Postcard Exchange: Round 10 - Details and Sign-up

[ingobohn]

Well... okay, my limit would be something around 50 postcards. If were are more people in Round 10, we should maybe think about splitting the whole group into two sub-groups...

 

[Bob F.]

Me again please - (I'm gonna print 40 tonight so I'm on time for once!)

PM Sent...

Cheers, Bob.

 

[Bastiaan]

Hi Randy,

Count me in for this round please. Limit 32 cards.

Bastiaan

 

[reellis67]

... If were are more people in Round 10, we should maybe think about splitting the whole group into two sub-groups...

That idea came up a few rounds back and the result was the ability for everyone to set a limit on how many cards they wanted to print. Before that, everyone was 'in for a penny - in for a pound' and it was causing problems, so the Exchange caretaker at the time came up with the system that we are using right now.

- Randy

 

[Black Dog]

To infinity and beyond!

I've printed a huge pile, so I'm happy to go the whole nine yards

 

[rst]

... That idea came up a few rounds back and the result was the ability for everyone to set a limit on how many cards they wanted to print.

Yes, the system we are following right now is much more flexible than two separate groups. And if there are people who want to do the full set, two distinct groups would be not the right solution for them. In round 10 we will split the people in as many groups as we need to make everyone satisfied. Well the people applying for many cards or the maximum number may end up in groups a bit smaller than the maximum because there may be no exact fit for everyone. But the algorithm makes sure that everyone will get as many cards as he/she sends out (not taking into account that there might be participants who do not send cards or that cards get lost )

ciao
-- Ruediger

 

[Lynda]

subject matter?

I have not participated before, is there any particular subject matter that is off limits or preferred? Or is it wide open? I am not sure if anything goes on a postcard.
Thanks, Lynda

 

[Mick Fagan]

Lynda, the subject matter is whatever you wish. If you are happy for the postal systems of the world to view your image, then use it.

I look forward to seeing your card.

Mick.

 

[Stan160]

I have just printed my first test postcard. One snag - the ink from my fountain pen doesn't adhere to the RC paper surface very well. It's possible to smudge the ink with a dry finger an hour after writing :-(

Hardly ever use a fountain pen nowadays but thought it would be more in keeping with the postcard exchange than using a biro. Please can anyone recommend a brand of ink that will remain legible on RC paper but won't irretrievably gum up my pen if such a thing is possible!

Thank you,
Ian

 

[Anupam Basu]

I'm in for 25.

Anupam

 

[eric]

recommend a brand of ink that will remain legible on RC paper but won't irretrievably gum up my pen if such a thing is possible!

Thank you,
Ian

Do they sell "Sharpie" brand pens in the UK? I also use Koh-i-noor and koh-i-noor inks to write on the front of postcards.

 

[reellis67]

Stan,

I use a fountain pen for most of my writing, and I've found that Parker ink does well with RC paper if you let it sit for about 5 or 10 minutes. As far as I know, it will not easily smudge after that time in handling. I'll see if I can find some of my bookmarks for ink sellers - do you have one that you can fill yourself, or is it a cartridge model?

- Randy

 

[Stan160]

Stan,

I use a fountain pen for most of my writing, and I've found that Parker ink does well with RC paper if you let it sit for about 5 or 10 minutes. As far as I know, it will not easily smudge after that time in handling. I'll see if I can find some of my bookmarks for ink sellers - do you have one that you can fill yourself, or is it a cartridge model?

- Randy

Thanks Randy, I have both a cartridge and a refillable pen. Sadly neither have seen much use since I started working in IT and sitting in front of a computer all day! I used to use Parker ink when I was at school, will buy myself a bottle tomorrow and relive my teenage years!

 

[Mark_S]

Please can anyone recommend a brand of ink that will remain legible on RC paper

Warning - this reply may be seen by some as straying off topic....

Firstly Ian, Sharpie markers work well on the backs of the Ilford Postcard Paper. Another thing that I find works well is a 4B pencil.

Secondly - a rant (I hope Simon Galley is listening). A few years back, (before Harman) I had a friend who asked me to take some boudoir photos of her, and make them into a calender that she would give to her husband as a gift. My original thought was to print on RC because of how nicely it stays flat when unmounted, and to run the prints through a computer printer to print the calender grids on the backs of the prints, then spiral bind the calender. I soon discovered that there is no computer print technolgy capable of printing on the back of an RC print - even more frustrating, it was impossible to get through to someone who even understood the problem. My initial printer of choice was my Epson 1280 inkjet - it prints on transparancy material - ought to be no problem printing on the back of an RC print, nope. I called Epson, they pointed out that they made 'photo paper' which could be printed on both sides and that ought to work fine. They had no concept of what silver gelatin was. I called Ilford thinking that since they made both RC paper and inkjet paper that they would at least understand the problem, but even before they split into two companies, they might as well have been because there did not seem to be anybody there who was bilingual (A/D).

A really neat product would be an RC paper, with a non-plasticized back so that it could be written on. It would be the ideal material to make postcards and calenders out of.

Rant ends....

 

[Mick Fagan]

Mark, having an uncoated back of the postcard, or any RC paper, defeats the purpose of RC paper completely.

One of the real accomplishments of RC paper, is it's processing speed, literally about 4 minutes dry to dry!

The second accomplishment of RC paper, is it's impact on the environment, RC paper requires so little water to wash. The processing of a single sheet of uncoated paper, will use bucket loads of water.

About 15 years ago, I tried with limited success, to run some small RC paper through my Hewlett Packard IIIP LASER Printer. I set the printer to print on card stock, which means it runs straight through to the rear of the printer, instead of going through a tight circle. I then tried some normal RC paper, it worked, but curled in fairly severe boomerang shape. I then tried some heavier stock, it may have been portfolio, cannot remember, but it was quite heavy, this worked with moderate success.

The moderate success was the time taken as one could only let one sheet go through at a time, wait about a minute for the machine to quieten down just before it went into sleep mode, then run another sheet through.

The exit rollers on a LASER printer have quite a bit of heat to dry the toner, when a LASER printer runs non-stop, these rollers get really hot and start to melt the plastic coating.

Mick.

 

[MattKing]

Warning - this reply may be seen by some as straying off topic....

Firstly Ian, Sharpie markers work well on the backs of the Ilford Postcard Paper. Another thing that I find works well is a 4B pencil.

Secondly - a rant (I hope Simon Galley is listening). A few years back, (before Harman) I had a friend who asked me to take some boudoir photos of her, and make them into a calender that she would give to her husband as a gift. My original thought was to print on RC because of how nicely it stays flat when unmounted, and to run the prints through a computer printer to print the calender grids on the backs of the prints, then spiral bind the calender. I soon discovered that there is no computer print technolgy capable of printing on the back of an RC print - even more frustrating, it was impossible to get through to someone who even understood the problem. My initial printer of choice was my Epson 1280 inkjet - it prints on transparancy material - ought to be no problem printing on the back of an RC print, nope. I called Epson, they pointed out that they made 'photo paper' which could be printed on both sides and that ought to work fine. They had no concept of what silver gelatin was. I called Ilford thinking that since they made both RC paper and inkjet paper that they would at least understand the problem, but even before they split into two companies, they might as well have been because there did not seem to be anybody there who was bilingual (A/D).

A really neat product would be an RC paper, with a non-plasticized back so that it could be written on. It would be the ideal material to make postcards and calenders out of.

Rant ends....

It is far from perfect, but this description of what I do for postcards might help:

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Matt

 

[Matthew Gorringe]

PM sent. This will be the first time I've done this and I'm going to limit myself to twenty prints. Looking forward to seeing other peoples' prints.

 

[Don Grindstaff]

I am in for the max.

 

[Tim Gray]

I've never done this before. In fact I just started printing. I'm in... for the max (50ish)?

On a side note, anybody know of a fixed speed easel for 4x6/postcards?

Would it be possible to convince some manufacturer/enterprising individual to make some up and do a group buy of these? It is only sheet metal... It'd be pretty cool if Ilford had one for their postcard stock.

 

[reellis67]

I just wanted to post an updated total - it looks like we have about 38 people now, so just a few more than the last round at this point. I expect a few more people will join before the close of the month, so we might break 40 or so by the end. For Round 10, we've got a great mix of people from all over the world as well as both new and old participants, so the cards should be really good again this round.

Just a reminder too, if anyone wants to change the number of cards they print for this round, up or down, don't hesitate to let me know and I'll change it for you right away.

I'm really looking forward to another great round this time, thanks to everyone who has joined so far!

- Randy

 

[rst]

Wow 40 or more people this round ... Sounds like even more fun. And I can tell you, I already had alot of fun with the photograph I am going to send for this round.

Regards
-- Ruediger

 

[ingobohn]

...well, had lotsa fun too.

 

[Samad Asad]

A friend introduced this to me a couple of days back. It sounded fun, so I would like to participate in this exchange. No limits for me, please.

- Samad

 

[Mark Fisher]

Has anyone had any luck finding postcard paper? I have about 30 sheets left and I used to buy from J&C....since J&C is out of commission for now, I tried B&H....no luck....finally, I tried Adorama and they have it on back order. Does anyone out there have another US source?

Thanks -- Mark

 

[timeUnit]

I'm in, no limit.