Re: [Leica] Harvey's Cuba & Ciba

[Rich Lahrson <tripspud@wenet.net>]

> >>>What surprised me was that, according to the guy in the gallery,
> everything was shot on slide, then 8x10 color inter negatives were made
> from the slides, and the prints were made from the internegs. The prints
> looked great but I would never figure that one out! Why not print the
> slides on Ilfochrome (Ciba) in the first place? Contrast control?<<<
> --Mike

Hi Mike,

     Back in the pre-digital '70s, I had a professional custom color lab, a
very small operation and that's the way prints were made from slides, in
my case on Kodak Internegative Film in 4x5.

     The Internegative film is the reason.  It's designed to give the
correct contrast.  I had a separate room set up to develop the internegatives
by hand in sheet film tanks with hangers and a simple replentishment schedule
at 75 degrees in a water jacket.  Usually, the exposure for the internegatives
was standardized.  Tests were run for the C prints.  If I remember correctly,
the cost was ten or twelve dollars for an 8x10 print with e the second print
dropping to four dollars.

     In another small room was a 16x20 Calumet processor set up for the C prints
with nigrogen burst agitation, and in yet another small room a 4x5 SuperCromega
with a deck built around it and a moveable easel platform with slots all the
way to the floor.

     A small finishing area with dry press, a black and white area, copy area
and front office completed the lab.

     I bought the lab from someone else.  He said it was designed by Kodak.  In
'71, with a downtown San Fransico location, the rent was $145/month.  Well, 
so much for small businesses with today's rents!  

				Cheers,

						Rich Lahrson
						tripspud@wenet.net