Platinum/Palladium Printing Process

A photograph is not a photograph until it’s a print. Or, something like that.

I’ve always enjoyed taking pictures and for many years now, my goal has been to take photos that will end up as a print. Actually, I’ll amend that a bit. A single print, a printed book or a zine is what I’m after. The original photo can be from film or digital, it can be taken with my iPhone or an antique film camera, it doesn’t matter to me what the tool is, only the result. Come on over, I can and will bore you to tears with my boxes of prints, books and zines, and now, a growing portfolio of Platinum/Palladium prints.

Last year, I decided to learn Platinum/Palladium (Pt/Pd) printing. Since it is a contact printing method and I wanted to make at least 8×10 inch prints from both film and digital images, I also needed to learn how to make an intermediate digital negative that is the size of the final print. There is surprisingly little information on the internet about digital negatives, but it was enough to get me started. My experience with film negatives helped a great deal in reading how my digital negatives would print and how I could tweak them to get a better result in the final Pt/Pd print.

The learning curve for printing with Pt/Pd is pretty steep and feels steeper still because of the monetary costs involved. The incentive for learning and being careful with each digital negative and print is real. I made exposure step wedges and tested extensively before I printed my first negative. I took notes and reasoned through all of the steps before making a second and hopefully better print. I tweaked each variable and made more prints. It is an ever-narrowing circle, slowly tightening as I get closer to my goal of a print that matches my vision and the ability to replicate that print. It seems like it has taken a lot of time, but I’m pretty happy with my latest results.

My most recent road trip included approximately 1000 miles of the coastline through California, Oregon, and Washington. I shot many rolls of film and came away with some nice negatives that I think will make excellent Pt/Pd prints. Of the four on this page, only the image from Carmel, CA is not from the last trip. I still have another ten or so negatives to print the next time I am home.

Bandon, OR

Carmel, CA

Big Sur, CA

Bandon, OR

The images of these prints were taken with my iPhone and do not do them justice. The unique qualities of a well-done Platinum/Palladium print, printed on heavy, fine paper have to be seen in person to be appreciated. They glow. The paper has no gloss or sheen to it. The light just seems to emanate from the image itself. The final prints are absolutely worth all that I’ve put into them.

I am working on a much more detailed description of what I am learning and the processes that I use to get to the point where I am happy with the prints. That’s for another time.

Na2 Platinum/Palladium Kit For Digital Negatives