether this will be helpful, but here it is:
Dick Stevens in "Making Kallitypes" gives several ways of making one's own ferric oxalate. I never tried one out from the scratch, but: I am able to obtain ferrous oxalate (I think it is also caled "iron 2 ocxalate"; at least this is, if i remember correctly, the equivalent to the German name) here from a shop selling chemicals and other stuff for school experiments. This seems to be more easily available, and it is an intermediate stage in Stevens' recipy, and quite easy to turn into ferric oxalate with some oxalic acid and hydrogen peroxide. The advantage: you can easily produce the yellow form which is without free oxalic acid, not what you want for pt/pd, but better for kallitypes.
Sodium citrate can be easily produced by adding citric acid to dissolved sodium carbonate in a bucket large enough to contain the fizz, here you want to add a bit more citric after the bubbling stops to get the developer a little bit acidic which helps to clear the prints.

 

[rrankin]

When I was in outback VIC, I used to order some chemicals now and again from the Photographers Formulary in the US. I believe I also got some from Bostick-Sullivan. So, you might try them. A lot of this stuff can be shipped internationally.

Cheers, Richard

 

[ras351]

Thanks Lukas. I thought about making my own Ferric Oxalate but found I couldn't get chemicals which made the process straightforward. The Sodium Citrate recipe however will be useful as I already have the Citric acid and Sodium Carbonate.

Richard, I just checked the Bostick & Sullivan site and they will indeed ship Ferric Oxalate internationally - thanks for the tip. I'm still hoping for a local supplier to avoid the high shipping charges but at least I now have a source.

Thanks again both,
Roger.

 

[blokeman]

Roger, I live in Melbourne & researched heavily just a few years ago for small quantities of various chems. Places like Ajax etc, .... nowadays they all require a minimum of $100 per item, which in some cases will buy a truckload! For a few years now I buy from USA, Either Photographers Formulary or Bostick+Sullivan. I always get great service and sometimes just a few days before I get it!!! Some advice here: Once I went over $500... this will attract duty on every item in the package plus a trip to customs, it was expensive & very annoying. I opt for phoning my order personally so I can speak with a real person. Its not such a big deal these days with the el cheapo phone cards. Personally, I have yet to try Kallitype process. Good luck! David.

 

[ras351]

Thanks David.

It sounds like I'm going to have to import. If I can find an email address I might email Photochem in Melbourne on the off chance they can do something. Can you recall how much postage charges were from the USA? Minimum for everything else I've bought from the US seems to be about US$30 which is a big percentage increase when the chemical cost is only going to be around US$50.

Out of curiosity how long ago was it when you were hit with customs/import fees? Import requirements were changed late last year and from what I could determine the formal entry clearance limit has been increased to $1000 for couriers (in line with the postal service) and I've guessed from reading the Fedex announcement that the GST/duty limit has also been raised from $500 to $1000 but I've been hoping for confirmation (especially of the latter).

Roger.

 

[blokeman]

Roger, a friend and I shared the order which was over $500, it was mailed but we had to pick up at customs. The order was from Calumet. They hit us with duty on every item plus GST (!) plus even gst on the bloody postage (I found this particularly annoying). However, this must be two years ago now & I hope what you say is true in that the minimum is now $1,000. I always telephone Photographers Formulary direct and the orders are always prompt, their number will be on the website, my calls are usually very late at night our time from memory. Maybe wait until you need more products to make the postage worthwhile? Sometimes we've just gotta pay,pay,pay! Cheers, David.