[Baren]: The mailing list / discussion forum for woodblock printmaking.


Baren Digest              Sunday, 30 November 1997      Volume 01 : Number 003

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From: Bill Mixon <bmixon@nine.com>
Date: Sat, 29 Nov 1997 11:48:28 -0500
Subject: [Baren 14] Re: Non-toxic alternatives ...

David Bull wrote:
<
...  The advice I received from a few
of the older printers here when I asked about how they handled this
problem, was to use 'Formalin' to stop the mold ...

Last year I saw a story in my newspaper that cited Formalin as being a
carcinogen though, and so have stopped using it...

How do you guys handle this problem?
>

Hi David,

Some ideas crossing over from another discipline, possibly relevant
here...

One strategy used in a papermaking class at SMFA last summer, to
preserve the buckets of wet pulp over the hot nights for the next day's
class, was to pour a little mouthwash (brand probably not too fussy)
into it.  This seemed to work, up to a point (we had some pulp last
_almost_ a week).  Certainly it's less toxic than Formalin.  I'd imagine
that brushing a dilute solution of the stuff over the printing papers,
or even mixing it in with the damping water, would do the trick.

I've also heard of a very dilute solution of Clorox bleach, or of
hydrogen peroxide, suggested for this purpose, though I'd urge more
caution here.  These are nastier chemicals, and can weaken the paper and
affect its color.

Interestingly, nagashizuki methods for making washi also tend to work
best during the winter.  (Besides providing an economic "filler" for the
slow time of the year for the farmers that traditionally made the
washi.)  The viscosity of the pulp is important in sheet formation, and
the "neri" (hibiscus root extract) used to control this is
temperature-sensitive.  And the pulp would "keep" longer in the winter,
too.

Regards,
Bill

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From: Patrick Robinson <psyberdude@compuserve.com>
Date: Sat, 29 Nov 1997 12:08:18 -0500
Subject: [Baren 15] Re: Non-toxic alternatives fungicide...

Dave wrote:

>The rubbing alcohol solution sounds interesting, but as the paper is
>kept quite tightly stacked in a pile, would the fumes have a chance to
>penetrate to all the paper surfaces?  I don't think it would affect the
>sizing ...  I use pure ethyl alcohol to mix some of the pigments - it
>does its work and then evaporates very quickly ...

Hm-mmm, oh boy . . .  now how do I say this without sounding like some 
New Age kook? OK, here goes: some very well-respected independent medical
research on the subject of cancer has been reporting that autopsies 
reveal that isopropyl alcohol and the human intestinal fluke (Fasciolopsis 
buskii) are both present in the liver of ALL (100%) of cancer patients! 
Put another way, it seems that cancer can ONLY be present if the body 
contains both the buskii flukes AND isopropyl alcohol. These intestinal 
parasites are also reported to multiply exponentially in the body of 
patients with propyl alcohol present in their livers. One of the 
fastest ways to introduce isopropyl alcohol into the human body is by 
using RUBBING ALCOHOL!

Thus, is it really wise to use rubbing alcohol in your print processes? 

It does not appear, on the other hand, that pure ethyl alcohol is as 
carcenogenic a culprit as isopropyl. So that's my happy thought for the 
day to share with the Baren members. 

Cheers,

Patrick

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From: Graham Scholes <gscholes@islandnet.com>
Date: Sat, 29 Nov 1997 11:18:12 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [Baren 16] Re: Non-toxic alternatives ...

Bill wrote.

I have used Clorox to bleach some Hosho paper and it eats it to put it mildly.
Oh, the reason is being of Scottish descent, I make use of reject prints to
do life and or portrait drawings on.

" methods for making washi
I'm not familiar with this term, could you please send a brief outline.

Thanks,

Graham

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From: Oilcolors@aol.com
Date: Sat, 29 Nov 1997 22:14:01 -0500 (EST)
Subject: [Baren 17] Re: Non-toxic alternatives fungicide...

A/C is air conditioning.

How about spritzing the alcohol onto the sheets with a plant sprayer when
your a dampenning them?

Dan

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From: David Bull <davebull@asahi-net.email.ne.jp>
Date: Sun, 30 Nov 1997 15:08:28 +0900
Subject: [Baren 18] Re: Non-toxic alternatives fungicide...

> A/C is air conditioning.

Oops!  I guess I should have been able to figure that one out!

If I may be permitted a short comment 'off-topic' ...?

> I guess my wife was right when she told me A/C was
> scarce in Japan even among the affluent.

Her info is a little out of date ...  Things have changed very quickly
over the decade that I've been here.  It's now very rare to find a home
without it (except in cool Hokkaido).  As an sample, I just went out
into our parking lot and looked up at all the balconies of this
apartment.  Out of 20 units, 17 of the tenants have installed an air
conditioner.  (They are called 'aircon', air conditioner, but they work
both ways - to cool the air in summer, and to heat it in winter)

Dave

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From: David Bull <davebull@asahi-net.email.ne.jp>
Date: Sun, 30 Nov 1997 19:57:41 +0900
Subject: [Baren 19] Go and see this!

Hello everybody,

It might be because he's too busy, and it might be because he just
doesn't want to blow his own horn, but Matt Brown hasn't mentioned to
you that he's made a major revision of his web site, including a new
group of attractive prints.

Go and see it!
http://www.ooloopress.com

Dave

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End of Baren Digest V1 #3
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