Tape for masking edges that won't tear HPR

I'm using Hahnemuehle Platinum Rag for Kallitypes and the occasional salt print. I don't usually like the "messy brush strokes" look for my prints, so I have been taping the paper down to create a 1/8" or 1/4" border (depending on print size) before brushing on the sensitizer. This gives me a relatively clean edge, a nice white border, and makes the paper lay flat for applying the liquid and drying. It also tears the surface of the paper when I remove the tape, taking a thin layer with it. I've tried regular scotch tape and the least tacky tan masking tape I could find and had the same problem with both. I read somewhere that if you stick the masking tape on your jeans a couple of times before using it, it won't mar the surface of your paper anymore upon removal. It's true that it kind of helps, but it also puts a ton of fibers on the tape that wick sensitizer out beyond the border I'm trying to create, and make for a much less clean line.

Anyone have a tape they can recommend that won't damage the seemingly very delicate surface of the HPR?

Try one of the low tack tapes available in this category at Blick: https://www.dickblick.com/categories/drawing/drafting/tape/ The Scotch low tack artist tape says it even works on newsprint.

I used drafting tape some years ago for....drafting and it worked well.

The pink Tesa masking tape works pretty well if you pull slowly and at a steep angle. The paper needs to be fully dry though.

Good question.

I've been using masking tape after placing it on one of my wife's pile jackets about 3 or 4 times. Not a long term solution and sometimes pulls some fibres off the papers surface, but good enough for test & work prints.

This low tack Frog Tape (almost 2" wide) at the link above looks interesting, and might be in hardware stores: https://www.dickblick.com/items/shu...-painting-tape-188-x-60-yds-delicate-surface/

The more traditional way to accomplish this is to make a mask using rubylith (see: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=rubylith). Alas, no one seems to sell sheets anymore so you will have to buy a roll. The good news is you'll never run out if you buy a roll!!!

Other than that, I second the recommendation to try a drafting tape. I bought "ProTapes Pro Drafting Flatback Paper Industrial Grade Masking Tape" from Amazon the last time I ordered some. I don't use it as you suggest so I can't say if it will work for masking. Rather, I use it to hold thin sheets of paper (which often tend to curl) flat when I coat them with sensitizer.

fgorga said:

The more traditional way to accomplish this is to make a mask using rubylith (see: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=rubylith). Alas, no one seems to sell sheets anymore so you will have to buy a roll. The good news is you'll never run out if you buy a roll!!!

Other than that, I second the recommendation to try a drafting tape. I bought "ProTapes Pro Drafting Flatback Paper Industrial Grade Masking Tape" from Amazon the last time I ordered some. I don't use it as you suggest so I can't say if it will work for masking. Rather, I use it to hold thin sheets of paper (which often tend to curl) flat when I coat them with sensitizer.

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You can find it here - Rubylith by the foot. I bought some last weekend when I made a trip there to buy some COT 320 (got 10 22x30 sheets that should last me a good while) which they don't ship and is not available anywhere else anymore.



:Niranjan.

Also, try searching for tapes used by watercolour artists to mask off their paintings.

The rubylith masks make some sense and I even have some, but I've been avoiding that solution because it means one more thing to register properly when lining up the negative and the paper - plus I'm worried it will have a negative effect on my contact printing frame's ability to force really solid contact between the negative and the paper. I've already noticed on prints larger than about 5x7 that I sometimes get areas that are quite obviously not as sharp.

BHuij said:

The rubylith masks make some sense and I even have some, but I've been avoiding that solution because it means one more thing to register properly when lining up the negative and the paper - plus I'm worried it will have a negative effect on my contact printing frame's ability to force really solid contact between the negative and the paper. I've already noticed on prints larger than about 5x7 that I sometimes get areas that are quite obviously not as sharp.

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I just got some HPR for the first time - tested it recently. I noticed that it is much more delicate to the tape. Normally when I use the regular scotch tape for other papers like COT 320 (only to hold the paper while coating,) it comes off without ripping the paper. Not so for HPR. The tape takes a top layer of paper off even if it has been there only for a few minutes.

In any case, have you looked at what Bill Schwab does?


Go to around 25min or so to see what he does to prepare the negative and the paper. He uses both Rubylith for the negative and tape the paper. Probably redundant, but he is not taking any chances. He has links somewhere specifyiing what type of tape etc.

:Niranjan.

I have used this tape with and without success. Meaning it worked one time and not another, but it does work if you are careful with application and removal. https://www.scotchbrand.com/3M/en_U...d-Refill/?N=4335+3294529207+3294603515&rt=rud

I find i can get a pretty clean border if I’m careful with my brush strokes. I’ve attached some examples.

I use Scotch Low Tack Artist Tape. Never had any issues with it harming the paper.



Edit: Don't know why I can't include a link, but it's on Amazon.

Bought some 1 & 3/8 inch wide Scotch "Delicate Surface" purple masking tape and some 3/4 inch wide Scotch "Wall-Safe Tape" that looks like regular Magic Tape, but uses the same glue as Post-It Notes.

After a quick test, both pulled a small amount of fibres off the paper, but if the tape was applied to my pant leg first they worked perfectly.

Won't get into the darkroom for a couple days, but will report back here with results.

I should really just test an actual post-it note on the HPR and see if that removes anything. If that weak of an adhesive damages the surface, I guess I'll probably just live with it.

BHuij said:

I should really just test an actual post-it note on the HPR and see if that removes anything. If that weak of an adhesive damages the surface, I guess I'll probably just live with it.

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The packaging says it's the same glue, but it's "stickier" on the Wall-Safe tape than it is on a Post-It note.

In one watercolour video I watched, the person pulled s-l-o-w-l-y perpendicular to the line of tape (away from the centre of the paper) and on the same plane as the table top. This seemed to be an important trick to minimize the chance of tearing.

I use 300# Arches WC papers for acrylic painting, and the methods I like best for masking margins are;
1) Take good 3/4" to 1" yellow or blue masking tape, tear off a long enough for one side and, wearing a clean tee-shirt, place it once only to the shirt and then apply the tape to paper. The glue is partly removed from the clean tape, so it's generally easier to remove, without tearing, and if the tape to inside paper connection is lightly burnished along it's lenght, should prevent any bleeding from occuring.

2) I also use Yellow Frog Painters Tape, which is oversized width wise, with a light adhesive, which does no need the tee-shirt treatment, except to lightly burnishing down that inside tape to paper edge for blocking bleeds.

I've found most white "artist's tapes" art too sticky and you risk lifting some paper surface

Whatever roll tape you use keep it from newly opened packaging in a solo clean lidded plastic container, as any dirt or grim that the side picks up, can spoil the paper boundary.

Never use rolls of any tape that have dents in the edges, that's a fools errand and you'll likely no like the result.

Cheer

I tried tape and had the same problem as you. Now, I put the negative on a light table, lay the paper over it, and trace the outline of the negative with a ruler and pencil where I want the image to print. Then I take care to paint my sensitizer within the lines.

If I mess up and run outside the lines, or if I want a perfectly straight edge, I use something to mask the area to be exposed before putting it under the UV lamps. For a small spot, I use a dark slide from a 5x7 film holder. I also have enlarging easel cropping blades that I can use, if I want. I use a vacuum easel with a clear vinyl surface between the negative and the lamp -- I just lay the blades right on top of the vinyl. (It works for a glass surface too, but produces a fuzzier line.)

Using this approach, you end up with a border of unexposed sensitizer underneath the blades. But it will wash off in the clearing baths.

eli griggs said:

I use 300# Arches WC papers for acrylic painting, and the methods I like best for masking margins are;
1) Take good 3/4" to 1" yellow or blue masking tape, tear off a long enough for one side and, wearing a clean tee-shirt, place it once only to the shirt and then apply the tape to paper. The glue is partly removed from the clean tape, so it's generally easier to remove, without tearing, and if the tape to inside paper connection is lightly burnished along it's lenght, should prevent any bleeding from occuring...

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Short video showing technique here:

MurrayMinchin said:

Short video showing technique here:

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Cheers!t

It's good for folks to see these techniques in action.