Category: The Biz

CARP Fishing

Posted on Posted in A Symbol Life, bead game, Carp Fishing, olden modern, The Biz

Writing about drying prints reminded me about Pakosol and drum drying of prints, even dye transfer prints.

Even though Kodak Dye Transfer paper was much thicker than most darkroom paper, it would still curl. This curl meant that retouching was harder, since retouching was the most common purpose behind making a dye transfer, we were making the process longer, and more expensive using any but the most efficient drying method.

I have, over many years, grown to test someone’s knowledge, trying to compare what they know by practice to what they know through overhearing; their gossip BS quotient. I did this because I hired people for labwork; since I didn’t have the patience to give them trial time, I talked, a bit, like an idiot, or I questioned them like their life depended upon correct, quick answers. In a way, it did.

A comment made to a Dye Transfer Group was that we used Pakosol when glossing our dyes. Not exactly true, although it went unchallenged. People too polite, or just didn’t have enough experience, which they realized. Only one of the 100+ talkers had lab experience; he was at BK+L. He may have known the use was to wipe the borders, not immerse the print for glossing, since those of us making dyes commercially were sending them to retouchers.

Wiping to White — clearing the borders was common practice; it carried over to “flashing white” to type Rs & Cibas. Art Directors expected R(review) prints to have borders they could write/markup.

Dye transfer died because of bullshit trumping behavior. As in most idler things, most people just doodle away, preferring to talk about it; so too in the camera counter world. People learn by shopping means they learn little of use beyond the sales chatter. The gossip review. The Efke Orthomatrix sold less than a third of what was made. No one bought more than 10 boxes! US importers basically stiffed the exporter.

Amateurs want a claim to meaning. This explains, rather, it justifies the costs of an in-effective hobby.

Back to print flattening: the solution is hygroscopic — something like dilute glycerin. Pakosol had glycol in it.

kodak’s 50s advice about drying paper flat.

dampen backs and re-dry between blotters under pressure.

Print flattening solution works well by slowing drying in winter atmospheres

[ from yesterday: https://webionaire.com/2023/04/02/drying-fiber-prints/ ]

Kodak Dye Transfer Paper

Posted on Posted in dye transfer, econocaste, minimum daily requirement, The Biz, the Lab

a old stock roll of dye transfer paper was sold on eBay. congrats to both the buyer and seller.

a good price for the seller. good for the buyer too, if…

If the buyer knows how to use this; if they have conditioner and Kodak dyes, they are set to go. If they don’t have those things, they can mix both, if they know how.

I’m going to assume they do know how — I don’t know who bought it, nor do I know the seller. I’ve checked with the bakers and picklers in both printing groups — no one raises a hand. Those at OIC said they’d made an offer which was rejected. So it goes.

This paper is the mordanted type — two mordants. They are designed to control the Kodak Dyes, although the DuPont alternate set works just fine’ish. Meaning, the Greens will be too yellow. I guess that’s better than being orange’ish — making prints seem as though they were from ‘mixed’ window-light.

Oh, lets hope that whoever had this for so long stored it not on the flat. Oh, that curve you see, that is so the paper can feed into the very olden days Omega dispenser that Treck sold.