Prints crafted for art collectors and connoisseurs

What is a Platina Limited Edition?

A limited edition simply means there is a defined limited number of prints available of a certain image at a certain size. This provides buyers with confidence knowing that what they are buying is rare and unique.

There is an added inherent rarity to Platina prints: they are unique in their creation, and therefore harder than usual to produce multiple copies. It’s why each work is so bespoke. This is especially so of the Lith prints, which are highly variable between prints courtesy of the infectious development used to make the prints and the extremely high sensitivity of this process to variations in temperature, oxidisation of developer and age of chemicals present.

The vast majority of the photography art market produces identical inkjet-derived pigment prints, for which multiple editions is very easy to control owing to the use of machines. Pigment prints, despite popular claims, are not hand made.

Why is Platinum/Palladium so desired and collectible?

Despite most photography enthusiasts never having seen a platinum palladium print in person, these rare prints enjoy a cult-following among committed collectors. There are several reasons. Many consider the aesthetic appearance unrivalled. The platinum and/or palladium nanoparticles are hand coated into the actual paper fibres themselves. This has two effects: it brings a beautiful texture into the image tones and it also provides an incredibly matt surface which is excellent for viewing prints at any angle. The size and colour of these particles is controlled by humidity.

Collectors also value the superior archival superiority of platinum and palladium prints. A good silver gelatin print if double-fixed and Selenium toned should last 200 years. It is widely accepted a properly cleared Platinum/Palladium print can last for up to 1,000 years, meaning the Platina Editions palladium print in your collection will be admired by people in the distant future. 

There is also a rich pedigree of photographic legends who pioneered, developed, championed or revived Platinum Palladium printing including Imogen Cunningham, Edward Weston, Alfred Stiegltitz, Tina Modotti, Fredrick Evans, Peter Henry Emerson and more recently Irving Penn, ensuring the Platinum Palladium print, with its unmatched subtle tonality represents the unrivalled print of choice for connoisseurs of photographic art.

I’ve not heard of a Lith print - what is it?

A lith print is a heavily overexposed darkroom print, which is only partially developed. The developer is purposed for Lithography, but when used in high dilution, with compatible paper, produces nuanced prints with a high degree of varying tone, grain size and colour. The developing process, rather than being a standardised timed-based method as with traditional silver gelatin printing, is highly variable and therefor exciting. This alchemy brings a great deal of creativity to the printing stage, producing a variety of possibilities for expression.

Lith prints are just as stable as silver gelatin, and are printed onto traditional fibre based paper.

What is a Salt Print?

A salt print is produced applying a hand coated mixture of Salt and Silver Nitrate on pure paper that comes into direct contact with a negative. It derives from the origins of photography, invented by Henry Fox Talbert and was the most popular printing method around the mid 1800’s. Almost all salt prints are toned for stability, generally with either Gold or Selenium. The tonal range and delicacy of the salt print is similar to the Platinum Palladium print. The print consists of two coatings, applied consecutively, giving the final print a higher chance of expressing evidence of handmade imperfection.

What is meant by Hand Made?

All work is meticulously made with the artist’s own hands. The image is mostly captured on film (usually 4x5 or 8x10 inch large format) and hand developed in light-proof tanks in my own darkroom. Light-sensitive papers are exposed to negatives either by direct contact (Platinum, Palladium and Salt) or via projection and enlarger (Lith, Silver). On some occasions, prints are produced using a digitally derived internegative (PiezoDN), after which they continue the journey to print using traditional analogue printing methods by hand. All this information is displayed when purchasing work.

For Platinum, Palladium and Salt prints, I hand coat papers by using carefully prepared sensitisers. The processing of papers is done manually in trays, undertaking thorough and archival fix, and rinsed sometimes for up to 2 hours. It is not unusual for a Platinum Palladium or Salt print to take 6 hours from start to finish. Lith prints are usually the result of several printing sessions with a single negative.

How can I prove my print is a Limited Edition?

Each print will be issued with a certificate of authenticity and two matching holographic non-removable stickers. The stickers have matching serial numbers, ensuring the print matches certificate.

Platina Editions are bespoke, generally small to medium in size, exclusively hand printed and strictly limited in small and valuable edition numbers. The matching holographic serial numbers and certificate ensures editions can be easily catalogued but not tampered with, giving collectors confidence in proving their edition and referencing it for future reference.

Collectors should keep the issued certificate of authenticity in a safe place to provide proof of edition.