From: Don Bryant (dsbryant@mindspring.com)
Date: 03/19/03-01:41:39 PM Z
Shelly,
[snip]
I'm currently in a Photo 102 class, where we getting ready to do a Van
Dyke project.
Also, I'm interested in finding a visual resource
that will show me what it is exactly we are working towards.
[snip]
I highly reccomend the following web articles on VDB,
http://unblinkingeye.com/Articles/Vandyke/vandyke.html
This article is by Wynn White and he gives great advice. If you follow his technique closely you will have positive results. The primary exception I would make to his method is to use Sandy King's alkaline fixer formula which eliminates the need to print down to compensate for the bleach up that will occur in the fixer. But even if you don't use Sandy's fixer formula Wynn's method of printing will lead you to success. Just pay attention to what Wynn reccomends.
Ed Buffaloe has a follow up article which dovetails with Wynn's article.
http://unblinkingeye.com/AAPG/VDB/vdb.html
Additionally another article by Gary Nored addresses the production of digital negatives for use with VDB printing.
http://unblinkingeye.com/AAPG/DigiNegs/Overview.html
Other articles available on Ed's site, http://unblinkingeye.com,
cover the production of enlarged negatives using APH and APHS lith film (not ortho as you mention).
And Sandy King has devised an alternate VDB printing technique that utilizes a second VDB formula to adjust the contrast to allow some flexibility when printing VDBs. I've just gotten the Ferric Citrate and haven't had an opportunity to test it yet but I would be willing to bet that it works quite well.
Depending on how you want your final prints to look you may want to consider toning your prints in a gold toner or palladium toner. Selenium toner will work but it will bleach your prints very easily (so will palladium toning) even at 1:500 dilutions of the selenium mix.
Good Luck and be sure to ask more questions as you work through your VDB printing,
Don Bryant
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