November 2022 – Koraks tinkers

To stain, or not to stain – Acid and pyro developers

There is a very controversial topic on the Internet. It’s in fact so controversial that I almost don’t dare post about it. It’s that thing about pyro developers and the dye image (‘stain’) they produce. This is seen as a desirable trait, as it apparently helps to mask film grain, and it adds substantial UV density, which is great for processes like carbon printing. Now, the question is – is it OK to use an acid stop and fixer with a staining pyro developer, or will this obliterate this precious dye image? Come in and find out!

Black is the new black – Pigments for B&W carbon transfer

No, I haven’t given up color carbon just yet, but neither will I leave B&W alone. One issue I’ve been having is that of hue. After all, there’s black, and there’s black: black pigments tend to come in all sorts of hues, so there’s lots to choose from. But a satisfactorily neutral black has evaded me for quite some time – until now!

(T)issues – A note on pigment dispersion and chroma

I’ve been working with powdered pigments for a (brief) while now and as a result, I’m starting to come to grips with the pros and cons of this approach. Overall, it’s lots of fun – in fact, this is so far my favorite part of the color carbon project. But there are challenges also to this part. For instance, I recently ran into an issue of tissues that didn’t look quite as nice and shiny as they should. And that actually has implications that go far below the surface!

How to ab-stain? Dichromate stain issues in carbon printing

No, I haven’t given up on the color carbon project. Yet! But there are challenges, and they can be, well, challenging. For one, I’m running into trouble with hue and chroma of the color layers and I’ve been having a hard time figuring out what happens. One probable cause is actually dichromate staining. Let me exstain. Err, explain.