PRINTING PROCESS—SALTING PAPER—SILVERING PAPER—PRINTING THE POSITIVE—FIXING AND COLORING BATH—MOUNTING THE POSITIVE.
The Printing Process.
MANIPULATIONS OF THE PRINTING PROCESS.
There is probably no department of the photographic art where can be found an equal amount of variety, as regards chemicals, manipulations, etc. The course adopted in the commencement, of giving only one process for the operator to work by—and that a good one—will be strictly adhered to in this place. I have produced as good positives on paper by the following plan, as I have ever seen. Should the reader wish more extensive acquaintance with the printing processes, he is referred to Humphrey's Journal.
Salting Paper.
| Water | 1 | quart. |
| Muriate of ammonia | 65 | grains. |
The water is put into a flat, gutta-percha, glass, or earthen dish, and the muriate of ammonia is put into it, and stirred until it is dissolved and is well mixed with the water; then proceed as follows: we will suppose we have a gutta-percha dish sufficiently large to take in a sheet of paper 8 by 10 inches, and about 1½ or 2 inches deep: take hold of two corners of the paper with the thumb and finger of each hand, and then draw the paper through the solution, by passing it from one end of the dish to the other, so that it will be wetted on both sides; then turning it over in the same manner, draw it back, so that its surface will be thoroughly moistened, but it is not necessary to saturate the paper. Now the paper is ready for drying, which may be done by hanging it on the edge of a shelf by means of little tack nails put through it at the same corners by which it was held in passing through the salting solution. In order to prevent streaks, from forming upon the paper, it is better to hang it in such a manner that it cannot touch the shelf, except at the corners: say the sheet is eight inches wide, and the tacks (which are put through the corners) to be only five or six inches apart, this will give the proper bend outwards, preventing its contact with the shelf. This entire operation can be performed in daylight, or otherwise as suits the convenience of the operator.
This paper, when dry, should be laid between the folds of blotting paper (filtering paper will answer), and may be kept for any length of time, and is ready for the silvering process.
Silvering Paper.
In silvering paper, I employ the ammonio-nitrate, which is prepared as follows:—