Please post screenshots of all your settings and printing process.
Thank you,
W
This image was flipped horizontally in PS, but not inverted. Grey Gamma 2.2 was the embedded profile in PS.
Opened in Print Tool with settings as shown in the attached screen shots.
Worked fine the first time. Image was not Inverted the second time. Same Settings as screenshot.
Robert
I’m not sure how to help you as all your settings are fine. I suggest re-installing QuadtoneRIP to fix and backend permission issues that might be causing the curve to not print correctly and run another test print.
all the best,
Walker
In PS: this image was flipped horizontally, but not inverted. Embedded Color Profile was Grey Gamma 2.2
In PT: settings as shown in attached screenshots. First DN printed properly, second one with these settings did not become Inverted.
Further: I re-processed printed the first DN (the one that came out OK) with the same time I had in prior successes (5 minutes)… still zero image appeared using 100% Pd.
Robert - Just to be clear, are you saying that what is coming out of the printer is a positive, just like the preview?
That you are getting no image when printing in Pt/Pd suggests a problem with chemistry. If it’s really no image at all I suspect the sensitizer. Is there any change during exposure or development?
Yes
That’s wacky. Have you reinstalled QTR?
That you are getting no image when printing in Pt/Pd suggests a problem with chemistry. If it’s really no image at all I suspect the sensitizer. Is there any change during exposure and development?
To the first question: No I have not reinstalled QTR yet.
To the second: Zero change during exposure in my light box, and zero image during development. Just out of curiosity, I tried a test strip, same result - zero. Then, I Pd reprinted the DN that I created the first time (the one that came out good), only this time I added some Ferric Oxalate to the Pd, and exposed it 5 minutes as I was doing before. The image exposed, but was exceedingly dark. But at least there was an image!
Robet
I don’t see anything wrong in your setup screenshots, though you could save yourself having to select these settings each time you make a neg by saving them as a preset.
Maybe you left something out in your description above, but it reads to me like you were coating with Pd only. Is that true? Ferric oxalate and Pd (or a mix of Pd and Pt) should be used in equal amounts. Without ferric oxalate there will be no image formed.
Kieth, yes, that’s what I was saying in the very beginning, scratching my head why the Data Sheet says 100% Pd and says nothing about FO. I brought this up very early on but was referred to the Data Sheet. I’ve always used FO equal to my metals, so that’s why I was confused by the Data Sheet. Thats certainly solves that problem. Fortunately I was printing small and didn’t waste a bunch of Pd.
As for my DN not being inverted… I can reinstall the Print Tool. I’ll try that tomorrow if you think that’s the likely culprit; however, strange it started after a perfectly good DN. Worth a try I guess.
Robert
Sorry - I didn’t understand that you interpreted that quite so literally. It’s referring to the mix of metal salts, not to the whole mixture including the ferric oxalate. It’s a common shorthand among Pt/Pd printers. 100% Pd means, for example, 12 drops of ferric oxalate + 12 drops of Pd. There is no Pt, not no ferric oxalate. Also note that Pt in this context means only the standard potassium tetrachloroplatinate (K2PtCl4) solution, not to the so-called “Na2” platinum solution (Na2PtCl6) that is sometimes used as a restrainer to control fog or increase contrast. 50:50 means (using the same total volume) 12 drops of ferric oxalate + 6 drops of Pt + 6 drops of Pd. In other words, that percentage figure refers only to the ratio of metal salts, not including the sensitizer. Hope that makes sense.
Reinstalling Print Tool is probably not a bad idea, but what Walker and I have suggested is to reinstall the QuadToneRIP application itself since that is where something seems to have gotten corrupted. Then reinstall the 1430-PiezoDN printer from Applications>Piezography>Curves>1430-PiezoDN.
Dear Robert. Related to the issues that you have raised in this thread, I think it’s important that you read the full manual (PiezoDN Deluxe Edition) pdf that is installed with your system in >Applications>Piezography>Documentation. The last chapter talks about the PiezoDN system.
Also, please do actually do the suggestions that we say in this thread. Re-installing QuadtoneRIP really does fix permissions. If a curve has the wrong permissions, quadtonerip will print a positive so my suggestion wasn’t just optional. This system is not an A to Z guide on how to print Platinum/Palladium. All your normal darkroom techniques and knowledge come into play so keep your darkroom practice the same (normal chemical setup, normal exposure, etc). Nothing on the analogue end should change exactly aside from the fact that you no longer have to control contrast by changing darkroom variables: that is now digital.
best,
Walker
OK. We’re making progress! I uninstalled and reinstalled QTR+Print Tool and then set up a PT preset with the appropriate PiezoDN curve, to let PT flip the image horizontally, and the other settings as directed.
My new DN is now Inverted as it should be, and when I’m looking at the ink side of the Pictorico, the image is flipped. So, with ink-side facing and touching the coated paper (away from my light source) the image will be oriented correctly.
I’ll be out of town for a week, so when I return I’ll process print the DN. I know from reading your literature it says the DN should be use immediately, but as this is a test print, if it’s close that’ll be OK.
Thanks for all your help and patience…
Robert
Glad you got that sorted out.
About the time between making a negative and printing it, a minimum curing time of 24 hours is a good idea. The majority of density change (loss) occurs during that period of time as the volatile components of the ink evaporate. You can speed this up with heat drying, but that is not necessary unless you are in a hurry. I’ve done some long term tests of density change, and it does continue to decrease very slightly, but this has little effect on actual printing. I am currently printing negatives that I made in June before it got too hot here in NM and I set that work aside for a while. I made a few more about a month ago. They are all printing as expected. What I’m trying to say is don’t worry about it!
Thanks… NM? I live in Santa Fe…
I’m in Taos 