Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/04/11
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Alfie, Those processes are dying because they're expensive and time consuming. In an age where people can shoot digital and take them home to print on "archival" papaer ink jet why would they want a fine ciba or pdt? Truth be told, there are a couple of labs that do it still. Ilfochrome (ciba) is done here in California by Rob Reiter in berkeley. (last I checked about 2 months ago) As for PDT, there is a lab that does it, but I don't have their name off the top of my typing fingers. Pdt is a very long involved process and I doubt that they can get what their time is worth in the process. (making 4 seperate dye layers, pin registering them.... it takes a while) As for a comparison, well there is none. You can get SOME of the same charicteristics in a type r fuji sg print but its not NEARLY as archival. It is just as contrasty and requires masking sometimes. I just saw a carbon print (PDT) a few days ago.. when you look at it from the side, you can see the textures.. Absolutely beautiful! Classic photography is going the same direction as paper making and letter press printing. (I have a BFA in Photography with a minor in papermaking and letter press.. don't ask why ;)) Letter presses are still available and are being used by artists... That style of printing went out when lith came in. Why invest in a line-o-type machine (big machine that makes type by pouring hot lead into a mold.. a VERY neat machine) when you can get a computer to output print quality text and either shoot film (lith) of it or simply go from the computer to offset press plates? Students/Artists/Hobbyists are going to be the sole reason B/W and Custom Color will stay alive. - -Mark On Thu, 11 Apr 2002, Albert Wang wrote: > Hi everyone, > > I called up a few professional labs in the Philadelphia area to check out > their options on color printing and found out there was no one who does > either Pigment Dye Transfer or Cibachrome processing anymore. My question is > why are these standard color processing technique dying out all over? Why > has digital methods taken over? Can a digitally colored print approximate > the quality of the pigment dye transfer or Cibachrome prints? Personally my > gut feelings is that they are not. > > I doubt that most standard color processing can be as archival as Pigment > Dye Transfer or Cibachrome but printing on Duraflex seems to be fairly close > in today's world. > > Alfie > > _________________________________________________________________ > Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com > > -- > To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html > - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html