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musashi · Posted: Wed Jul 28, 2004 10:32 pm Post subject:

Hi Everyone!!!
I'm sorry to ask "Beginers things" but...

I'm not exactly familiar to the terms "Gelatin Silver Print" "Palladium & Platinum prints" Could anyone tell me what is this all about??? I'm dying to try these tecniques!!!
Is it easy???

Thanks a lot!

Nick · Joined: 16 Oct 2002 Posts: 494

Silver is a normal B&W print. You can go to the store and buy B&W paper and it'll be silver. The other two I think you'll have to make your own paper. Do a google search on alt photography. Maybe alt printing. You should be able to find various websites discussing the topics.

Les · Joined: 09 May 2001 Posts: 2682 Location: Detroit, MI

Gelatin Silver Prints are the bread.....were the bread and butter of photography. They use a Silver salt chemical to work.

Any of the traditional papers, be they resin coated (RC), or fiber based from any of the major manufacturers, (Kodak,etc) will be "Gelatin Silver" paper

Platinum printing at it's base uses Platinum instead of Silver. But that's where the similarity ends. The tonal range of a platinum print is much greater than silver, but the image looks embeded in the paper rather than sitting on it.

Most of the Platinum printers I know have to make, or coat their own paper, so it's an involved process. Also platinum is less sensitive to light, so you'll have to make contact prints. If you want a bigger print than the negative you shot, you'll have extra steps making enlarged negatives to contact print with.

Platinum as a metal is many times more expensive than Silver. Therefore, you'd better be ready for the hit to your wallet when you say "I want to platinum print"

Palladium printing falls somewhere in between. It's cheaper than Platinum, but has the same mess, painful learning curve and glorious results as platinum.

For more info I suggest you look into Bostick and Sullivan's forum

http://www.bostick-sullivan.com/

musashi · Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2004 8:20 pm Post subject:

Thanks a lot Les. I think Platinum prints are out of my range... At least,for now!!

I just have one more question regarding the "Silver Gelatin Print" If you say that any conventional paper it's Silver Gelatin Based. So what is the point in specifing (Like in the galleries) for Example: 11 x 18" Silver gelatin Print, if it is just a "normal" Paper print???
Thanks again!!

RichS · Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2004 8:30 pm Post subject:

As far as I know, they have to nowadays because some photographers are printing digitally. Silver prints will last just about forever. Digital runs from 5 to 10 years and can be easily duplicated. So there's a cost and collectibility difference between the two types...

Nick · Joined: 16 Oct 2002 Posts: 494

Marketing. Silver gelatin sounds more up market then "Just like Uncle Bob's 1950 B&W snapshots".

musashi · Posted: Mon Aug 02, 2004 9:37 pm Post subject:

Jajaja!!!!
Thanks for your Time!!!

Les · Joined: 09 May 2001 Posts: 2682 Location: Detroit, MI

Well Curators love to catagorize. A Daguerrotype, Ambrotype, Ferrotype, Collodion, Albumen (from where we get album)

Were all considered "normal" prints in their day.

Add to that the number of alternative processes of Xerography, Palladium, Platinum, Gum, and now the buzz word for the 21st Century... Glicee (sounds more dignified than "ink jet" ) and you can see "normal print" does tell us enough information.

_________________
"In order to invent, you need a good imagination and a lot of junk" Thomas Edison

[ This Message was edited by: Les on 2004-08-04 13:12 ]

danimal · Posted: Wed Nov 03, 2004 7:41 pm Post subject:

Hi Musashi,

as mentioned before, silver is the light sensitive material in film and printing paper. But other metals, such as platinum, also form light sensitive salts. Platinum prints were fairly common a long time ago. There's a platinum print of my great-grandmother on my mother's wall that was probably made around the 1st World War.

Platinum is supposed to have very nice printing characteristics, although I've never tried it. A company called Freestyle in Los Angeles sells a platinum kit for beginners if you'd like to see what it's like.

Dan