Platinum/Palladium:
An Overview

Platinum [Pt] and Palladium [Pd] are similar metals which produce prints characterized by an exceptionally long tonal scale. What might be a monochromatic black on a silver print, for example, will be rendered as a series of subtly differentiated shadow tones on a [Pt/Pd] print. Similarly, middle and highlight tones are more delicately defined with this non-silver process. Since the prints are hand coated onto artist's quality rag paper, the image actually sits in the fiber of the paper so the texture and weave of the paper become integral to the image as compared to silver prints where the emulsion layer sits on top of, rather than in, the paper surface.

 illustration #2
 
illustration 1 Platinum and Palladium were titled "noble metals" by the alchemists because they were impervious to all solvents save aqua regia (King's Water), a potent mix of concentrated hydrochloric and nitric acids. Platinum and palladium metals are among the most archival available, far more resistant to light, oxidation, and chemical contamination than silver; well made prints from the mid-1800's show no fading or staining. A well-processed [Pt/Pd] print lasts as long as the substrate it is printed on; the paper base will fall apart before the metals show any change.