temporary support – Koraks tinkers

Ready, set, go – Stuff you need to get started with carbon transfer

This post is in answer to a question from Esmee (check out her work via https://www.eamy.nl/). Since others might somehow benefit from it as well, I might as well just put it up for everyone to see. So here’s a little shopping list of what’s needed to get started with carbon transfer using DAS sensitizer.

Aching, flaking – A persistent problem with carbon DAS highlights

The problem that just won’t go away: disappearing highlights on DAS carbon prints. Twice so far I’ve declared this problem solved on my blog, only to have to revoke my ‘eureka’ shortly afterwards. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been systematically testing the process to find a cure. So far, to very little avail, I’m afraid. But perhaps that this writeup will (1) help me re-think the problem and (2) it’ll give some hints to anyone else struggling with DAS carbon problems by listing factors that can/should be evaluated.

Subtleties – Subbing intermediate supports for DAS carbon transfer and a note on pigment prep

In my move to DAS instead of dichromate for sensitizing carbon tissues, I ran into a highlight retention problem. Thin gelatin layers (highlights and upper mid-tones) would slide off the temporary support material during warm water development. In testing, I identified exposure unit wavelength as a critical factor. However, the problem persisted especially in very high-contrast tissues. It seems I have now identified another part of the solution: a different way of subbing the intermediate support.

Puzzling paper problem – A carbon transfer print surface anomaly

There has been this tiny problem bugging me for a couple of months. It popped up when I moved to DAS sensitized tissue for my carbon transfer prints. Some sort of micro-scale unevenness in tone. It reminded me a little bit of some form of reticulation – but not quite. But I think I’ve cracked this nut now, and it’s actually much more obvious and benign than I had imagined it to be.

Tissue making – curl up and dye

Ok, sorry – inappropriate title again. Evidently, no dye is involved in carbon transfer tissue making. As far as I know, any attempt to add dye to tissue will cause staining of porous final supports, so it’s really pigments all the way. But the reference to the Blues Brothers movie was just too good to pass. Besides, the ‘curl up’ part is pretty accurate! Anyway, here’s part two of the blog I did earlier on making carbon transfer glop. With all the bubbles gone, it’s time to turn glop into tissue!