I had some homework for the photo transfer class, since I will probably be at the Statue of Liberty on Saturday while class is taking place. The assignment was to get more photos onto the ProntoPlate substrate. This is a linotype material that is used to transfer images much the same as the gum arabic method on paper. So I figure – easy squeezy – since I’m feeling rather accomplished with gum arabic. With ProntoPlate – not so much.
The image making in Photoshop, and printing with fewer lines per inch on the laser jet all went well. The images on the ProntoPlate material came out of the printer looking great. I mixed up the ink according to directions and also wetted the paper, as per the usual instructions. However, the image transfer was pretty yucky. I am probably not mixing the ink quite right, though I figured out that I should take some off the brayer before putting the brayer to the plate by using the phone book. Two images – no good transfers.
There is learning in failure, but I will have to rely upon my friend Nancy, who is also taking the class, to see where I went wrong with these.
