given dye transfer paper

[steveophoto]

hello all,
I recently purchased a hand press from the estate of a gentleman who did photogravure and dye transfer. I was also given several rolls of a fine german paper made by Franz Hanzfstaengl, in 78x1000 cm rolls. Some of the paper looks like cold press 90 lb. watercolor paper, the rest looks like a satin b/w printing paper. I'm wondering if anyone knows of such a paper and the value of such. I don't have the heart to throw such beautiful paper away and would like to see it go to where it can do the most good.

Any information would be greatly appreciated.
thanks,
steve

[dyetransfer]

Do you think that the coated paper is a Dye Transfer paper? Usually, the rolls are 42" wide and in yellow Kodak boxes. If it is a matte surface, it would be an 'A' surface, textured semi-gloss would be a 'G' and gloss would be an F. There is some demand for the F surface paper. Cut sheets it are going for around $ 1.50 / square foot these days. You could send me a sheet if you want me to try to identify it as DT paper. One way is to measure it with a geiger counter, if it is about twice the background radiation, it is probably dye transfer paper. If you measure the roll, you should get a more elevated reading.

Perhaps some of the hand coaters here would be interested in the rag paper?

Regards - Jim Browning

Digital Mask
187 Stevens Rd.
Lebanon, NH 03766
603-448-6241

[steveophoto]

hello jim,
thanks for the response, this paper is in long rolls wrapped in paper and foil and definitely german. I'll send a bit, let me know what you think.
best,
steve

ps. I gave away my geiger counter... darn it.

[dyetransfer]

Originally Posted by steveophoto

hello jim,
thanks for the response, this paper is in long rolls wrapped in paper and foil and definitely german. I'll send a bit, let me know what you think.
best,
steve

ps. I gave away my geiger counter... darn it.

Thanks Steve, I would like to try some of it out. I have an inexpensive geiger counter here.

I haven't heard of a German paper, so it would be interesting. Not sure if they used Thorium, as there are non-radioactive mordants which work almost as well.

BTW, maybe this topic is better on the dyetransfer forum - I know you posted there, I should have replied there.

To try to bring this on-topic: I made a trough coater (www.dyetransfer.org ) which I used to coat Baryta and hot-press fiber papers to try different dye transfer paper looks. I tried Thorium Nitrate as the mordant, and both pre-hardening and post hardening. It was difficult with the pre-hardener (Formalin, with Resorcinol added) as you had to work fast before you ended up with an insoluble radioactive blob - uggh! By leaving out the hardener, I could just add the thorium nitrate as a mordant, and coat onto baryta base, and save any left over gelatin for later. Later, I would use a strong solution of formalin in a tray to harden the gelatin later. Worked very well.

One interesting thing that I tried was to make a dye transfer paper with a very light gelatin sizing. The resulting paper had a very low gloss look which was nice. I thoriated some gelatin and coated it onto Arches Hot Press paper - only a sizing really. Normally if you tried to transfer a dye image to this treatment, it would bleed into the paper fibers quite quickly making a mess. I decided to pre-treat the paper with a mixture of silicone microscope oil and mineral spirits. The silicone dissolved readily in the mineral spirits, soaked into the paper fibers, and dried well. I then coated the paper with the gelatin / thorium and let it dry. This worked very well, even though there was no baryta layer to seal the dyes out of the fibers, they didn't bleed at all because they were repelled by the silicone.

Regards - Jim Browning

Digital Mask
187 Stevens Rd.
Lebanon, NH 03766
603-448-6241

[z-man]

Originally Posted by dyetransfer

Thanks Steve, I would like to try some of it out. I have an inexpensive geiger counter here.

I haven't heard of a German paper, so it would be interesting. Not sure if they used Thorium, as there are non-radioactive mordants which work almost as well.

BTW, maybe this topic is better on the dyetransfer forum - I know you posted there, I should have replied there.

To try to bring this on-topic: I made a trough coater (www.dyetransfer.org ) which I used to coat Baryta and hot-press fiber papers to try different dye transfer paper looks. I tried Thorium Nitrate as the mordant, and both pre-hardening and post hardening. It was difficult with the pre-hardener (Formalin, with Resorcinol added) as you had to work fast before you ended up with an insoluble radioactive blob - uggh! By leaving out the hardener, I could just add the thorium nitrate as a mordant, and coat onto baryta base, and save any left over gelatin for later. Later, I would use a strong solution of formalin in a tray to harden the gelatin later. Worked very well.

One interesting thing that I tried was to make a dye transfer paper with a very light gelatin sizing. The resulting paper had a very low gloss look which was nice. I thoriated some gelatin and coated it onto Arches Hot Press paper - only a sizing really. Normally if you tried to transfer a dye image to this treatment, it would bleed into the paper fibers quite quickly making a mess. I decided to pre-treat the paper with a mixture of silicone microscope oil and mineral spirits. The silicone dissolved readily in the mineral spirits, soaked into the paper fibers, and dried well. I then coated the paper with the gelatin / thorium and let it dry. This worked very well, even though there was no baryta layer to seal the dyes out of the fibers, they didn't bleed at all because they were repelled by the silicone.

Regards - Jim Browning

Digital Mask
187 Stevens Rd.
Lebanon, NH 03766
603-448-6241

anybody ever try any of the many gelatine coated and gelatine sized art materials-watercolor papers, paper-resin 'boards'etc ?

vaya con dios