Acidification of Fabriano Artistico for Pt/Pd

[scootermm]

I have only brush coated once. I used a 10% solution of oxalic acid. When it dried, it left visible crystals on the paper. Not sure how to get around this, but maybe using less would have helped.

or just soak it in a bath of ox acid instead of brushing. ... or even in addition to brushing.

[PVia]

I use a low ox acid dilution bath because that's what Stan Klimek and Dick Arentz use...simple as that.

If it works for the best...well...?

[photomc]

I use the soak as well, but a couple of tablespoons in a 2 liters of water - one sheet at a time (which is slow, but I can watch the paper to see when the bubbles stop). Takes longer, but it's my time - usually takes a couple of min and I am usually hanging the paper up, getting the next sheet ready - plus running a couple of trays with OA.

Find what works best for you, everyone has there special way of processing - eye of newt, mis-matched socks, some funky hat while listening to Pink Floyd backwards

[Kerik]

I use a low ox acid dilution bath because that's what Stan Klimek and Dick Arentz use...simple as that.

If it works for the best...well...?

You mean that's what they did when the latest edition of Dick's book was written? You may find that won't work so well on some batches of this paper. Always be ready and willing to modify your methods as papers are constantly changing. Stuart Melvin, Stan Klimek and I began using Fabriano Uno (the predecessor to AEW) for gum over platinum in 2000 or 2001. That's when we first started experimenting with ways to make Uno work better for pt/pd because it was such a great paper for gumover, but not so good for pt/pd by itself. We found oxalic acid to be the best trick. I'm pretty sure Dick didn't use this paper until after he saw some of our prints at APIS in 2003 or so...

[Don12x20]

I use a low ox acid dilution bath because that's what Stan Klimek and Dick Arentz use...simple as that.

If it works for the best...well...?

Well, not simple as that....

Actually Dick recommends just brush or rod coating the oxallic acid. I've seen him do it a couple of times, as late as August 2007. He never mentioned soaking the paper in a bath in his masters workshop.

And he recommends a simple pH pen, like the one he acquires from Light Impressions for testing papers (so it on the backside, unless you know for certain that something was put only on the frontside. (the surface texture is merely the surface hot-pressed or cold-pressed against. Sometimes a sizing is put on the front that you'd want to test).

[JBrunner]

I just soak in diet sprite. (sprite zero)

[Andrew O'Neill]

My test in a 1% bath of oxalic acid with a very long soak (about 2 hours) appears to have been successful. It's still in the wash though, and I won't know for certain until it has dried. It looks as though 1% will be fine for me, as it still delivers a nicer black.

[Andrew O'Neill]

I should add that the paper I use is Rising Stonehenge...

[PVia]

Andrew...2 hours is a really long time. I'd be afraid that the internal sizing could break down...

Kerik...Stan wrote an addendum/appendix in Dick's book, and that chapter has been the most helpful part of the book, for me that is. And as you so correctly point out, papers change all the time and the next batch may not react the same as the last. I know several printers who regularly use 8% or higher solution of OA to tame their papers.

But, that being said, people who are just starting out need at least someplace to start, points of data that can help lead them to a method that will work for them repeatedly.

So...are you still using Fab Uno/Traditional for pt/pd or have you been using EW? Curious minds want to know ;-)

[Kerik]

Yes, I know that Stan wrote that section of Dick's book. Fabriano Uno was discontinued and replaced with Artistico Extra White a few years ago and I have used it for gumovers ever since. It's one instance where a new version of a paper is actually better than the paper it replaced! Even with acid treatment, Uno never gave me a straight pt/pd print that I was as happy with as papers like Platine and COT320. It was excellent for gumovers, though. I also use Rives BFK and Whatman's printmaking for gumovers, but I use them much less frequently than AEW because I usually prefer the smoother surface of AEW.