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Here is the glorious example of what North Carolina humidity does to cyanotype if you do not dry your paper thoroughly!

Here is an example of an uncleared and then cleared gum border that was exposed for 2 minutes only under HMI lights, with a 15% ammonium dichromate solution.  Print was cleared with 1% potassium metabisulfite for two minutes.  Under this light source, 7.5% dichromate (approx. 1 tsp per 100ml) is plenty strong. Clearing under this light source might be in order.



This is an example of dark reaction vs. continuing action.  Gum and dichromate were combined and the one on the left was left in the dark and photographed surreptitiously with a flash at intervals (caveat:  don't know how much effect 8 point and shoot flashes over a period of a week can count as continuing action); the one on the right was left out in normal room light both over a period of a week.  The dark reaction proceeded more slowly and never got as dark as the continuing action.  The continuing action developed lumps in it as well. In historical times, gummists used to leave the gum/pigment/dichromate mix for 24 hours to "speed things up"  even though today we are warned not to do so. I myself mix my coating solution up at time of use and do not save it, but it is worth an experimental try perhaps?



 This is an example of coated paper with the solution of dark reaction vs. continuing action early in the week and later in the week. The continuing action has the lumps in it.



Here is an example of substituting lemon juice for water in the gum/pigment/dichromate coating mix (image on right).  Just a quarter tsp of lemon juice in the teaspoon mix in place of a quarter tsp water causes this "look", which, according to Marek Matusz, is due to lemon juice being a chromium reducer. The example also shows the effect of printing on unsized paper.  I used to not size my paper but struggled with low contrast and stain so much that I bit the bullet and sized ever after.



My latest experiments have been with cyanotype.  I wanted to observe the effect of dilution of the solution to produce a paler, more cyan blue for tricolor gum.  Observe these step wedges to draw conclusions:





The picture below explains my pigment dilutions I use; the 3 strips on the left are for a soft print; on the right for a punchier colored print.




The following four pictures are of my dimroom and my kitchen and bathroom where I do my work. 






Below is a picture of "fisheyes"--my experience is that they occur most often with magenta pigments, whether the pigment is the first coat or the last. By the way, have someone else photograph them while you are brush-coating, because in the time that it takes to photograph them, it is next to impossible to then smooth out the coating layer!



Sizing paper Montana-style:  In Montana, rakes, brooms, ladders, and lawn mowers are great sizing helps :)



Below are scans of most of the colors in my gum dimroom that I use.  Reds range from bright orange-red to bright pink red to magenta to dull dark blood red.  Yellows range from bright clown yellow to middle-range yellows to green-yellows to deep golds and earths.  Blues are the most limited; I use phthalo blue the most because a little goes a long way, but the two weaker blues, cobalt and ultramarine, are also beautiful soft blues and my latest favorite, Delft blue (an indanthrone) from Schmincke is a great color for a last "unifying" gum coat on a tricolor gum print.  I do use Maimeri PBk7 carbon black and PW6 titanium white occasionally but did not think it necessary to scan these.