My journey of discovery in both Pt/Pd printing and digital negatives

I have only just begun my journey of discovery in both Pt/Pd printing and digital negatives. Going into this, I had high hopes and expectations of both aspects. I can see from posts that you have all been where I am now, and many of you have pioneered and continually improved the techniques I am trying. I'd like to share with this forum a few of my initial impressions and observations and my reactions to them in the (rather selfish) hope that you can help accelerate me along my journey - or, in some cases, perhaps reset my expectations.

I will admit up front that I am somewhat of a sharpness addict - having originally jumped into large format photography by the lure of the quality it can produce. I now work all digitally (current Pt/Pd printing excepted) and still strive for a similar "look". From an aesthetic perspective, I started in black and white (silver) and found that my style was more suited to color. I started in landscapes and found my passion lay with architecture. However, my current photography tends towards very subdued colors, with many of my images having a rather monochromatic look. As a result, I have found myself lured back to black and white and have used that as a springboard for me to try Pt/Pd printing.

From a technical perspective, I am working with Pt/Pd in a 1:3 ratio with just a couple of drops of FO #2 in the emulsion to eliminate a slight fog I found without a restrainer. My only paper right now is the Cranes Weston Diploma. I am using straight Ammonium Citrate for the developer and EDTA for clearing (all from a B&S kit.) I have used the HSL-RNP array and ChartThrob to select a color and produce a curve. I am printing diginegs on Picotrico OHP with an HP B9180.

Looking forward to seeing your journey unfold! If you have any questions, feel free to ask; there's always people around to share their knowledge, views & expectations.

rorydancarl002 said:

HP B9180

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That sounds like a printer one might be able to pick up fairly cheaply on the used market. Does it offer good UV blocking power? How satisfied are you with the detail rendering it gives on your alt. process prints, and smoothness of subtle gradients?

rorydancarl002 said:

...However, my current photography tends towards very subdued colors, with many of my images having a rather monochromatic look. As a result, I have found myself lured back to black and white and have used that as a springboard for me to try Pt/Pd printing.

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As you travel along, it sounds like you might eventually be interested in platinum/palladium over inkjet print to add just a subtle touch of color.

So many possibilities! Have fun!

Vaughn said:

As you travel along, it sounds like you might eventually be interested in platinum/palladium over inkjet print to add just a subtle touch of color.

So many possibilities! Have fun!

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That sounds intriguing. Make Pt/Pd prints first and then print on color inkjet, or the other way?

Print with inkjet first onto watercolor paper, then coat w/ Pt/pd.

Some examples: https://www.kerik.com/mongolia-the-prints

EDIT: On second thought...I believe it is inkjet first, but it would make registration easier as the paper would not get wet between inkjet printing and the pt/pd coating steps.

Vaughn said:

Print with inkjet first onto watercolor paper, then coat w/ Pt/pd.

Some examples: https://www.kerik.com/mongolia-the-prints

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Very interesting; thanks for linking to those. They look magnificent and I think the concept is fascinating!

THANKS! This could be an interesting take

Vaughn said:

Print with inkjet first onto watercolor paper, then coat w/ Pt/pd.

Some examples: https://www.kerik.com/mongolia-the-prints

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Dan Burkholder also was one of the first folks who worked with this concept...


If I were to play with this idea, I would tend towards a much subtle use of color. Seems like platinum over an overly vibrant sunset might be a clash of techniques.

Might work with other processes, such as silver based ones.

Vaughn said:

Might work with other processes, such as silver based ones.

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I think so; as long as a pigment printer is used, as I'd expect most inkjet pigments to be fairly immune to what happens later on, chemically. It might (probably will) affect long-term/archival stability of the pigments, though.

Yes. And a coat of platinum might actually help long-term/archival stability of the pigments. Prints like this have only been around for 25 years and I not heard of any archival testing. I would still be leery of excess UV exposure during display of the prints.

All this leads to the remote possibility of inkjet printing color pigments down on watercolor paper, and then applying a layer of clear (fancy desert grade) gelatin that is hardened. Then using it as a final support for carbon transfer. I say remote because that's the possibility of me taking this further. A fun thought exercise, tho.

Vaughn said:

And a coat of platinum might actually help long-term/archival stability of the pigments.

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I don't expect so; quite the opposite. Platinum is an often used catalyst and it's known e.g. in old Pt prints to have locally accelerated degradation of the paper base itself. There's a fairly recent art project (somewhere....) that was about tracing these 'ghost images' visible on the opposite side of a Pt print due to paper base degradation. I expect that similar processes will affect color inkjet pigments.

Vaughn said:

All this leads to the remote possibility of inkjet printing color pigments down on watercolor paper, and then applying a layer of clear (fancy desert grade) gelatin that is hardened.

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This kind of encapsulation likely will positively affect stability of the pigments. In a similar vein, this is one reason why chromogenic color prints are more stable than one might expect based on the chemically sensitive nature of the dyes (not pigments in that case).

Spoilsport...

Fortunately, I have low interest in personally using much color in my images, and I'll let others explore these possibilities.