Customer Reviews

Platinum and Palladium Printing

5 star:		(9)
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This book covers platinum and palladium printing in a very logical, thorough manner. If you have never done Pt/Pd, you will get all the introduction necessary to buy a kit and get started. If you have done some, you can move on fairly quickly to the more advanced topics in the book, and get more out of your printing sessions.

The printing method in this book is not for everyone. The methodology in the book is fairly numerically based, and if you like to work by instinct and intuition, this may not be the right approach for you. However, the discussions of available papers, chemical use and hazzards, and other resources listed in the book are worth the price of admission alone, not to mention the exquisite photographs reproduced in duotone.

The photographs are quite inspirational; Arentz is clearly a master image-maker from the printing perspective, as well as having an eye for composition and subject.

There are other books on platinum printing out there (most notably by Weese and Sullivan) but this book is the one resource I keep going back to again and again.

Platinum/Palladium printing has "Wizard of Oz-like" mystique and a sense of mysterious alchemy beyond most photographic processes, but don't fret, it's not that difficult to get started. After my personal hands-on introduction (thank you, William Laven), Dick Arentz provides both the simple path to getting started, and then details comprehensive areas of specialty which he makes pretty helpful sense of. If you are already familiar with Platinum/Palladium, there is enough which has been pioneered in the recent several decades to allow a refresher for old photography hounds. For those starting out, just get the basic kit, read through the core sections of the book several times, then follow the three (3) pages of Chapter 6 - "The First Print". Once you have produced a few Palladium prints, cruise Chapter 7 - "Calibration" which provides a nice mental snack. Then move on to Chapter 8 - "The Platinum and Palladium Print", where having gotten past the panic of getting started, you can actually work out your basic functional understanding of the process. Like when that adult helped you launch on your first bike ride, suddenly you will be moving on your own and starting to get in the groove of the process.

For the silver old-timers, the sensitometry chapter and discussion of Pyro developers will really come into play as you confront the issues of "do I have to choose between making negatives for Platinum or silver ..." Pyro can play equally well in both environments, and was very liberating when I realized that I had a rich path of negative making without conflicts ahead of me. Pyro is an opportunity to evolve once again during this lifetime.

I use 8x10 for my serious work, and with standard films and papers going the way of the buffalo, I now understand what I need to do to use this remarkable process without being on a completely dead-end path.

There are several major advantages to gaining an ability to print Platinum/Palladium:
1. They can't discontinue the product! When you put a small number of drops of specific chemistry in a little cup, evenly coat the paper, expose it to UV light, slip the print into developer for two minutes, clear in three baths for 5 minutes each and then wash - it's like discoving fire as a tool. Pretty basic stuff, but very thrilling!
2. No fixer fumes.
3. You can work with the lights on.
4. You don't need a completely tweaked out darkroom in order to work - a simple space can be transformed into a miracle production facility.
5. It's fun.
6. The prints are beautiful. It will take time to figure it out, gain a vocabulary with the materials and get solid with your workflow, but Dick's book will hold your hand as you take the path towards a new, fruitful printing adventure.

Enthusiasm may inspire you to purchase other books, but this one can get you started successfully, and at the same time, it will provide plenty of sustenance as you grow. Or if you are already knowledgeable, there's plenty to chew on. If you are too advanced and find anything to be critical about in this book, write your own and share it with us!

If it still seems overwhelming to get started, find some fellow photo adventurer so that you can try it out together. Pulling prints on hand coated paper which are archivally stable, have long scale and beautiful physical presence, well, it could make an old dog thrilled about photography again, or simply inspire a newbee with a very remarkable way to make stunning prints. There are challenges, and there are plenty of mysteries, but if you have large format negatives hanging around, or you are boo-hoo-hooing that conventional photography is dying, being replaced by digital, this book will help dry those tears. Get going and happy printing!

I think the previous review of this book pretty much summed things up rather well. I bought this book with minimal to no knowledge of the platinum and palladium printing processes. After having read the book several times now (not because it's hard to understand, but because it's so well done), I feel I've gained a very good handle on the basics of the process, and the information provided is given in such a way as to give you both the kind of knowledge needed to start making your first prints as well as the kind of knowledge needed to refine and grow into the process. I tend to be a very analytical thinkier, and the way the book is organized appeals to my thought patterns. If you're more of a romantic (as opposed to classical) thinker, though, the large amounts of numbers-based technical info may seem a little discouraging. Even if you are, though, I must highly recommend this book, as I think it must be the single most comprehensive and well-produced book on the subject.

This is the bible of Platinum and Palladium printing. The second edition has two or three significant additions over the first edition. It has a quick start chapter to get that first print out. Yes, the book is very technical in some of its treatment of the material - and that is the reason you will go back to it again and again. But the process is fairly straightforward in its essence and working through the steps to get that first print clarifies much of the material to come later on. Second, I think the material covering Palladium printing with the Na2 contrast control method is essential knowledge today. It's surprising the more I've read of the history of Platino/Palladio processes how much information was lost that had to be "discovered" again. Third, there is a strong treatment on the effect of paper choice and characteristics of some papers (at least one of which is no longer being made since the second edition came out) that can help you understand how to find appropriate papers for other alternative processes. Finally, the appendices from different authors provide viewpoints of the process that round out treatment of the subject. Mark Nelson's chapter on digital negatives touches the surface of what has become my primary method for contact printing not only the Platinum and Palladium prints, but traditional silver as well as other alternative processes.

Highly recommended for any student of photography interested in mastering one of the most beautiful processes for printmaking.

I would call this book "Platinum &palladium photography from A to z". Believe it or not I could preduce a pt and pl print with only reading this book, the book would give a helpful heading and explains the tools, comicals, papers,lighting, do and don'ts.
the book have a records of too many tests of paper types and chemicals methods for contrast control, many explanation for type of lighting and so much more. I tell you! I did not attend any work shops nor set down with people who print platinum and palladium photos because I live in U.A.E. where no one knows what is pt & pl photography, but I order the book and started to read and try until I made a good print from the firs try.

Lets face it, it has never been an easy task distinguishing ones photography from the millions of other pictures that get taken. In fact finding a signature style is really what separates the highly successful photographer from the not so successful photographer and finding such a style is certainly not easy. Some photographers go their entire career without finding that distinguishing style. IMO this is only going to be more and more difficult in the digital age.

Why am I writing this? because as more and more people jump on the digital bandwagon, it just makes all of the film based techniques that much more rare. Platinum and Palladium printing have always been 2 of the rarest printing methods and this is only multiplied considerably in the digital age. If your looking to learn some techniques that really give your images a very unique look then you should at least consider platinum and palladium printing and this book is a perfect place to start.

This book is for beginners and it will teach you everything you need to know about both processes. P & P printing really couldn't be more different from standard darkroom printing. First it doesn't require a boatload of expensive equipment. All you really need are some bottles for mixing the chemicals, a proof easel, a glass rod for coating the paper, and a UV light. In all honesty you could probably score all of this gear used right now for less than 100 bucks especially with how cheap a lot of film based gear is these days. The fact that you learn how to make your own paper means that you never have to worry about this process going extinct. As long as you have access to the chemicals you will be able to print both Platinum and Palladium prints.

IMO platinum prints are hands down the most beautiful prints that exist...period. The tonality you get with these prints is nothing short of stunning especially when you do contacting prints of 4x5 or 8x10 negs. Some of the 8x10 contact prints I have made are nothing short of STUNNING in regards to its tonality. Regular silver gelatin paper just cant even begin to touch it. I actually got a hold of some old Kodak graphic arts paper from the early 70', its basically gelatin paper with no silver in it hence its not sensitive to light. It wound up being an absolutely brilliant paper for printing Platinum. I have yet to find a different kind of paper that gives me the same results. If you can find any of this paper BUY IT!! That's actually one of the funnest aspects to this kind of printing, experimenting with new papers and different coating techniques.

Again as more and more people start shooting digital, there will be fewer and fewer people using these very old printing techniques. While on the one hand that is very sad, on the other hand it just makes this process all the more rare which in turn makes the people practicing such techniques all the more unique. IMO there has really never been a better time to learn such techniques as you will clearly separate your work from the vast majority of work out there. PLus with the prices of film based equipment falling like 1930 stock prices...well lets just say there has never been a better time to start learning the real side to photography, the film side.

The bottom line - If your looking to learn Platinum or Palladium or both then this book is exactly what you need to start off. There are actually a lot of very good books out there regarding this subject and I have read many of them. Out of all of them this book really stuck out in my mind as the best one for people just starting off. The author really has a passion for these processes and that really gets transferred over to the written page making this book a little bit more infectious and enjoyable than the others.

I actually purchased this book some time ago and the reason why I am witting this review now is because of the large number of people switching over to digital. I have actually recently reviewed a couple of other film based books as well. As I said before, it just makes these processes all the more rare and all the more special. Hopefully as more and more people continue to switch over to digital there will be some people who do the exact opposite and give up digital for film based photography. I figured I would write these reviews for those people.

Film based photography is where its at and Platinum and Palladium printing are 2 of the best alternative processes out there. There will always be at least some people practicing these techniques. The question is will you be one of them. I know I will be.

5 stars.

Everything in this book is thoroughly researched, from setting up a lab and preparing a negative to the fine details such as the many different kinds of paper, their pH, and the best way to prepare them for printing. Palladium printing is Arentz's life, he is an expert in the field. Unlike most manuals written by experts, this book is written in a way that any photographer with darkroom experience can understand. There are many technical aspects that are vital to this process, but everything is explained well. Whether you have worked in a non-silver process before or not, this book is extremely thorough and can get any beginner platinum/palladium printer started or refine the skills of someone who has been using the process for a while.

I had been printing with palladium for about six months before I bought this book and it has been a big aid in refining my technique to achieve perfect palladium prints. This is the best manual on the market for platinum and palladium printing without a doubt.

If you are interested in this alternative process this is one of the best books out there.

It goes directly to the important topic, speaking to the photographer with previous knowledge. A book for the professional.