The absolute pinnacle of fine black & white printing is the Platinum / Palladium print (Pt/Pd). The process involves hand coating fine paper with a sensitizer comprised of platinum and palladium salts which are then exposed in contact to a negative. It is the most coveted and valuable form of photographic expression. It is also the most permanent and fade resistant of any photographic print process.
We use Malde-Ware chemistry which is closer to the historical invention of platinum printing than any other conventionally used chemistry system. The ammonium based printing-out system solubilizes more noble metal than can other conventional methods. We like the darker dMax, the smoother tonality, and higher acuity. It is also extremely stable and repeatable. All of our Pt/Pd prints are made with 50% platinum and 50% palladium. The final color is controlled by humidity and sensitizer. Currently we are offering a near neutral or a slightly warm. Your prints will be made with at least 50% platinum so that you can ethically refer to them as “Platinum Prints”.
The way we print Pt/Pd is unique to our studio. We invented a calibration method based on our Piezography® digital negative system that is perfectly tuned to the difficult characteristics of the process. In camera negatives have been the bane of every platinum printer’s existence. A Piezography digital negative can separate more shadow and highlight detail than any conventional film process (pyro developed or not!). Our digital negative system uses 10 shades of monochromatic inks to produce tens of thousands more gray levels than color ink based negative systems. Because our system is linear to a calibrated display, you need only adjust your image the way you want it to print. No guess work. Proofing really is not necessary with our studio. If you want your highlights crisp – make them so. If you want your highlights to have that historically toned effect – then tone them down some. We are unique in what you see is what we print.
Perfect Negatives!
Perfect Prints!
(50% platinum/50% palladium, methodology 3 ammonium ferric oxalate, 58%rH, Revere Platinum paper 22x30 - photo by: Steven Friedman.)
You can come and work with us in collaboration or we can print remotely for you.
When you come to work in collaboration with us in our studio you pay $450 for the day and you receive 40% off our published rates. Our exposures using the verifiedUV™ system are only 60 seconds. Besides benefitting with better dMax and smoother tonalities, you can expect to make a lot of prints and each matching yours or our display. It is not uncommon to be able to produce 20-30 small to medium sized prints in a single day.
Platinum / Palladium Print
This is the most collectible, permanent, fade-resistant of any photographic process. For this medium, we invented a calibration method for making digital negatives that produce platinum/palladium prints that match a calibrated display. Really no need to make small proofs and waste expense. We use the Malde-Ware method also known as the ammonium printing out method. Our sensitizer is made of 50% platinum and 50% palladium. We can offer a variety of tones from this sensitizer which range from very warm through neutral and into slightly coolish neutral. The dMax of our process is better than the potassium based develop-out method. We prefer to use Revere Platinum paper as we believe it offers the best Malde-Ware print. We can offer you other materials if you prefer. Currently we are offering a near neutral or a semi-warm. Interestingly, both are made from the same 50-50 mixture of platinum/palladium. The difference is the iron solution.
| PiezoDN Digital Negatives for Platinum / Palladium produced for our darkroom | |
| Up to 11x15 film size | $75 each |
| Up to 16x20 film size | $120 each |
| Up to 20x24 film size | $150 each |
| Up to 22x30 film size | $200 each |
| Up to 24x36 film size | $300 each |
| Up to 30x44 film size | $400 each |
| PiezoDN Digital Negatives for Platinum / Palladium produced for YOUR darkroom | |
| Up to 11x15 film size | $95 each |
| Up to 16x20 film size | $140 each |
| Up to 20x24 film size | $170 each |
| Up to 22x30 film size | $220 each |
| Up to 24x36 film size | $300 each |
| Up to 30x44 film size | $400 eac |
DIGITAL NEGATIVE CALIBRATION TO YOUR DARKROOM requires 2-3 iterations of processing and measurements. Each iteration is $150 and includes a film target for you to expose, process, dry and return for measurements.
Platinum Prints on Revere Platinum paper
Maximum Image Size and paper will have about 2" margins unless specified by client. Your choice of clean margins (rod coated) or brushed margins (brushing outside image area is allowed to expose black).
| Platinum/Palladium 50/50 | 1st print | 2nd - 4th | 5+ |
| 6x7 | $240 | $170 |
$150 |
| 8x10 | $320 | $225 | $195 |
| 10x12 | $380 | $266 | $232 |
| 11x15 | $410 | $285 | $250 |
| 13x19 | $560 | $395 | $345 |
| 16x20 | $695 | $530 | $435 |
| 17x22 | $795 | $555 | $485 |
| 18x24 | $895 | $630 | $545 |
| 20x24 | $980 | $785 | $640 |
| 22x30 | $1200 | $1000 | $910 |
| 30x44 | $4800 | $4400 | $4040 |
All platinum/palladium prints are cleared using the Ware process guaranteeing stability. Therefore, we offer prints with white paper margins or prints in which the hand brushing of emulsion past the image is permitted to go black.
PIEZODN DIGITAL NEGATIVES
The PiezoDN negative is a new invention from Cone Editions Press. We found that printing with up to 10 shades of monochrome ink (from dark to light) enables incredibly smooth and dependable tones coupled with high-resolution, and very opaque dMax. These qualities are all required if you are going to spend $$$ on Platinum/Palladium salts. A Platinum print is only as good as its weakest link and usually that is the negative. With PiezoDN we finally have a negative that is capable of printing the fine details from a drum scan or high-megapixel digital camera. The negatives also have incredibly subtle tonal transitions and we can calibrate them perfectly.
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Custom Calibration (for your darkroom)
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| requires 2-3 iterations of processing and measurements. Each iteration is $150 and includes a film target for you to expose, process, dry and return for measurements. Calibration is stored @ Cone Editions Press and digital negatives are made from this calibration for the client and their own home darkroom. We currently do not support silver neg printing. |