I devised a punch and pin registration system for my negatives:

I adjusted the size of my paper to accommodate 2 punches from a 3-hole punch. Then I added a strip of mylar to the top of each 4x5 neg with clear tape for the same reason. I aligned all three on a light box, taped them together temporarily so they would stay put, and punched holes through all three layers of mylar at the same time. This is the application of the system:

Registration pins are taped to a drawing board. The paper and negative are attached to the pins and sandwiched between glass and a rayonbase.

I was testing three major elements this round: new madder roots sourced from a local market, the effectiveness of the registration, and paper types: Canson Montval Watercolor, Fabriano Unica, and Hahnemuhle Bamboo Mixed Media.

These madder roots required more processing, and are less potent and purple than my first batch. It required a longer exposure time. Also, I only applied one layer of emulsion for the next (yellow) layer to try to avoid overpowering the gentle pink.

The magenta layers:

Hahnemuhle Bamboo Mixed Media

Canson Montval Watercolor

Fabriano Unica

All three layers registered beautifully.

Hahnemuhle Bamboo Mixed Media:

M: 45min  Y: 55min  C:34min

M: 45min Y: 55min  C:32min

Fabriano Unica:

M: 30min  Y: 55min  C: 32min

M: 45min  Y: 55min  C: 28min

Canson Montval Watercolor:

M: 21min  Y: 55min  C: 30min

M: 30min  Y: 55min  C: 24min

Honestly, I’m getting tired of working with this image, and I think it’s the wrong one for running tests because the original scene had so little red. I am feeling displeased with the color balance, which is missing red despite the paper being stained pink. So I guess the next step will be to focus on the magenta layer. I am very happy that the registration method worked so well, and I’m really liking the Hahnemuhle Bamboo and Fabriano Unica papers, which are smooth enough to pick up fine detail from my negatives.