Gum is susceptible to the many variables that go into the process. In order to identify the variables I can control, I find it easier to separate the process into two parts: the negative (digital darkroom) and the print (wet darkroom).
The process I’ll be describing is what I found that works for me under my specific conditions in order to achieve the results I’m looking for.
DIGITAL DARKROOM
HARDWARE
Computer: MacBook Pro
Printer: Epson Stylus Photo 1400
Ink: Claria High Definition Ink
SOFTWARE
Adobe Photoshop CS5
WET DARKROOM
EXPOSURE UNIT
I made my exposure unit using eight Sylvania 20 W 24-inch bulbs (F20T12/350BL/ECO) about 3 inches away from the print. I use a 20×24 inch vacuum table for making the contact prints.
Tony Gonzalez is an artist currently living in New York City. He received his BFA from the Cooper Union School of Art and his MFA from Yale University. In addition to working as a fine art photographer, Gonzalez has taught photography for 30 years including at The Cooper Union, Pratt Institute and New York University. Since 2002, Gonzalez has been teaching full-time at Queens College, CUNY and is currently a Tenured Professor and Deputy Chair of the Photography & Imaging program. Gonzalez is a contributing author for The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes, Second Edition and Third Edition by Christopher James and is featured most recently in the news book Gum Printing, A Step-by-Step Manual Highlighting Artists and Their Creative Practice by Christina Z. Anderson and Alternate Processes in Photography by Brian Arnold.
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