Vellum for alternative process

tnp651

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Has anyone tried printing on vellum? Do wet alt-process solutions work with vellum? The thickest vellum I’ve found is 24 lb (90 gsm) which is likely to wrinkle. I’d like to try orotones with kallitypes.
 

koraks

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What material are you referring to, exactly? I suspect you mean the tracing paper stuff? I think 'vellum' can technically also refer to parchment, which would be a different ballgame.
I think the main problem with the tracing paper is that it indeed tends to wrinkle and not withstand wet processing very well. I think that's why those Japanese kozo-like papers are so popular in the alt. process corner. Their long fibers give the material the ability to survive the process.
 

jeffreyg

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I have printed platinum/palladium on cotton vellum and have tried various ways to prevent wrinkles. None have been 100% so I decided that it just adds to the handmade look that each image is a “one of a kind “. I back them with gold leaf or silver leaf. With the right subject it’s a really nice presentation.
 

nmp

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tnp651 said:
Has anyone tried printing on vellum? Do wet alt-process solutions work with vellum? The thickest vellum I’ve found is 24 lb (90 gsm) which is likely to wrinkle. I’d like to try orotones with kallitypes.
Click to expand...

I suppose all vellum would wrinkle at the end of the process - you will have to press it to straighten it out. Dan Burkholder uses this 24 lb (another larger size is 30 lb) vellum that you can buy on his store recommended for gilded prints. I have seen his prints, gold leafed Pt-Pd and they were gorgeous!

:Niranjan
 

Patrick Robert James

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I've printed on Staedler Vellum before. It is 100% cotton. Bought it at Office Max or Staples if you can believe it. They probably don't have it anymore, but you can still probably find it. It has an all blue cover. There is also Clearprint but I haven't tried it. I think I read a while back that they don't make 100% cotton anymore so make sure you check that it is whichever one you buy.

You are right about waviness with vellum. I'll only use it for small prints. If you have a vacuum press then vellum would work well. Very difficult to get the negative to lay flat on it even with a good contact printer with strong springs. Ask me how I know.

Keep in mind too that the thinner the paper is the easier it is to flatten.

Good luck.
 

Ballinderry-Michael

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koraks said:
What material are you referring to, exactly? I suspect you mean the tracing paper stuff? I think 'vellum' can technically also refer to parchment, which would be a different ballgame.
Click to expand...
Sorry to come in late on this with a pedantic "correction". Vellum, as used before books were printed, was calf skin; and parchment was sheepskin. The modern materials are named for their surfaces' resemblance to those.
 
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