Pictoriographica Dry Plates
January 14, 2018
Newly made dry plates are once again available for purchase thanks to the efforts Jason Lane of Brookline, New Hampshire, who has established a small cottage industry making dry plates of all sizes to meet the growing demand and interest in the once-forgotten process. A lens designer and optical engineer by profession, his engineering background has helped him to master the process of emulsion-making and coating of glass to create consistent, good quality dry plates. Using his own recipe and mixing it himself, the resulting emulsion coats beautifully and has a "normal" spectral sensitivity, giving a unique late-19th century look to prints that Jason really likes. Jason shoots it at (an effective) ISO 2 and tray develops for 5 minutes at 68F in HC-110 Dil B.
The endeavor started with an offering of a few spare boxes of 4"x5" plates on Photrio.com. The plates sold in minutes, with interested photographers asking if he could make more. To meet the unexpected demand, Jason has established an online shop named Pictoriographica where the plates can be ordered. Starting with 4"x5" sized plates, the shop's catalog of standard sizes will grow as demand dictates. He's currently in the process of adding listings for 5"x7" as well as quarter plates and whole plates.He also makes metric sizes for customers in Europe. Aside from those, Jason offers custom-sized plates in any size. The largest size he has made to date is a set of 11"x14" plates, but even that is about to be surpassed by a custom order for 12"x20" plates.
Facebook
