Palladium Printing

CMoore · Dec 18, 2017

Does anybody have a link, be it Youtube or just Text, for a good Tutorial on Platinum/Palladium printing.?
I have Read/Seen a few things, but i am still pretty confused.
Is it somehow/economically possible to do Palladium with 35mm film.?
Can i make a bigger negative somehow.?
Thank You

dpurdy · Dec 18, 2017

If you research youtube you will find lots of tutorials on platinum/palladium printing. You need a negative as large as the print you want. It is a contact negative process. These days it is most common to make enlarged negatives digitally. Which is to say that you could enlarge negatives with an ink jet printer on clear plastic made for the purpose. You should go to http://bostick-sullivan.com/ for information. I can help you privately in private messages..

CMoore · Dec 18, 2017

OK.....i went to that site.
Thank You
Oh Wow.!
I am NOT a computer person. I would have No Idea how to even begin to make a digital negative, nor the equipment. All those computer terms are Greek to me.
Are any of you guys doing Palladium at home.?
Let me ask this......
1. Is it feasible for the average person to make, at home, a digital negative, from 35mm that would be big enough (11x14) to make a Palladium Print.? How much would that equipment cost.?
2. Are their labs that will make a Digital Negative, from a 35mm Neg. Then ship that back to the person, so they can do a Palladium at home.?

Thanks Again

Alan9940 · Dec 19, 2017

I have been printing pt/pd prints in my home darkroom for many years from MF up through 8x10 in camera and digital negatives. Though it's certainly possible, I've never made an enlarged digital neg from 35mm; though I have recently been making small pt/pd prints from iPhone files. This is a HUGE subject that takes many years to learn. I would suggest starting out with a good book such as "Platinum & Palladium Printing" by Dick Arentz.

CMoore · Dec 19, 2017

I will take a look at Dick Arentz.....Thank You

Ian Leake · Dec 19, 2017

For a print of reasonable size you’ll need to enlarge your negatives (as noted above). You can make an adequate digital negative using standard Epson drivers. Bostick and Sullivan have a tutorial for this on their web site. State of the art digital negatives are a whole different thing, but you don’t need to start with these.

It is possible to make small platinum/palladium prints in your home. Up to about 5x7 is easy, but as the prints get bigger you start to need more specialised equipment and space. My book, The Platinum Printing Workshop, takes you through the whole printing process from first principles. It’s on Amazon, or if you prefer a cheaper ebook then it’s also available on my website here: https://ianleake.com/product/the-platinum-printing-workshop-ebook-3rd-edition/

jeffreyg · Dec 19, 2017

It is not that difficult to make enlarged negatives*. In your home darkroom you can enlarge on to x-ray duplicating film which is a reversal film (negative to negative). With a computer and a good printer on to Pictorico transparent film. Resources as mentioned Dick Arentz and Bostick and Sullivan plus Dan Burkholder. You need the chemistry, trays, paper, a glass "puddle pusher" and/or a high quality brush, a printing frame and UV light source which can actually be a sunny day. A well done pt/pd print is quite exquisite.

* There is a learning curve and to get started there are kits available from Bostick and Sullivan.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

CMoore · Dec 19, 2017

Mr. Glasser.....Thank You

dasBlute · Dec 19, 2017

I'll add that Dead Link Removedgives workshops on Pt/Pd printing with digital negatives, which I've taken.
There is a testing phase where you're printing and scanning a step wedge in order to make the
resulting print look like what you see on the screen. The technical details of that are a little complex,
but software exists to smooth that out for you, so the actual process is quite simple. Once you've
completed that stage, your prints essentially come out right the first time, pretty cool.

Since I shoot LF, I opted to build a UV box and use my existing negatives to continue, learning
about contrast control, and targeting the process with my field work and development - though
pyro negatives work pretty well already.

NedL · Dec 19, 2017

Vandyke brown prints and kallitypes can be toned with platinum or palladium ( or gold ). An advantage is that these processes are inexpensive, and you can see that you have a good print before you use the toner with expensive metals in it. You can find articles at Photrio member Sandy King's site, or at unblinking eye, or at the alternative photography website. It might be a less expensive way to "get your feet wet".

CMoore · Dec 19, 2017

Hey Ned -
Thanks for all that info.
I Appreciate It

outwest · Dec 20, 2017

The price of palladium has just passed platinum. Could get interesting.

Alan9940 · Dec 20, 2017

outwest said:
The price of palladium has just passed platinum. Could get interesting.

Not at Bostick & Sullivan. 25ml of Palladium is $85.00 and 25ml of Platinum is 249.50. I always buy the 10ml size of Platinum because I use so little of it.

mitorn · Dec 22, 2017

I have never tried platinum or palladium printing, but Mike Wares website usually contains good instructions:
http://www.mikeware.co.uk/mikeware/Platino-Palladiotype.html
http://www.mikeware.co.uk/downloads/PlatinoWork.pdf

Anyway if you want to try a cheaper process first, you can try cyanotypie.
Yes it’s blue but it’s also an iron process and you can practice coating and making an inter negative (But I’m not sure if both sensitizers behave the same while coating and if both process have the same requirements concerning dmax and gradiation) and it also needs UV light to print.

Jeff Bradford · Dec 22, 2017

How much of the solution is used in making one 5x7 print?

Ian Leake · Dec 23, 2017

Jeff Bradford said:
How much of the solution is used in making one 5x7 print?

An 8x10 typically needs about 2ml of sensitiser (the exact quantity depends upon your paper choice and working method). As a 5x7 negative has roughly half the area of an 8x10, it would require about 1ml of sensitiser. The sensitiser is half ferric oxalate and half platinum/palladium solution.

CMoore · Dec 23, 2017

For me, only shooting 35mm Film, and having No Computer skills, no experience with Photoshop, and not having the software anyway.....making the digital negative is going to be my biggest hurdle.
I just finished up a Beginner/Black & White Film class at my local college. Perhaps i can ask my teacher and see what she says..... if the school is set up to make a (bigger) digital negative from 35mm negs.
That would be a huge help in getting me started, down the path to some of these UV Exposure type of process'.

NedL · Dec 23, 2017

You can go pretty far with paper negatives. A big paper negative for contact printing can be made in a big camera ( with a lens or pinhole ), or you can make one from a 35mm negative under an enlarger. The sun is a fine source of UV. It's possible to get started with very little equipment or expense. I started out that way, thinking I would evolve from paper negatives and salt prints to something "more advanced" later, and I loved it so much that I never left!

eddie · Dec 23, 2017

If you're looking to delve into alternative processes, bromoil is an enlargeable one.

Palladium Printing

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