Basic/sustitute emulsion dyes

Alcayatas

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Hello,

I just looking equivalent dyes to put in a experimental emulsion, so some ones like Pinacyanol, Pinaverdol, are not available for non professional customer.
So I get Erytrosin, Eosin, Tartrazin, but no many more.... to get something like otrochromatic, but to aproach me to panchromatic, I was think in one like Methylene blue as a powder, not oil based, and also a Gentian Violet.

Has anyone get any experience finding sustitute easy-to-find dyes?


Thankyou,
 

dwross

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I've never found one. Unfortunately, not all dyes are photosensitizers. Gentian violet was used to dye the purple potato starch particles in autochromes, but I don't think it was used as a sensitizer. Do you have an alternative/historical process chemistry supplier available to you? They might be able to special order pinacyanol for you. Good luck. If you can't make an actual panchromatic emulsion, there is still a lot of creative potential with orthochromatic. If you use a yellow filter, the only color you won't be able to record is warm red.
 
OP
OP

Alcayatas

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Unfortunatelly, my local suppliers don't sell me as a non professional user, this kind of dyes. Well I do some experimentation when I have free time with emulsions as a hobby, so I'm not in a hurry.
I remeber some simple experiments I use to do In the begining, with some vegetables juice, like carrots, red cabbage, myrtille, beet.... some of them maybe are photosensible, (evidenly ultra low sensibility). I used to extended in a paper, and put some objects up, and expose to the sun, then appears de silouette of the objects. Maybe there was some way to concentrate this colorants chemically.
Anyway you are right, a good ortochromatic its a big deal by the way.
 

boring old man

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Ethyl violet was used in autochromes, methyl violet is supposed to get orange.
 

dwross

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Crystal violet (also called gentian violet or methyl violet) plus methylene blue, were the dyes used for purple potato starch granules. Orange was a combination of yellow tartrazine with rose Bengal and eosin. (The Lumiere Autochrome, History, Technology, and Preservation, by Bertrand Lavedrine and Jean-Paul Gandolfo, 2013, The Getty Conservation Institute, p.139)
 
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