Digital BW, The Print

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "HarryB" <hrblaine@...> wrote:
>
> Do any of you use spray (cans) and if so, what?  Thanks!  Harry
>

Harry, I use Hahnemuhle's spray mostly or Fotospeed's 'Frogjuice' if I want a more glossy finish. I use this with 3mk in an R1800 mostly on Hahnemuhle Fine Art Pearl (a photo black paper). This combination to my eyes makes lovely prints as long as I leave plently of border around the print which eliminates most of the R1800's bad behaviour traits. Hahnemuhle PR is a relatively warm tone paper and as far as I know contains no OBA'a and is pure cotton. Hahnemuhle states that its spray does not negatively impact its papers in any way so I am quite comfortable about this workflow from a longevity standpoint.

The big cotcha in the spray route is of course toxicity. I do not know how big the issue really is but if these sprays contain anything like the substances in automotive paints then I know that any automotive spray shop using modern paints with any regard for the health and safety of their workforce will not do so without external air supply breathing systems. Such systems as far as I know are not available at a hobbyist's price point. For now I spray outdoors on calm days.

So the gelatin route is of interest to me to see if I can eliminate sprays. I like matt papers for stuff that gets framed but much of it doesn't and for this I prefer 'satin' or gloss finishes. 

So I am experimenting with gelatin but find there are big issues in its use:
-Buckling and hardening of the paper
-Coating methods which eliminate bubbles etc.
-Mold protection
-Hardening of the gelatin coat

There are probably more but these are the ones I have come up with thus far. Some of the additives required to address the latter two seem to be quite toxic substances so we are bsck to square one with regards to the original problem of coating toxicity that gelatin is supposed to address!

Regards

Alistair