Coating and Developing Linen

[maxbloom]

I know that there have been a number of linen surfaces over the years, and some proper linen "papers" such as the Luminos linen, etc.

I'm interested in coating my own since it's no longer available, with an enlarging-speed chlorobromide emulsion. I was wondering what special considerations there are in coating cloth (single layer? brush or rod? etc). And also what considerations, if any, there are in development since the fabric has different water absorption than paper. Also, is linen tone-able?

Any help would be much appreciated.

[ben-s]

I tried coating a commercial liquid emulsion onto fabric a while ago. It worked reasonably well, and gave quite a nice effect.
I can't remember how I coated it, but it would have been either brush or blade.

Exposure and development wasn't much different to paper, but fixing took a long time in some of my tests.
Obviously, washing takes a long time as the fabric tends to retain the process chemistry.

I never tried toning it, but I see no reason why it shouldn't work, unless the toner stained the fabric itself - I would expect selenium to be OK, and possibly some sepia toners too.
Hope this helps.

[Photo Engineer]

Actually, with some materials I've found wash times to be shorter for some reason so I suggest tests for fixing and washing.

Also remember that the cloth becomes much limper than paper, so you should practice beforehand.

PE

[ben-s]

Originally Posted by Photo Engineer

Also remember that the cloth becomes much limper than paper, so you should practice beforehand.

I had forgotten about this. I remember I found it esaier to handle the wet print by hand rather than with tongs.