Platinum/paladium, the authentic fine art print?

[gmahler5th]

As I discover more techniques for fine art printing, the platinum/paladium

printing process seems to have been around for quite a long time, and yet some

fine art photographers still print their fine art images using this technique.

 

So my question/concern is regarding perception of perceived value.

 

Typically, are platinum/paladium prints perceived as being more authentic or

more valuable than a.) silver prints and/or b.) digital prints?

 

Looking at the results I obtain using my Epson R2400 and fine art papers,

digital printing has come a long way in the last several years. On the other

hand, without regards to archival properties, I'm curious about the qualitative

(asthetic) distinctions one might make between a typical platinum/paladium

print, a silver print and a digital print.

 

Are platinum/paladium prints the true fine art print, and digital prints

perceived as derivative of the time honored practice of platinum/paladium and

silver printing?

 

Is there anyone in the Bay Area or Portland Oregon area who is currently

producing platinum/paladium prints who can demonstrate the printing process for

me, and give me a brief crash course in what it is you are doing, and why?

[doug_______]

The art of making platinum prints is very old, my grandfather used to make them and he was taught by his grandfather...in terms of archival value a platinum print will outlast religion, providing care is taken when one is displaying such a print.

 

Aesthetically speaking, a masterful platinum print has a massive dynamic range. the film that I recommend using for platinum prints is Illford Pan F50 - expose ISO 25 for maximum dynamic range. The tonalities that platinum produces are simply beautiful, deep rich blacks (far deeper than silver halide) and the highlights are crisp and everything in between has as sort of "glow" to it. However the process is a tedious one and did I say it is expensive? I personally use Pezio inks If I ever produce digital B&W these days, the tonal range can be equally as impressive as a platinum print.

 

I wouldn't say that platinum printing is any "truer" than the prints that you get from your 1hour minilab - though to master the art of platinum printing involves substantially more time than the technicians at the minilab would spend on printing.

[ann_clancy6]

there is an up and coming workshop in your area, i don't remember the details, but when i come across the annoucement i will post it here.

[anthony_r]

It's sure to be expensive, but you may be able to get an LVT black and white negative made

(8x10 would be best probably) of your digital file. then you could take that and make a

platinum print from it. If you've the inclination, patience and the money. I'm sure someone

would do it for you.

[gmahler5th]

Doug, wow! that was really helpful.

 

Is contact printing the norm when working with platinum/paladium?

[wogears]

Contact printing is required. Maybe there's a special enlarger somewhere with a UV source, but I doubt it.

[jordan_w.]

Platinum / palladium prints are gorgeous. They are expensive to make, though, and take time. They are less consistent than inkjet prints, of course, even with precautions. I do a related process (Van Dyke Brown) and it's a lot of fun.

 

You cannot enlarge negatives directly to Pt / Pd prints. They require contact printing with an ultraviolet light source. The source negative is usually either a large-format in-camera neg or an inkjet-printed negative on good-quailty overhead film. Hybridphoto.org is the site to consult for the latter process.

[doug_______]

Contact prints are common amongst Platinum printing however current wisdom says slight enlargements are sharper. however that also depends on your lenses and your film choice, you mileage may vary. If you are working digitally I really do not see a way around that. unless, you use kodak Endura clear transparency paper and print made on that and then contact print using the image on the clear transparency paper. That is all I can come up with on the top of my head. I have used this paper in my commercial work, it is completely translucent and the images are well rendered.

[joseph_wisniewski]

Doug - "The tonalities that platinum produces are simply beautiful, deep rich blacks (far deeper than silver halide)"

 

I agree with the beautiful tonality. Having your image on a matte art paper allows you to perceive differences between tones that you'd totally miss on the saran wrap shininess of silver paper.

 

But the blacks on platinum are nowhere near as deep as on silver. It's not hard to pass DMAX of 2.4 on silver, while even double coated platinum has trouble getting past 1.7. On the other hand, the platinum lets you see fractional point DMAX transitions in the shadow that you can't see in Jello gloppy silver even with the deeper blacks.

[don_e]

http://fhunter.com/process.htm

 

Good Luck