Revitalised POSTCARD EXCHANGE Group

[Nige]

I went back to work yesterday and had 9 cards waiting for me. Jim's postcard was in pristine shape for me.

 

[c6h6o3]

I went back to work yesterday and had 9 cards waiting for me. Jim's postcard was in pristine shape for me.

I'm relieved. I hope nobody else had any problems. If so, I have a few extras.

When do we start the next round?

 

[c6h6o3]

It arrived here today, in excellent shape. Nothing unstuck, stuck on, or scratched at all!!

Amazing that there were no abrasions. I didn't wax them, which I usually do for mounted prints.

 

[L Gebhardt]

All,

I am sorry for the delay in getting my postacrds out. I got them printed last weekend and I hope to get them in the mail this week. All of the ones I have recieved so far have been very nice - I hope mine can compare.

Larry

 

[kwmullet]

All,

I am sorry for the delay in getting my postacrds out. I got them printed last weekend and I hope to get them in the mail this week. All of the ones I have recieved so far have been very nice - I hope mine can compare.

Larry

I'll chime in with my apology as well. Somehow, I undercounted the number needed, so I decided to send out the non-US postcards first (on 31Dec) since they would take the longest to get to their destination, and print more postcards and do all the US postcards at one time. That is, in fact, what I'm doing now. (printing... not sending)

back to the soup!

-KwM-

 

[Nige]

When do we start the next round?

I'll email everyone and start a new thread in Feb to call for participants (we have some new interest already!). It seems a long time, but January is our recovery month and that will allow the postal systems of the world to catch up (and those that are still printing, etc to be ready for next round)

Cheers, Nige

 

[BarrieB]

Enveloped Postcard replacement

I'm relieved. I hope nobody else had any problems. If so, I have a few extras.

Greetings Jim, Yesterday, 5th of January I received your envelope with two perfect images ( Monastery I on the Strathmore Watercolor 140lb Cold Press,lovely tones, the very first Azo print I have seen & the notecard image with the small ribbon grass in foreground). You seem to have solved that "Dry-Mounting" problem.
As I do not contact on Azo I will have to try very hard to send you my very best Image Quality next round, Cheers Barrie B. Melbourne Australia.

 

[Aggie]

Jim, your Azo arrived very intact. It was so good, I put it in a small frame overmatted so I could keep the postard as is under it. Thanks for a wondeful image.

 

[John McCallum]

Anyone not rec'd a postcard from me?

It is a 4x5 contact print of a stream edge with native bush in the background. Titled 'Foam and Flora'.

Jeanette and Kevin C mentioned they hadn't received their postcards from me yet. Since they went out in early Dec. I suspect they may have gone astray.

Was just wondering if there was anyone else that had not received their one from me also?

I've received a handfull of postcards so far. Some really beautiful ones.
Jim's arrived just this morning; perfectly in tact and just lovely.

John.

 

[Jim Moore]

It is a 4x5 contact print of a stream edge with native bush in the background. Titled 'Foam and Flora'.

Jeanette and Kevin C mentioned they hadn't received their postcards from me yet. Since they went out in early Dec. I suspect they may have gone astray.

Was just wondering if there was anyone else that had not received their one from me also?

I've received a handfull of postcards so far. Some really beautiful ones.
Jim's arrived just this morning; perfectly in tact and just lovely.

John.

John,

I have received yours. It would not surprise me though if a few would happen to get lost.

That is something I worry about too.

If anyone has not received mine please let me know. They where all sent out in December.

Thanks,
Jim

 

[Kevin Caulfield]

Jim,

I got yours, thanks. I think some of the USA ones are still on their way to Australia. So far I've received nine.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[kwmullet]

Amazing that there were no abrasions. I didn't wax them, which I usually do for mounted prints.

Okay, c6h6o3...

I've been meaning to reply to this for four days and just got a round tuit.
I'm trying to get all the good info I can on print waxing to achieve a high gloss and depth to my prints. (there was a url link here which no longer exists)has been very enlightening, but I didn't see you in there anywhere. I'd really like to know what materials and method you use for waxing prints.

I guess, ideally, you should post your answer (there was a url link here which no longer exists), rather than this thread, so that years from now, future analoggers can see your reply from that thread.

Thanks in advance,

-KwM-
​

 

[BarrieB]

Greetings 'Hermit' J Truman,
Love your 'Elk Pond' Cyanotype 5 X 7 , very striking and well done.
And A Happy New Year to you also, Cheers Barrie B. Australia

 

[BarrieB]

well... My thoughts are that ANY kind of ink will gradually wick out into the paper over time, and anytime the postcard gets wet, pencil is probably going to survive the experience a lot better than ink. That belief is why my darkroom notes are all in pencil. ]
I agree, I always use a ' 2B ' lead pencil to mark the reverse of my test strips, & Photos; soft enough not to mark the front of even single weight papers.
Kevin, I received your 'Turbine No. 1 ' postcard today, bold image, the pencil notes on the recerse held up well through the mail, Happy New Year to you also.
Barrie B. Australia.

 

[kwmullet]

[...]
Kevin, I received your 'Turbine No. 1 ' postcard today, bold image, the pencil notes on the recerse held up well through the mail, Happy New Year to you also.
Barrie B. Australia.

Thanks very much, Barrie. Glad to know transit is still occuring. I finished printing the last of my domestic cards at 3am this morning and just came down stairs from hanging them on the line. I'll be clothes iron dry mounting them today, tonight and probably much of tomorrow.

Since it takes me so long to get these things out, I think I'll start working on a postcard run when the next one starts, but not commit to one until the next one, giving myself two cycles to do one run. That's the plan, at any rate.

Since I was in a big hurry to get the international cards at least out while it was still December, I was addressing them right up until the time I had to leave to make it to the post office before they closed. The traffic was with me, so I managed to add a title caption while in the parking lot, but not this:

"Image recorded on Ilford HP5+ with a Canon EOS-1N, 85mm EF 1.8,
approx 1/30@/1.8. Film developed by inspection in Pyrocat HD.
Printed with a Beseler 45MCRX onto Ilford Multigrade IV FB Glossy
using split filtration [0/5] and developed in Ilford Multigrade
developer 1:9. Dry mounted onto Green Field Paper Co. Premium Hemp
Paper (100% recycled, 70lb, 180GSM)"​

-KwM-

 

[Nige]

I agree, J 'Hermit' Truman's card was stunning!

 

[Kevin Caulfield]

I also received the turbine one yesterday - thanks, Kevin.
But I haven't seen the Truman one yet. Nor have I received one of the other ones from Melbourne - you sent all yours, Barrie?

 

[Bruce Osgood]

Elk Horn Pond

Arrived today in Brooklyn, NY. An outstanding presentation.
Thanks

 

[c6h6o3]

Okay, c6h6o3...

I've been meaning to reply to this for four days and just got a round tuit.
I'm trying to get all the good info I can on print waxing to achieve a high gloss and depth to my prints. (there was a url link here which no longer exists)has been very enlightening, but I didn't see you in there anywhere. I'd really like to know what materials and method you use for waxing prints.

I guess, ideally, you should post your answer (there was a url link here which no longer exists), rather than this thread, so that years from now, future analoggers can see your reply from that thread.

Thanks in advance,

-KwM-

​

At Michael Smith's suggestion, I tried waxing them with Pledge. I just sprayed some on a cloth or paper towel and rubbed it on. It looks wonderful at first, but after a few days it seems to develop a hazy film which will respond to repolishing, but that won't do you much good in a frame. Pledge also seems to lead to separation of the mounted image from the matte board and curling of the matte board. I don't know why this should be but It seems pretty consistent.

Then I tried Clay Harmon's method touted by Sandy King above of using Gamblin Cold Wax Medium. You apply it with a soft cloth, rub it in really well and wait 15 minutes or so. Then polish it with a soft bristle shoe brush. Do not use the flat, velvety type brushes. They abrate, where the bristles do not (surprisingly enough), at least with Azo. The sheen with Gamblin seems to have real staying power and doesn't lead to curling or separation. I'm sold.

I got mine at Pearl. http://store.yahoo.com/pearl/-204240.html

 

[kwmullet]

At Michael Smith's suggestion, I tried waxing them with Pledge.[...]Pledge also seems to lead to separation of the mounted image from the matte board and curling of the matte board.[...]

Then I tried Clay Harmon's method touted by Sandy King above of using Gamblin Cold Wax Medium. [...] The sheen with Gamblin seems to have real staying power and doesn't lead to curling or separation.[...]

Sounds like something I might like to try. Gamblin is mentioned in the print waxing thread I referenced, but no one said very much about the particular appearance it gives. Is it a high gloss or more of a pearl finish? When doing this on a mounted print, I guess you mask off the mat before you start, right?

Does this finish resist fingerprints or require re-buffing when touched? I'm wondering if this would be appropriate for my next cycle of postcards.

I'm also wondering how it would compare in effect to a beeswax+damar combination, another mix suggested in the aforementioned thread.

-KwM-
​

 

[BarrieB]

Yes Kevin, I sent ALL of mine in December 2004.

 

[photomc]

Yes Kevin, I sent ALL of mine in December 2004.

Can confirm that yours arrived in Dec. 04 here in Texas. Nice work BTW

 

[c6h6o3]

1) Is it a high gloss or more of a pearl finish? 2) When doing this on a mounted print, I guess you mask off the mat before you start, right?

3) Does this finish resist fingerprints or require re-buffing when touched? I'm wondering if this would be appropriate for my next cycle of postcards.

4) I'm also wondering how it would compare in effect to a beeswax+damar combination, another mix suggested in the aforementioned thread.

-KwM-

​

1) It's beeswax (mostly) so the finish resembles a leather jacket after being waxed.
2) No. Completely unnecessary.
3) Resists fingerprints to the extent that a polished pair of shoes resists them. I'm sure a little buffing would take them right out.
4) I would avoid damar at all costs. It yellows very quickly, and is extremely difficult to work with. Until it dries it's as sticky as flypaper, and attracts all manner of airborne debris.

Try the Gamblin. I'll spend more today on lunch at Wendy's than a 4 oz. jar will cost you. And that should be good for a couple hundred 8 x 10s or so.

 

[kwmullet]

[...]
4) I would avoid damar at all costs. It yellows very quickly, and is extremely difficult to work with. Until it dries it's as sticky as flypaper, and attracts all manner of airborne debris.

Try the Gamblin. I'll spend more today on lunch at Wendy's than a 4 oz. jar will cost you. And that should be good for a couple hundred 8 x 10s or so.

I think that makes up my mind. I'll try one or more coats of Gamblin first and see if I can get the effect I want. Only if I'm unsatisfied with that will I try other stuff. It sounds, though, like most waxing agents are a wax base (usually beeswax) cut with something to enhance shine, and that most of the things that produce a really high gloss also yellow over time.

If it was easy, everyone'd be doing it.

I've heard white beeswax also referred to as bleached beeswax. Any thoughts on the archival properties of bleached beeswax and whether residual bleach in the beeswax would be a bad thing?

-KwM-

 

[BWGirl]

We Care

Well, I received this postcard today, in the envelope next to it. Sorry it's such a crummy image, but...well really... you don't think I actually have a digital camera that's any good do you????
So, I really do not know who took this...it's a city scene, and I can see a clock tower in the background. It was mailed in the US.