Platinum / Palladium
Platinum / Palladium
Platinum/palladium prints are loved by photographers and treasured by collectors and investors because of their tonal range, the surface quality and their permanence. The unique beauty of a fine Pt/Pd. print involves a broad scale of tones from black to white.
The delicate, rich Pt/Pd. tones range from warm black, to reddish brown, to expanded mid-tone greys that are unobtainable in silver prints. In the deepest shadows the Pt/Pd. print still presents information; the platinum whites are delicate and the depth of the image is alive and three-dimensional.
Pt/Pd. prints are not only exceptionally beautiful; they are the most durable of all photographic processes. The Pt/Pd. metals are more stable than gold, and it is estimated that a Pt/Pd. image, properly made, can last thousands of years.
The Pt/Pd. printing process was invented by William Willis in the 1870’s and patented commercially in 1879. Platinum and palladium are two of the most inert elements (noble metals) in existence which contributes to the archival stability of Pt/Pd. prints.
With the onset of World War I, Pt/Pd.printing came to a virtual halt across Europe as the availability of supply, cost and the use of platinum and palladium in munitions largely ended use as a photographic printing process.
A resurgence in the late 20th century allowed contemporary print makers who desire the unique and beautiful qualities of this process, to create their own printing paper by mixing the light-sensitive chemicals and coating paper by hand.
Many print makers thrive by working this way, gaining both technical control and personal satisfaction from this hand-made approach to photographic print making. The process involves mixing small quantities of a sensitizer solution (ferric oxalate) with solutions containing the platinum and/or palladium metals.
This mixture is then applied to fine rag paper or other media, using either a brush or a glass rod which evenly spreads the solution across the paper. The platinum mixture is only sensitive to ultraviolet light and is therefore a contact printing process (the negative must be the same size as the desired print).
The platinum and palladium becomes embedded within the fibers of the paper which results in an image that is as permanent as the paper itself.
