when I searched today about B&W masters, I discovered that there are many types of printings they use, I know about the digital printing, traditional printing, & Ilfochrome (Cibachrome) but looks there are many ways to print a photo.
I am curious to know how many printing methods are there for printing images as fine art print? Both color & B&W, and which method considered the best in term of quality (looking & permanence)? Oh..have you heard about platinum print?
Posted by David Bostedo on August 19, 2010 at 9:01 AM
Mohsen - I don't think I can really give you a full answer - I have no idea about permanence and haven't done any printing other than digital myself. I also don't obsess over small differences like some printers. But...
I own a platinum print from Carl Weese and have seen a few others. They're very nice. The thing about prints of different types, though, is that in general the more modern methods are all nearly equally "good" in terms of quality. Some are easier and some are harder to create. Some have more of a unique look than others. But in general, for tonal value, sharpness, gradations, etc. they all seem to be close to each other, with some slight strengths and weaknesses. And high end digital prints are in the same area in all of those properties as well.
There are probably a lot more ways to print, but one you might want to look up is dye transfer - which has the largest gamut of wet methods but is not really practiced anymore as it's very labor intensive. Some people think nothing compares to it for color work.
Posted by Mel Ladewig on August 19, 2010 at 2:29 PM
There are ALOT.
Small sample of monotone alt printing methods (there are TONS):
Platinum/Palladium
Carbon
Cyanotype
Ziatype
Albumen
Van Dyke
Salt print
Tintype
Ambrotype
These typically use hand coated materials, mostly paper, but glass and metal are used as well.
In color, there are a couple alt methods these days:
Dye Transfer example
Gum Bichromate example
Lithography is a viable option for fine quality printing both in B&W and color with quality. In short you project an image onto a polished stone covered in a light sensitive chemical film, which is then chemically etched to provide a plate for ink printing.
More modern B&W materials are silver gelatin or resin coated and they can be toned in various solutions like selenium or sepia.
Then in traditional color there are RA-4 (negative) printing and Cibachrome/Ilfochrome (positive) printing outputs. There are transparent print materials available in RA4 media.
Both B&W and color chemically processed materials can be printed digitally these days on systems like the Chromira or Lightjet printers.
Then you can get into the inkjet and of the options that go along with it. Pigment, dye, solvent, and a multitude of substrates such as paper, film, or metal.
You can merge inkjet output on film as a negative with contact printing methods such as carbon transfer to create another huge range of possibilities.
The scope of fine art printing options is truly huge.
Platinum and Palladium prints are considered to have excellent stability. Carbon transfer prints are superb for stability as well.
Discussion
2 repliesI am curious to know how many printing methods are there for printing images as fine art print? Both color & B&W, and which method considered the best in term of quality (looking & permanence)? Oh..have you heard about platinum print?
I own a platinum print from Carl Weese and have seen a few others. They're very nice. The thing about prints of different types, though, is that in general the more modern methods are all nearly equally "good" in terms of quality. Some are easier and some are harder to create. Some have more of a unique look than others. But in general, for tonal value, sharpness, gradations, etc. they all seem to be close to each other, with some slight strengths and weaknesses. And high end digital prints are in the same area in all of those properties as well.
If you want more info on making a platinum print, look at the slideshow and text of Carl Weese making a platinum print from The Online Photographer.
There are probably a lot more ways to print, but one you might want to look up is dye transfer - which has the largest gamut of wet methods but is not really practiced anymore as it's very labor intensive. Some people think nothing compares to it for color work.
Small sample of monotone alt printing methods (there are TONS):
Platinum/Palladium
Carbon
Cyanotype
Ziatype
Albumen
Van Dyke
Salt print
Tintype
Ambrotype
These typically use hand coated materials, mostly paper, but glass and metal are used as well.
In color, there are a couple alt methods these days:
Dye Transfer example
Gum Bichromate example
Lithography is a viable option for fine quality printing both in B&W and color with quality. In short you project an image onto a polished stone covered in a light sensitive chemical film, which is then chemically etched to provide a plate for ink printing.
More modern B&W materials are silver gelatin or resin coated and they can be toned in various solutions like selenium or sepia.
Then in traditional color there are RA-4 (negative) printing and Cibachrome/Ilfochrome (positive) printing outputs. There are transparent print materials available in RA4 media.
Both B&W and color chemically processed materials can be printed digitally these days on systems like the Chromira or Lightjet printers.
Then you can get into the inkjet and of the options that go along with it. Pigment, dye, solvent, and a multitude of substrates such as paper, film, or metal.
You can merge inkjet output on film as a negative with contact printing methods such as carbon transfer to create another huge range of possibilities.
The scope of fine art printing options is truly huge.
Platinum and Palladium prints are considered to have excellent stability. Carbon transfer prints are superb for stability as well.