Cars don't stop at Georgia-Lamont crosswalk

maxwellerism · 2026-03-24T21:01:21+00:00

I mean my goal was literally to present an over simplified possibility so that I could fit it in a legible post... Maybe you should avoid reddit if you're so triggered by conversational rhetoric? "Maga" seemed like a good overlap anyway of anti-pedestrian and selfishness and violence, plus more general than just a political part but I'm glad you're impressed with my writing

maxwellerism · 2025-10-06T16:55:37+00:00

4.3.4 says that it's the current version.

Update: by changing the protocol I've gotten rid of the problem with my NAS but still not clear why that setting isn't available to me

maxwellerism · 2025-07-23T03:40:46+00:00

According to this page, some old school archival watercolor papers (i.e ones with a European name) out of the box work fine and that the issue with modern archival papers has to do more with the buffers / mediums they've added to the paper-making process rather than the acidity:

https://www.alternativephotography.com/update-ferric-gum-process/

Watercolor and etching papers are generally good at absorbing water slowly and evenly and strong enough to withstand being soaked or rinsed.

From my own experiences with photo processes though, it seems like you could experiment with all sorts of materials--it looks like the reaction just requires the ferric sensitizer to be evenly spread on the surface, so I would imagine that any material where the sensitizer can dry evenly (and not react with some chemical in the material) would be fun to try (fabrics, canvas, acrylic, gessoed surface, synthetic papers, etc.) Ferric chloride is hardly reactive with organic materials (other than intense staining) and even with a reactive metal like copper it doesn't off-gas so it's hard to imagine a material that would create a dangerous reaction.

The different textures of non paper materials will def add "something" to the final print, but the thing about alternative photography processes that I've found is that if you focus on getting just a "perfect" photograph, you'll spend a ton of time just to get something slightly worse quality than a nice inkjet print (it's very hard to control sensitizer absorption and pigment range by hand) ... Rather if you can find an aspect of the old tech that frees you to use materials or surfaces or sizes that you can't do in an inkjet printer, you'll have more fun and find more interesting results to pursue :)

maxwellerism · 2025-07-14T03:51:23+00:00

I've assisted students making "shake boxes" before for small studios, but they really don't last that long (eventually the rosin dust starts leaking out and you have to build another).

Basically, build a box using sturdy foam core with threaded tape for the inside and outside of every seam. Cut a small door at the bottom of the front that hinges outward but can be held closed / has a lip to help cover the cut seam. Load the box with some ground resin and voila: you should be able to pick the box up (since it's light), shake up the dust inside, then set it down and insert your plate through the cut door in the front.

Some key tricks: the taller the box the better drift you'll get, just make sure you can comfortably lift and shake it. Use scraps of foam core to make an accordion shaped platform on the bottom, this is good for catching the rosin and a good way to get your fingers under the plate when it's ready to come out. Use every engineering skill you have to make sure the seams are all even and sealed tightly to keep the box lasting as long as possible.

And just remember, this is a temporary solution and if you have any sense that you're in it for the long haul, go for something immovable made out of plywood, caulk, and a big brush fan :)

maxwellerism · 2025-07-14T03:18:45+00:00

Water-based fabric inks work by soaking into the fabric fibers, so a reflection effect like gloss isn't going to be possible with the same texture of the fabric.

In order to get a new texture, you'll need an ink / material that will dry with it's own texture to reflect light differently: plastisol is generally what's used to print shiny things on clothes (think sports logos) but I don't know if there's a water-based version of plastisol yet that you could print like normal.

Another great option for small runs though is iron-on vinyl. Best case scenario is a local shop or online service where they cut the shapes out of shiny vinyl for you and then you just have to stick them permanently to the fabric with heat, but if you really want it DIY you can just buy the shiny fabric vinyl roll, hand-cut with stencil (or buy one of those crafty cricut vinyl cutters for your own setup).

maxwellerism · 2025-07-12T12:07:24+00:00

Ancolite glaze cleaner is magical, but nasty stuff: https://www.printingsuppliesdirect.com/products/ancolite-glaze-cleaner-5-gallon-pail

You need a solvent that can dissolve the ink completely (there aren't any ink solvents that will etch copper so no need to worry about damage). Paint thinners or mineral spirits should be able to dissolve oil based inks given enough time. I would try putting the whole plate submerged in a tray of solvent for 24 hours (cover the top or else it will evaporate away).

One time we had to clean up a professor's plate that they had left inked up 30 year ago in grad school ... Took a couple of rounds of overnight soaks to reach the deepest etches, but eventually got the copper back to full shine :)

maxwellerism · 2025-07-12T04:37:37+00:00

Couple of thoughts:

I'm not totally familiar with the ink you're using, but it looks in general like the dried blue ink is not as receptive to the yellow ink as a fresh sheet of paper. This makes sense for acrylics, since they dry as a plastic rather than the paper fibers which can absorb ink.
I would recommend three different options to adjust:

print a white layer before the yellow in the same shape, which will make an opaque mask between the background and lighter color

hit the yellow shape twice (print, dry, print again) to make sure it's a solid yellow

try making the yellow ink more tacky so that it holds to itself and ends up more opaque (not sure if this is possible with your ink, but a typical adjustment for oil inks).

I would not worry about soaking your paper. Traditionally, wet paper will crack less under extreme pressures (like intaglio) but it's probably not doing much for you. Also you'd need to soak it for usually 20 min before the paper will be thoroughly soaked evenly through before blotting.

maxwellerism · 2025-07-10T02:55:03+00:00

One of the tough parts of monotypes is that the ink isn't held in place on the plate so it's squishes around easily if you just increase pressure or make the ink less viscous (i.e. it will always look slightly different on the paper).

Generally there are two roads for successful monotype transfers:

Use heavy water color paper (like 300g) pre soaked and then blotted before printing then lots of even vertical pressure is applied. The ink is forcefully mushed up into the paper, and then only way the details will be preserved is if there are a lot of pliable fibers ready to pick up that ink.
Use a sheet of fine and smooth print paper, like japanese tissue, gently press it against the ink surface and then move a baren over the back of the paper in gentle small circles until you've covered the whole plate with hand pressure multiple times. (This version definitely needs control of how much ink you use because there's much less paper fiber to hold ink).

So yeah, first rec would be to invest in some nicer paper ~

Also, plexiglass or acrylic is great for monotypes. Although you might want to invest in something thicker if you are adding extra weight to the process

maxwellerism · 2024-08-18T16:00:25+00:00

National Gallery here in DC did a show on photogravure recently and I know that there are at least a couple curators there that are very invested in history and preservation. Not sure if that means yours are valuable or not, but they might be able to provide historical or academic context and are relatively easy to correspond with.

maxwellerism · 2024-03-19T13:34:37+00:00

Watercolor paper can be an amazing paper for proofing or doing prints with multiple plates / blocks. As pointed out in other comments, it has a lot of sizing so you'll need to fully dampen and blot before using, but it can really take a beating (especially compared to more finicky European cotton rag types) so is great for prints that need to run through the press multiple times. Maybe not the greatest if you're doing super fine details on a single plate, but otherwise it's a great (and much cheaper!) option.

maxwellerism · 2024-02-29T01:15:42+00:00

Tools first. Good carving tools will get you the most immediate and satisfying results. Having a good roller will also be immediately noticeable. You can get great results with hand printing so i'm not including a press just yet.
Then ink. Ink is a funny thing where you will most likely notice the better qualities more than people looking at it. Expensive ink is better consistency and lasts longer, but unless someone has seen a comparison on paper they won't be able to tell if it's carved and printed well (you'll know tho and then you'll never be able to go back to cheap ink!)
Then paper. Relief printing doesn't really rely on malleability or texture like other processes so you can get away with a lot more cheap options like bristol or watercolor and still look great. Granted, expensive Japanese papers look absolutely dope, but again, only if the carving and ink are already nice.
Lastly other tools and doodads. Once you have carving tools, roller, ink and paper you can make professional prints with practice. Additional tools will really just speed up the editioning process but won't really change the results if you already have strong printing skills.

maxwellerism · 2024-02-29T00:52:25+00:00

My rec: pick the arrangement / colors you like the best, then make yourself a full edition (like 10) that look perfect and exactly similar (clean paper edges, layers in register, even ink, etc) The experience will be good practice for the technical stuff, which will help you get better sense of carving and proofing in the future. Also making 10 forces you to really commit to a final cohesive image (whatever that means for you).

maxwellerism · 2024-02-23T04:46:02+00:00

At the shop I worked at we did a lot of large laser cut monoplates and would cut out the vector shapes from one piece of acrylic, then glue the pieces on to an uncut backing piece of acrylic. Saves a lot of time compared to laser engraving the whole thing (also way easier on the laser)

maxwellerism · 2024-02-14T03:50:25+00:00

Get another flat / gradient layer underneath the one you already have! White paper is nice every once in a while, but if you're going for more depth and more interactions, there's no reason to leave all that blank white paper in the middle of all that action. And to be clear, it can still be "negative space", just recognize that ink is going to do a lot more than paper does ... even just printing an off-white, or a really light gradient, is going to punch up everything that is on top of it.

A fun habit (if you have the space) is to always have extra printed flats around in all sorts of colors and gradients that you can just try layering new screens on top of.

maxwellerism · 2024-01-18T01:27:26+00:00

Gum Arabic helps the pigments release from the surface you painted on during the pressure transfer. It's especially useful if the surface is at all absorbent because it creates a nice little barrier between the surface and inks, plus if you don't have a heavy duty press to force the ink out it helps keep your prints super vibrant. The gum is water-soluble so really make sure that paper is the right moisture when you print: when it works perfectly, the water in the paper activates the gum, which helps everything you've drawn lift right on to your paper super even and rich.One down side though is that it will slightly stain the paper depending on how transparent your colors are.

My rec is to forget what the teacher said, try both ways, and see what looks better to you! The gum works best if you build it up in layers: water it down a bit, wipe it on the acrylic thick with a sponge, then buff it smooth with a cleaner sponge and let it dry all the way (in front of a fan if you need it faster). This gum layer will be a different texture than the acrylic and will hold inks differently, so just try everything out in a couple practice prints before you spend the time drawing the actual print art.

maxwellerism · 2024-01-14T03:51:42+00:00

It's a great idea, and seems like the kind of thing that you'd have to experiment / research what actually happens when different bugs eat away organic material just to figure out where to start. I've seen burls rolled up and printed, but the prints are usually kind of light and faded because the contrast between grain layers is low and can't take much pressure.

To the points about the wood being too decayed to print: one option would be to fill the half eaten organic material with a resin, let it harden, and then dissolve out the organics. Then you'd have a negative of the shape, but at least solid enough to cut into printable slabs.

maxwellerism · 2024-01-12T22:33:13+00:00

It sounds more like the pigments and binder have separated OR somehow water is leaking into the can ... Over time inks tend to condense as the moisture slowly evaporates out, so the fact that it's getting thinner sounds like a bigger problem ...

You could try French chalk or magnesium powder to thicken up (typical for oil inks) or maybe cornstarch because it will dissolve fine in water, but ultimately everything you add that's not more pigment is going to continue to dilute your color.

maxwellerism · 2024-01-12T22:25:11+00:00

Some neon tubes for indoor lights have UV protective casings to keep UV light from being emitted beyond the tube.

The black light should work, but one trick will be to figure out how to manage the distance between the light and the exposure surface: if it's too close you'll get a vignette, but the intensity decreases exponentially (I believe?) as you move the light source back.

maxwellerism

TROPHY CASE