The Gum Print

I don't often write about the gum print as I find it to be something of a unique printing method. No precious metals involved, just clear gum Arabic and pigments. Well, that is stretching it a bit as two chemicals are involved; potassium dichromate and sodium bisulfite, the photo sensitive additive and clearing agent for that chemical, respectively.

The gum print is among the oldest of the historical processes, and it had its debut and acceptance as art during the golden era of the Secessionist movement and Stieglitz' gallery 291. Edward Steichen was one of the patron printers of the gum print. As I've noted before, the gum print was not known for having detail or texture in the image. Most prints were one or two print layers, leaving the image sort of dark overall, with predominantly color patches as patterns. The image could be said to be reminiscent of a 'photogram' or the printed outline of an object.

There is a reason for this. Registration. If you don't know how this is done, no gum print will rise above the photogram. There will come a time when I will fully disclose exactly how that is done. It has to be done exact or it doesn't work. Out of the dozens of articles on this blog will arise more photo books on the subjects I write about, like printing in silver, platinum/palladium, and gum, as part of the Alchemist's Guide; series. And no you aren't being baited, to sell said books. I will be giving all that information away for free, right here, as well as in the books, should you want to have that information at your fingertips at home.

This gum print was one of the few I enlarged at the time of the printing, being I had a 5x7 view camera at the time, so the only way for me to get a larger image size was by using paper negatives. I will be writing on that subject as well, soon. This image of the conductor of the Blue Goose train is a duo-tone image. Two gum printing layers; black, then 'brown'. It is the brown thing that is personal. The black is of course premixed, arriving at a second layer brown color that is subjective. As I remember it, I used two, perhaps three primary colors to arrive at the final color I identified as brown. I used four primary colors in watercolor; cyan, yellow, magenta, black (CYMK). There are good quality watercolor tubes corresponding to these colors. There is also a secret to the black I will get to later as well....

That duo-tone 'brown' color... I remind the reader the photographer is all but color blind to red/green, who scanned the image from a slide. I stand by the image but don't guarantee color fidelity whereupon digitally replicated. The original was correct.....

Gum Dichromate Print ~ "The Conductor"
1987 ~ 6"x9" ~ Unique
Blue Goose Train, Western Oregon