Couple of clarifying carbon printing questions

[Hexavalent]

I'm wondering a few things about Yupo "paper". To use it as a final support, does it need to be sized at all, or is it good to go out-of-the-box?

Yupo is plastic, in my experience, gelatin doesn't adhere particularly well, which is great for tissue, not so great as a final support.

I have been using Canson Bristol, sized with GAC 100 (Golden Acrylic) as a final support with success. I believe the GAC is considered an 'archival' product. Several coats, applied with a foam roller renders the relatively inexpensive Canson Bristol quite durable, and depending upon dilution, the surface texture can be controlled.

[holmburgers]

Thanks much Ian.

That's good to know about Bristol paper, I hadn't considered such a light-weight paper. I think I'm going to stick with gelatin for now so that I can gain experience that might someday apply to dye-imbibition coatings. However, the GAC seems like a beautifully simple solution.

As for the Yupo, perhaps I'll buy a book of it and see how long I can keep reusing them for tissues.

[DarkroomDan]

As for the Yupo, perhaps I'll buy a book of it and see how long I can keep reusing them for tissues.

I have been using Yupo for tissue support for three years and have yet to need to discard a sheet. I have also used it a few times as a final support. There is no need to size Yupo when used as a final support; the tissue adhears very well. For me, the drawback to using it as a final support is that it is plastic and looks like it. With all the work it takes to make a good carbon print I really prefer a support with a more natural "hand" and appearance. Fixed out RC papers work well too but again I don't like the look or feel.

Dan

[Andrew O'Neill]

Hi Mark,

Also check out Sandy King's carbon yahoo group: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/CarbronTransfer/

andrew

[mark]

I checked out Sandy's group and have no desire to go back. I hate the Yahoo environment, and have no desire to talk digital negs which, when I was looking at it, over a two week period, was what took up 90% of the conversation. Great for some but not for me. I'm just not into computers that much.

[Jim Fitzgerald]

I checked out Sandy's group and have no desire to go back. I hate the Yahoo environment, and have no desire to talk digital negs which, when I was looking at it, over a two week period, was what took up 90% of the conversation. Great for some but not for me. I'm just not into computers that much.

Mark, nice to hear that you wish to keep a traditional work flow. I am of the same opinion and feel that for me and the way I work my in camera large and Ultra large format negatives gives me all that I am after.

My opinion about getting into carbon is very straight forward. make your own tissue and learn the controls that one has right out of the gate. You will be glad you did. If you can take but one workshop then do so. I teach, as does Vaughn who was my teacher, Sandy and some others. I have always felt that you need one workshop to see the process and the steps. Then you need to print and print a lot. Develop a work flow and if you keep good notes you will be making great prints in no time. Start with fixed out fiber or Rc to start. There are so many surfaces to try that affect the final look of the image and it is good to see this.Simple and easy to do. No sizing etc. which can be an additional learning curve. Find a teacher who works with in camera negatives and learn from them and then, like I say, it is all about printing. Oh, if you get into it big time get an account at bulk foods .com so you can buy gelatin.
Good luck and let me know if I can help.

[mark]

Thank you. Living in the sticks precludes a workshop. Would be nice but not really going to happen. Things are on hold right now due to family and work issues but maybe those will clear up here soon. Seems like my whole life is on hold these days. When I dive in I will definitely be picking people's brains. It looks like a very fun process.

[holmburgers]

Yesterday I went to a really great art supply store in K.C. (Utrecht) and it was like being a kid in a candy store. They have big drawers of papers and I could buy one 22x30" sheet of Arches, or Artistico, Rives, or whatever. As it ended up, I bought 5 big sheets of Arches Aquarelle 140lb.

I also got a booklet of Yupo and poured 4 tissues last night. Along with what Dan said, it seems like the perfect solution for tissue supports. Although it's pricey, they're reusable, and incredibly easy to work with. Not to mention, I made a few mistakes and all I had to do was scrape off the gelatin with a credit card, put it back in the warming jar, and try again. Perfect for a beginner such as myself.

Also interesting about Yupo as a final support. I suspected it would work without any preparation because somewhere in the one of the books, it mentions that the real reason a carbon transfer works is in the joining of two highly polished surfaces; that natural "stickiness" that occurs between them is what keeps it together, not necessarily any "joining" at a molecular level.

Next step, preparing final supports with the Arches..