Recently I started a collaboration with Ilford to work with their Platinum / Palladium chemistry in combination with their Tesuki Washi Ichibei paper. I already used Van Dyke with this paper, much to my liking, and this is next level! It’s great to finally step into the world of Pt/Pd printing. I made a short vid on how I went about it with some background info.
The biggest issue coating this thin washi paper is getting the emulsion evenly spread onto the paper without overusing chemistry as it’s so expensive. Pre-dampening the paper has so far proven to be the best solution. I heat distilled water and catch the vapor with a sheet of paper. Don’t let it get too wet.
A second help is to first coat a plate of glass with the emulsion and then flip the paper onto it so it can evenly suck up all the chemistry. In this video I press the paper a little with my hand (wear gloves); of course it’s better to do this with a rubber lino roller. The pre-dampening served to be enough in the end, so I could also spread the emulsion properly using the hake brush, which results in nicer streaks onto the paper.
Background info: Paper: Ilford Platinachrome Tesuki Washi Ichibei
Negative: printed on Ilford DigitalFilm 140 using an Epson SC-P9500
Original image: Leica Monochrom M246 + Summicron 35mm
Location: Verdun, France
Photography Contrastique - Alternative Photographic Processes 