Sizing for Gum Over P

Just starting with GoverP and have read clay's excellent article over on unblinking eye and have a few nice GoverP prints now....Thanks clay!!

Question now, from what I have read a print is sized after the initial Plt/Pld print is made (of course!!), but each reference I have seen mentions that the print is sized while still damp, I would like to print up several Plt/Pld prints and then size all at one time...which means the prints will not be damp.

What do you guys do? Re-wet the print with a quick wash? Or is it OK to coat when completely dry?

Thanks in advance for any information...

I usually end up doing what you are suggesting and size a whole bunch of prints after they are dried. But you can size them when they are damp also. I have found either method satisfactory.

photomc said:

Just starting with GoverP and have read clay's excellent article over on unblinking eye and have a few nice GoverP prints now....Thanks clay!!

Question now, from what I have read a print is sized after the initial Plt/Pld print is made (of course!!), but each reference I have seen mentions that the print is sized while still damp, I would like to print up several Plt/Pld prints and then size all at one time...which means the prints will not be damp.

What do you guys do? Re-wet the print with a quick wash? Or is it OK to coat when completely dry?

Thanks in advance for any information...

Click to expand...

Thank You Clay, was hoping you might find this

Good to know either way works, only concern was that the paper needed to be damp rather than dry (for some reason I thought this might affect the registration somehow - but I could not see how).

Mike,

One potential benefit of a bone-dry sheet for sizing is that the gelatin may soak more deeply into the paper, which could result in a better size that lasts longer through more soaking.

In practice, good sizing damp or dry works well, and I haven't noticed any real differences between the two approaches.

I think another question is whether you size both sides of the paper or not. That can affect the curl of the paper, and my also affect how deeply the gelatin gets into the fibers. The paper can be sized one or both sides, and functionally, there isn't a large difference in my experience, but with some papers it may be beneficial to help reduce curl.


---Michael

Michael,

Thanks for the additional information. I had read somewhere that some like to 'float' the entire sheet when sizing. At this point, I guess not knowing any better, I just mask off the image area and size that part of one side. So far curl has not been to bad, but I did notice today that the 8x10's did curl more than the 5x7's I have done in the past (plus had a couple of them in today's batch as well).

It was warm enough today, that with a samll fan running in the darkroom (air filter actually) and the paper was pretty dry...plus had 3 prints from last evenings session. My hat is off to you guys working with larger formats, I processed 8 prints today, sized, and 1st gum layer...6 8x10's and 2 5x7's. took the better part of the day.

Mike,

You don't need to mask off the area, just brush it on the entire front, and be careful to avoid leaving excess on the surface or you may get dripping.

I put hanger clips on the corners and lay it on a piece of glass at about 45 degrees and brush on the gelatin. Then I make sure there isn't too much on it; spread it out evenly, and then hang the print to dry. The whole process takes about 30 seconds per 7x17 print. When the print starts out dry, it soaks up the gelatin and will become fairly dry again in about 5 minutes.

Once finger-touch dry, I put them on screens to dry and crosslink, generally overnight, but I'm sure they could be coated and printed within a few hours.


Enjoy,


---Michael