i don't know if this question belongs in the ethics/philosophy forum or here, but i'll plunge ahead anyway -- i have seen many prints in galleries described as 'platinum' for the medium, when it seems apparent they were printed with a combination of pt and pd .... on the other hand, i've also seen plenty of prints described on gallery walls as 'platinum/palladium' ...... the question: is there any standard or conformity to the practice of describing a print made with varying proportions of pt + pd as a 'platinum print' vs. a 'platinum/palladium print'? or is it all just marketing?
this question has been knocking around in my head for a while now, so i thought i'd toss it out to see what more experienced printers think/do
It's just trying to be accurate, you can have a Platinum print, a Palladium print or a combination. It's similar to Silver Gelatin, Silver/Selenium etc etc.
There's no standard labelling sstem and comes from Museum/Gallery curators who want to know the provenance and details.
Strictly speaking a platinum is made using just platinum, a palladium print is made with just palladium, and a platinum/palladium print is made with a mixture of the two. There are very few pure platinum prints made nowadays so my assumption when someone describes a print as "platinum" is that it's actually pt/pd. Many people, for whatever reason, shorten platinum/palladium to platinum. Personally, I find platinum/palladium is a bit of a cumbersome so I tend to shorten it to platinum except in a situation when it's important for someone to understand how a particular print is made (like when they're thinking of buying it or when I'm posting here). Others may have different opinions of course.
When I am speaking or demonstrating prints I use platinum print as a short way (but i had explained it at the beginning).
When I label my prints for a sale or an exhibition I don't want to cheat people and I call platinum print a 100% Pt print, palladium print a 100% palladium (most of mine) and platinum/palladium or palladium/platinum print using first the most present of the two and I also say the paper name.
Platinum only prints are pretty difficult as a printing medium, and the palladium helps with tone. Most prints described as "platinum" are platinum/palladium, even though they are described as "platinum prints". Most people that are into making or collecting them know this, and "platinum print" is used in general practice as a way describing them. You see pt/pd just as often. It doesn't carry a self absorbed affectation like calling an inkjet a "giclee", which is basically trying to dress something up with a fancy word.(of course that discussion is a merry-go round)
It boils down to how exact you want to be in your description. A pure platinum print doesn't generally carry a premium over a pt/pd print, or vice versa, and it doesn't seem to be a sticking point, nor a marketing affectation.
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--J Brunner, The Prints of Darkness
All along, I thought "Platinum" meant PLATINUM;
"Palladium" meant PALLADIUM;
and "Silver" meant SILVER.
"Platinum/Palladium" meant PLATINUM+PALLADIUM.
Calling a Pt/Pd print 'platinum' is as much a lie and affectation as
suggesting there is magic in Azo, that big cameras are better than small ones.
It is a way of trying to sell a poor picture that can't stand on its own merit.
Ummmm...Big cameras are better than little ones. Kind of like an amplifier going to 11. It's just better.
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Technological society has succeeded in multiplying the opportunities for pleasure, but it has great difficulty in generating joy. Pope Paul VI
So, I think the "greats" were true to their visions, once their visions no longer sucked. Ralph Barker 12/2004
Calling a Pt/Pd print 'platinum' is as much a lie and affectation as
suggesting there is magic in Azo, that big cameras are better than small ones.
It is a way of trying to sell a poor picture that can't stand on its own merit.
If abbreviating "platinum/palladium" to "platinum" is intended to deceive then yes it's a lie.
But the vast majority of people I talk to about platinum prints don't know what palladium is and couldn't care less. The technical specifics are irrelevant for them - they want to know about the pictures, why I make them, and how the pictures make them feel. Abbreviating to just "platinum" actually helps them because it makes the geeky/techy side just a little bit more human.
If I'm talking to someone who does care about the technical specifics then of course I explain the role palladium plays, the ratios I use, the paper, etc.
Using long, complicated, jargon-like words when they're not necessary just switches people off. It's a matter of understanding what your audience wants and talking at the level of detail that's right for them. That's not lying, that's just good communication.
As Ian said, most people have no clue the difference between platinum, platinum/palladium and palladium. They recognize the word "platinum", so that's the generic label I use when talking to someone uninformed. If they seem to have any interest at all, I go on to explain the distinction, and which method/mixture I have used for a particular image. There is no intent to deceive, just a simplification. To me, it's kind of like using the brand name for a car - my Honda Civic that uses a gas engine is the same brand and body style as the Civic Hybrid that runs a gas/electric motor. Most people are more concerned that it's a car and it gets them from point a to point b, and won't make a distinction as a passenger which motor is powering it.
A platinum print by any other name . . . 
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