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Preparing Paper is THE solution to many problems involved with gum printing!

The first year or two I made Gum prints I did little or nothing to prepare my paper. Many times a print would be coming along, look great during development, and then as it was drying, any remaining pigment would seep into the fibers of the paper to be trapped there forever, clouding up the whites of my image. Other times during development, pigment would seep up and back into the paper, or maybe sneak around the backside, creating blotchy patterns. There were several factors causing these problems, the biggest one was using un sized paper.

Sizing

To size something means to protect a surface from soaking up whatever is on it. Artists size their canvas and papers with a variety of concoctions, using rabbit skin glue, or gelatin, or Gum Arabic even, so that oil paints, for example, do not seep into the canvas causing staining or deterioration.

Knowing this fact, my first conclusion was to size my watercolor paper using a solid layer of white gum. And in my third attempt at a multi colored gum print, the technique succeeded marvelously! Problem was, my success was only pure luck. I used Chinese White pigment for the base layer, and sometimes zinc white. I found that I had to load nearly 4 or 5 times as much white pigment as normal to make the layer opaque enough to do any good.

After all that, staining from the backside would still happen when I added a few more layers. My white paper base would also be slightly stained by pigments as well, turning to a dingier color then the paper base. Gum print layers are also slimy, giving successive layers a chance to flake off in annoying little bits during development. It didn't help to coat my entire print with a slimy surface in the first place.

Everywhere I turned for help suggested using plain old gelatin to size my paper. I was sure that would work. I needed something to seep into the fibers of the paper first, and keep pigments from ever working their way in. The trouble with gelatin is, it too dissolves in water. You need to harden the gelatin with a formalin solution (basically formaldehyde). Even more trouble ...I couldn't find where to buy formalin, anywhere! I still can't! Formalin also is a dangerous toxic substance.

Through arduous trial and error, and many pitfalls, I finally found a wonderful solution:

 Diluted Acrylic Gesso!!!

No staining after a dozen layers! And it is not slippery either! It is also safer to your health!

Sizing Paper:

>> You will need acrylic gesso! It can be found at any arts and crafts store by the paints.

>> First, I grab 2 sheets of watercolor paper, and mark off the corners of the transparency film size 8.5x11 inches on the paper using a pencil. (ink will bleed during development).

>> I squeeze out a bead of gesso into my mixing tray about the size of a quarter, and then I put about 4 times as much water in there with it, maybe more? It is kind of random how I dilute it, as the water inevitably will evaporate away.

>> Mix the gesso and water together, until it resembles milk.

>> I then use a flat sponge bush (a different one than I use for my gum layers because acrylics can ruin it) and coat an even layer on 2 different sheets of paper using my measured pencil marks as a guide, and going outside of them slightly. It is very white, and difficult to see.

Using the glare from a lamp helps to see what you are doing on the paper. I will brush over the area vertically and horizontally repeatedly, allowing the sizing to soak in evenly. I never press too hard, as this could easily damage the wet paper.

>> Then, you set the prints aside to dry. I dry mine with a fan blowing on them. Acrylic takes a short time to feel dry, but it will not BE completely dry until the next day. So I always coat a few sheets ahead of time. (You also might avoid drying your prints on carpet as I am in this photograph)