Platinum print - stain on the film

[Tangent]

Hi masters,

I was trying platinum print for the very first time yesterday, and I put the film directly contact with the paper. After the exposure, I noticed some stains on the film which I suspect it's the reduced platinum metal.

Any ideas of how to remove it?

 

[Vaughn]

Bummer. Off hand I do not know of anything that will remove platinum without removing silver.

Obviously, let the paper dry a bit more, and good luck!

 

[Renato Tonelli]

A shot in the dark: immerse the negative in distilled water with a drop of wetting agent.
But before trying this suggestion, let’s see if anyone thinks this is a bad idea (shouldn’t take long).

Next time use .003 clear polyester film between the negative and the paper. I know of several printers who print from original camera negatives and use this technique.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

When I first started alt printing, I didn't let the kallitype sensitiser dry completely. It transferred over to the negative, ruining it. I tried soaking it in water, to no avail. Lesson learnt. For carbon transfer printing, when in-camera negatives are used, I place a thin sheet of acetate between the negative and the tissue. The negative can stick especially when halogen lamp is used.

 

[Vaughn]

Heat is a big cause of problems...gets the moisture moving out of the paper (or carbon tissue) and into contact with the emulsion of the negative.

For both carbon and platinum printing I go with the straight camera neg on the paper/tissue...and yes, I have lost a few negatives over the last 30 years with carbon printing learning what to do and not to do to keep it from happening. I use 750W merc vapor bulbs and have a fan blowing across the glass of the contact frame, for example. I have never an issue with platinum, but then I use to over-dry the paper. Now I just air dry, but still no problems.

The greatest danger I have come across has not been chemical contamination, but ferriotyping (bad spelling), or the creation of areas of high gloss on the emulsion side of the negative caused by pressure, heat, and a little moisture. In areas of even tonality, these areas show up as they pass light a little differently.