Salt Printing/Gum Bichromate Kits

[tflynnphoto]

Hiya,

Just wondering if any of you lovely people may be able to advise on something. I'm a Photography Technician at a school and where I've dabbled in the past, I'm not well versed with alternative processes. I found these two brand new kits today (see below) and having googled the processes I'd love to give them a go. My problem is that they're both very much expired. The Salt Printing kit has a date of 2021, and the Gum Bichromate a date of 2018. I was wondering if it's worth the effort to even attempt using them because of this, or if they should sadly be disposed of without even opening. Thanks in Advance!

 

[Rick A]

It's not like you have anything to lose (except your time) by trying them. Of the two, salt printing is easier. Basic salt printing is (1) coat a sheet of watercolor paper with a 2% solution of salt, let it dry. Then (2) coat the salted paper with a 12% solution of Silver Nitrate and let it dry. 3- contact print a negative under UV light source then wash in water followed by fixing. These kits usually make the processes more complex than necessary.

 

[koraks]

I was wondering if it's worth the effort to even attempt using them because of this

Both will likely work OK. The only thing that may have expired is the gum solution; you'll notice soon enough if it has grown mold etc. Probably it contains a fungicide that has prevented it from deteriorating.

I'm a Photography Technician at a school

Just to be sure, I would NOT recommend using the gum kit in an educational setting. The risk in such a setting is really not worth it. The sensitizer is dichromate which is a serious health & safety concern. You can work with it safely in a controlled setting, but having a bunch of teenagers play with it is a different matter. I'd not go there if only because of the legal liability issues. Parents will skin you alive.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

I would try them out yourself.
I also did gum printing with my high school students (and cyanotypes), but all from scratch (I mixed up everything myself). I took extra precautions with the students. They wore gloves at all times. Hey, they work with "dangerous" chemicals up in their chem classes so... Also, all water development baths were poured into a large pails, then neutralised with Ascorbic Acid. I taught them this important step, but I did the actual work.
If you really want to explore Alt. printing, bring in the ingredients yourself, and make Cyanotypes. Pretty safe, and a blast!
Cheers!

andy