Dye Transfer Prints
Oct 13, 2017 17:35:14 #
These dye transfer prints are up to 60 years old and still have not faded.
The process is complex and labor intensive.
Starting with a color transparency, four 5x7 b&w transparencies are first made, three for color separation and one for highlights.
These are enlarged to 3 full size matrices consisting of a material which will adsorb dye solutions.
The final print requires soaking each of the color separation matrices in dyes of the primary colors and rolling them on an archival paper.
The process is complex and labor intensive.
Starting with a color transparency, four 5x7 b&w transparencies are first made, three for color separation and one for highlights.
These are enlarged to 3 full size matrices consisting of a material which will adsorb dye solutions.
The final print requires soaking each of the color separation matrices in dyes of the primary colors and rolling them on an archival paper.
Oct 13, 2017 17:53:06 #
Beautiful work!
A class called Color I at Brooks back in my day used the process where we made 6 final prints, but none as good as those. However we did learn to understand color from the ground up. We made two prints from still life sets--4 B&W negs made in camera, two from Transparencies, again 4 negatives to start, and two were just copies of artwork.
Years later the company I later worked for was commissioned to make large back-lite dye transfers for a fast food chain-- one set for each store. They were made and delivered to the display company for final installation. The display company loaded them in the back of a pickup truck, but a heavy rain turned those transfers back into nearly clear sheet of plastic!
A class called Color I at Brooks back in my day used the process where we made 6 final prints, but none as good as those. However we did learn to understand color from the ground up. We made two prints from still life sets--4 B&W negs made in camera, two from Transparencies, again 4 negatives to start, and two were just copies of artwork.
Years later the company I later worked for was commissioned to make large back-lite dye transfers for a fast food chain-- one set for each store. They were made and delivered to the display company for final installation. The display company loaded them in the back of a pickup truck, but a heavy rain turned those transfers back into nearly clear sheet of plastic!
Oct 13, 2017 18:48:49 #
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Oct 13, 2017 18:52:52 #
These images are excellent but the process is almost beyond my understanding.
Oct 14, 2017 09:18:57 #
Oct 14, 2017 09:28:50 #
Kodak stopped manufacturing materials for dye transfer printing back in the 89's. These are from a collection we are fortunate to have.
Oct 14, 2017 11:45:13 #
aesop wrote:
These dye transfer prints are up to 60 years old a... (show quote)
I learned how to do this just before Kodak pulled the plug on all their Dye Transfer materials and then blocked Fuji from importing theirs. You are right, it is labor intensive, but when you get your first good print, it is an "aHa!" moment.
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Oct 14, 2017 12:01:43 #
My compliments to you for getting thru the process. The prints I posted were done in the Kodak labs.
Oct 14, 2017 12:50:38 #
aesop wrote:
My compliments to you for getting thru the process. The prints I posted were done in the Kodak labs.
It was not easy, but I learned from Jim Bones, Elliot Porter's darkroom assistant at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, Colorado.
For anyone interested here is a 48 minute video from Elliot Porter's Darkroom that goes through the process.
Oct 14, 2017 14:35:01 #
Thanks for the video. We have a fairly large collection of dye transfer prints in including some derivations. We have donated a great many to the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester NY where they are on display and will be through October.
Oct 14, 2017 14:36:43 #
Great work! The stated advantage of Dye Transfer, at the time, I recall (I could not even think of affording), was longevity plus the possibility of making a print from a color slide that would endure. Your examples certainly prove that it was not Marketing BS. Thanks for sharing. I shot a lot of Kodachrome in that day with my Argus C3! They are still viable images to view, the Ektachromes unfortunately, are not! My only problem with the Kodachromes is that I was nowhere skilled as I am now in making good images!
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Oct 14, 2017 23:14:58 #
Oct 15, 2017 02:56:07 #
wdross
Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado
aesop wrote:
These dye transfer prints are up to 60 years old a... (show quote)
Really nice shots. And they will fade over time. You will see the slight change in color in another 440 years. Of course if you treat them right, you might get another 100 or 200 years more out of the prints before they start fading away.
Oct 16, 2017 11:44:39 #
Bob Hartung
Thanks again for the video. I have sent it on to some R.I.T
staff where I believe it will be shown to their photography
students.
DON Pease
Honeoye. NY
Thanks again for the video. I have sent it on to some R.I.T
staff where I believe it will be shown to their photography
students.
DON Pease
Honeoye. NY
Oct 16, 2017 11:48:44 #
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