OK, time for some GOOD paper news for a change. Dana sent me a few sheets of the Revere Platinum 145 and 300 GSM papers to try out. Finally had a chance to make a couple of quick prints today. I haven't calibrated my QTR negs for this paper yet, but that's coming soon. It looks like we're going to have 2 new kick ass papers to use for pt/pd very soon. Both papers are very smooth with a pleasing tooth to the surface and render fine details very well. The heavier paper is very stiff and mellows out some after processing, but is still stiff. It drys very flat. One side is smoother than the other and that's the side I printed on. Both of these papers have a very interesting surface as they both show a bit of sheen when dried. The prints almost look like they've been waxed or Liquitexed. I haven't tried either of these techniques on these papers yet as I rarely use them. Both papers coat beautifully with a Magic Brush. I added a couple drops of 10% Tween 20 for 8x10 prints. I don't know if it's necessary, but it didn't hurt. The thinner paper wants to curl up when it's coated, so you'll want to nail (or tape) it down before you coat and leave it that way til you've dried it some. After coating I let the paper sit for a couple minutes, then placed it under a cool fan and finished off with a hair drier. The whole drying process took just a few minutes. And now for the good stuff (drum roll please):
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Self Portrait 4/15/11
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I know you can only tell so much from scans, but these prints are nice. The only reflection densitometer that I have are the two located just below my forehead. The gave me a density reading of RFB (Really F*cking Black). It easily matches the black of (good) Platine or COT. Again, I haven't created QTR curves for these papers yet, so these negs may not be optimum, but the prints look good. The papers cleared easily in Citric Acid followed by Permawash. In warm potassium oxalate the papers give a wonderful warm brown tone with pure palladium. I forgot to test for fogging, but will do that soon, too. Both papers shrunk about 1/32 of an inch over a length of about 8 inches, so pre-shrinking will be necessary for muti-hit process like gum over platinum. I think the 300 paper is going to make a great gumover paper and the surface is so smooth and hard it may not even need sizing.
All in all, two thumbs way up. This is some good sh*t! I call dibs on the first 25 full sized sheets of each! A caveat, these two prints are the only things I've done with this paper so far. With a little luck, I hope to use it in a workshop in 2 weeks.
Dead Link Removed
Self Portrait 4/15/11
Dead Link Removed
I know you can only tell so much from scans, but these prints are nice. The only reflection densitometer that I have are the two located just below my forehead. The gave me a density reading of RFB (Really F*cking Black). It easily matches the black of (good) Platine or COT. Again, I haven't created QTR curves for these papers yet, so these negs may not be optimum, but the prints look good. The papers cleared easily in Citric Acid followed by Permawash. In warm potassium oxalate the papers give a wonderful warm brown tone with pure palladium. I forgot to test for fogging, but will do that soon, too. Both papers shrunk about 1/32 of an inch over a length of about 8 inches, so pre-shrinking will be necessary for muti-hit process like gum over platinum. I think the 300 paper is going to make a great gumover paper and the surface is so smooth and hard it may not even need sizing.
All in all, two thumbs way up. This is some good sh*t! I call dibs on the first 25 full sized sheets of each! A caveat, these two prints are the only things I've done with this paper so far. With a little luck, I hope to use it in a workshop in 2 weeks.