Carbon Print Process (WIKI LINK) is one of the most beautiful printing processes ever invented. It’s superior to all other printing processes in it’s tonality and archival qualities.  The only problem is that it is extremely slow process. It will take two days to make a several prints from scratch. Because carbon printing process is a very slow process, I’m limiting this workshop to a small group of four participants. In this workshop we will make carbon prints from silver-based negatives, either film negative or wet plate collodion glass negative.  Carbon printing process is a contact printing process, but the tonality and the clarity of a carbon contact copy print is something special. By my humble opinion it is just the best possible way to print a photograph.  In theory you could make a good carbon print from any kind of negative, but we will learn how to get the best consistent results by having consistent negatives

In this workshop we will cover:

    • The making of pigmented gelatine also known as glop for carbon tissues from scratch.
    • Coating tissues for carbon printing
    • How to calibrate the glop (pigmented gelatine) for certain densities of a negative, either collodion or silver-gelatine.
    • Using different pigments for toning carbon prints.
    • The difference between the traditional dichromate and DAS sensitizers.
    • How to dry, sensitise and expose a carbon tissue
    • How to “develop” exposed carbon print.
    • We’ll be trying different materials for the final support, from fixed-out silver gelatine paper, seized fine art paper, plastic Yupo paper, to my favourite way of printing, a carbon print on glass.
    • How to seize an art paper for carbon printing process.
    • Neutralising DAS or dichromate sensitizer
    • Presentation of a carbon print on glass

WHERE?

Na žago 4, Straža pri Novem mestu, Slovenia (45°47’07.1″N 15°04’35.4″E – Google maps)  My atelier is on a small railway station in  a small town, across the street of local pizzerija Ravbar.

WHEN?

Friday 20th and Saturday 21st of September 2024. We will start at 9:00 and we will end the day at about 18:00

WHO?

This is a basic course, going easy to follow step by step, so no previous knowledge is required.

LANGUAGE?

English

HOW MUCH?

This two day workshop costs 300 EUR. My usual price for this workshop is 450 EUR, but in this particular workshop there is February’s discount.
The  price includes all the material costs and detailed hand out notes with all the steps and receipts. You will take with you all the negatives, prints and even some un-exposed carbon tissues, so after the workshop you can practice immediately. The price does not include food or accommodation.
EXTRA DISCOUNT of 100 EUR for all who take the wet plate collodion workshop (LINK) from the previous days. So for the six day workshop the price is 800 EUR.

RESERVATION? 

The workshop is limited to four participants and you get your place by paying the reservation of 250 EUR. The reservation fee is 50% refundable five weeks before the workshop and after that it’s not refundable. The rest you pay at the beginning of the workshop.

ACCOMODATION?

I recommend RaMar accommodations (LINK). Let them know you’re coming to my workshop and you’ll get better price or an apartment for the price of a room. If you are coming by car, there are more options.  Five kilometres away, in Dolenjske Toplice there are options like camping (LINK), Hotel Pri Mostu is really nice place and in Novo mesto that is 9 km away there is also Hostel Situla. There are many other options on Booking.com.

HOW TO GET HERE?

AIRPORTS:
The closest airport is Ljubljana, Slovenia
The second closest airport is Zagreb, Croatia
Other options are Venice airport (IT), Klagenfurt (AUT)  and GoOpti from there

BUS or TRAIN?

If you will come by buss or train, go to Novo mesto. From Novo mesto busses are going to Straža pri Novem mestu, but the connections aren’t that good, so I can pick you up and drop you to your accommodation place.
Link to the bus connections: https://www.ap-ljubljana.si/en/timetable
Link to the train connections in Slovenia: https://potniski.sz.si/ 
Link to the bus connection Novo mesto – Straža (On Sunday they don’t work)
It might be easier to pick you up in Novo mesto

MORE INFORMATION

Please email me for reservations and more information borutpeterlin@gmail.com


DAY ONE

  • Introduction to the processes and reviving some examples of prints and negatives.
  • Safety measures during the work of carbon printing process.
  • Reviewing different pigments and how does that reflect on the final result.
  • We will jump-start directly into carbon printing with pre-prepared carbon tissues, so before the lunch we will learn the basic mechanism of carbon printing.
  • In the second half of the day we will go back to the basics and we will mix the glop, the pigmented gelatine.
  • Pouring the sensitised and pigmented gelatine on the temporary support.
  • Drying the tissues.
  • Exposing the pre-prepared and sensitised carbon tissue.
  • Processing the exposed prints
  • Single transfer carbon printing process.

DAY TWO

  • Double transfer carbon printing process.
  • Making the carbon prints from the tissues prepared the day before.
  • Printing Carbon prints on glass.
  • Seizing art paper for the final support of the carbon print.
  • Hardening seized art paper.
  • Final presentation and the protection of the print.

Each participant will receive notes with all the receipts and the most important points to remember.

REFERENCES

I, Borut Peterlin, have devoted all my life to photography and I have a BA degree in Fine Art Photography from Famu, Prague, Postgraduate Diploma at London College of Printing, I was working with Oliviero Toscani at Fabrica / United Colors of Benetton and I was photo editor and photographer at Mladina weekly magazine for about ten years. In 2001 I’ve started Fotopub festival and I was an art director for eight years. Most of my knowledge in the 19th Century photography processes originates from workshops with Mark Osterman in George Eastman House, Rochester, USA and I also took color carbon printing workshop with Calvin Grier. I have great interest in education and although I have many seminars at colleges, I keep myself away from academic waters in favour of a freelancing career. I share my knowledge passionately either through seminars, workshops and also via my YouTube channel. In the last decade I might have had over 100 workshops and demonstrations of alternative processes throughout Europe, from Barcelona, Florenz, Rome, Berlin, Hamburg, Krakow, Vienna, Paris, Frauenfeld / Switzerland, Novi Sad / Serbia and of course in Slovenia. I feel deeply honoured that people from all over the world are coming to my small little town of Straža. I had a participant who came two times from Singapore, a retired headmaster who came all the way from New York City and other cities like Moscow and Kiev on the east and From Norway and Faroe Islands on the north, several participants came from the sunny Tel Aviv and just as sunny Spain, one even from Gibraltar, but most of them are coming from Italy, Germany, UK, Switzerland and Holland.