DCG recipe

jsfisher · Post by **jsfisher** » Wed Dec 21, 2011 5:42 pm

I've been reading a few journal articles in anticipation of my first attempt with DCG. One thing I have noted is that the concentrations favored in the literature for gelatin and dichromate differ from what seems to be favored here. I keep finding 5% w/v for gelatin to water and 10% w/w for dichromate to gelatin. So, those figures would work out to 100 ml water to 5 grams gelatin to 0.5 grams AmDi or KDi. The holowiki suggestion is 100:12:3 (i.e. 12% gelatin to water and 25% dichromate to gelatin).

Has anyone played with recipes closer to the 100:5:0.5 suggestion? Care to share your experience?

holomaker · Post by **holomaker** » Wed Dec 21, 2011 6:47 pm

typical ratios i used for green were 14 grams knox gelatin,5 grams AMDI and 100ML DI water, if using green 532nm laser light you want as much AMDI as possible (to provide highest sensitivity) without crystalising the films surface.

jsfisher · Post by **jsfisher** » Wed Dec 21, 2011 7:30 pm

holomaker wrote:typical ratios i used for green were 14 grams knox gelatin,5 grams AMDI and 100ML DI water, if using green 532nm laser light you want as much AMDI as possible (to provide highest sensitivity) without crystalising the films surface.

Yeah, 14 grams is the obvious amount (that being two packets). 5 grams? Ok. I was originally thinking in terms of 116:14:4, but I can see your logic for 5. And, yes, it will be with a not-too-powerful 523nm laser. It may well be true that the gelatin/water ratio isn't all that important. The gelatin should absorb whatever water it absorbs and the rest is lost in drying. It probably affects the thickness of the emulsion on the glass plate, though, right?

jsfisher · Post by **jsfisher** » Wed Dec 21, 2011 7:31 pm

Oops.

Johnfp · Post by **Johnfp** » Thu Dec 22, 2011 10:25 am

Yes, the more gelatin, the thicker the plate.
The more AmDi the more sensitive but also, the more loss of object lighting in a SBR set up. As that light needs to go through the plate.

So it is a balance and the numbers mentioned in the Wiki are a good starting point that has decent thickness with ample sensitivity. You can then adjust as you like to achieve your desired effect.