Mixing gloop for carbon transfer

[Vaughn]

I had made a note of your comment about using old film, but the only size I have is 5x4. X-ray film, whilst a good idea, would mean sourcing yet more stuff - If I ever come across any, I'll snap it up straight away. In the meantime, if anyone is looking for thymol, I found bee keepers use it for varroa mite control (and it is reasonably cheap).

For the tissue support material, the film I use is litho film. It is only .004" in thickness, compared to .007" for normal films. If one does not have a good contact printing frame, I found that when using the tissue on the .007" film, it was difficult to keep good contact between the negative and the tissue during exposure. But that was many years ago -- I should try it again one of these days when I have nothing to do. LOL!

I still use the watercolor paints in tubes for my pigment. Mostly Lampblack and Burnt Sienna right now. At the amounts I use, the cost is reasonable. But the Black Cat Ink does sound interesting...but it does mean recalibrating, so I am not rushing into it.

I finally broke down and bought a 5 pound bag of gelatin from BulkFoods. I always liked the idea of getting my makings from the supermarket. But at $5 a pound (w/shipping), compared to $20 - $40/lb at the market in little tiny packages, I went for the bulk.

Vaughn

 

[Nikola Dulgiarov]

Loris,
I actually have some rapidograph ink at home, should have thought to use it.
Thanks,
Nikola

 

[banana_legs]

Paul,

I use Windsor and Newton black Indian ink in gelatine from Tesco's. Although it can get a touch fragile if too wet, I find that normal 80gsm copier paper works fine as the tissue support - I just soak it briefly before squeegeeing to a board and pouring on the gloop (UK spelling ). I have found sources for x-ray film here in the UK, but it does not work out very cheap in the end so not really worth the hassle.

As for other pigments, I swept the chimney again the other day and now have a nice source of carbon powder (soot); albeit a bit oily and smelly, it seems to work and gives interesting results! It just needs a good grind in the pestle with a little gum Arabic to make a paste for mixing into the gelatine, then a good straining through a pair of old tights.

Best regards,

Evan

EDIT: rather interesting about the use of Thymol with bees; I normally just add a dash of Listerene mouth wash which has thymol in it.

 

[paul_c5x4]

rather interesting about the use of Thymol with bees; I normally just add a dash of Listerene mouth wash which has thymol in it.

Have heard of using Listerine elsewhere, but at 0.064% (typical) concentration, I wonder how effective it is as a preservative. With the additional oils, flavourings, and colourants, I have (slight) concerns about the archival qualities... Maybe the minty fresh taste & smell would be a good selling point.

A 100g bag of Thymol is going to treat an awful lot of gloop/glop - More than I could mix in a lifetime.

 

[sanking]

Have heard of using Listerine elsewhere, but at 0.064% (typical) concentration, I wonder how effective it is as a preservative. With the additional oils, flavourings, and colourants, I have (slight) concerns about the archival qualities... Maybe the minty fresh taste & smell would be a good selling point.

A 100g bag of Thymol is going to treat an awful lot of gloop/glop - More than I could mix in a lifetime.

I used to add a few drops of a thymol in alcohol solution to the glop but quit doing so years ago. A preservative is only necessary in my experience if the place where you store the tissue is very humid, and if you keep the tissue for a long time before using it. I generally make tissue and use it in three or four months, at most. Using fresh tissue is one method to assure some consistency in your work. Course, if you have the space the tissue will store for a very long period of time in a freezer.

Some people make tissue making much more complicated than it really is. My advice is to keep it simple and don't add stuff to the glop that is not necessary

Sandy

 

[banana_legs]

Paul,

I must confess to following Sandy's approach of keeping it simple; my thymol use these days is pretty much adding 4ml of Listerene to 100ml of my Part A cyanotype sensitiser to stop it going furry. The listerene works a treat and also makes it easy to tell the bottles apart as the part A stinks of mouthwash.

Best regards,

Evan

 

[Vaughn]

I do not add any preservatives -- but I have lost a couple tissues to mold after pouring, but before they got dry enough. Once when I did not have the fan blowing on a tissue and the other when I let it air dry in a small space (no air movement).