carbro wow

I received a stunning print in the mail this weekend. Carbromac, "Mac" sent me a print in an exchange. I am absolutely amazed by it. It has such a rich 3-d effect. The texture just jumps off the paper at you. When I find the time, I must learn how to do this process.

Aggie said:

I received a stunning print in the mail this weekend. Carbromac, "Mac" sent me a print in an exchange. I am absolutely amazed by it. It has such a rich 3-d effect. The texture just jumps off the paper at you. When I find the time, I must learn how to do this process.

Click to expand...

That was my impression the first time I saw one of Mac's monochrome carbros back in the early 90s. And the relief effect which can be present in carbon as well as carbro prints, is not just an apparent dimensional effect. It is in fact quite real, as the shadows, mid-tones and highlights exist quite literally in different planes with relationship to the surface of the paper.

Most color carbon and carbro prints also show a lot of relief, though unfortunatley the most recent versions of the process, Evercolor and Ultrastable, showed very low if any relief.

Althhough some other pigment processes, gum bichromate for example, can also show some relief effect, they can not equal, or even come close for that matter, to the potential of carbon and carbro.


Sandy

Aggie - Glad you liked the print, when I decided to do this, I went in the darkroom, closed the door and two years later came out with a print, the process has been improving every year, now that I have worked out the details, it is fairly easy. I must warn you that carbro prints are quite adictive. It kicks my work up another notch and I never print silver, it does not have the "life" that a carbro or carbon print does.
Sandy and I have been trading details for the past twent years, we all need all the help we can get.

Want to mention that I received today a new carbro print from Mac from his work in China. Just extraordinary. Wonderful powerful image and gorgeous presentation with the relief.

I want to encourage anyone out there on the west coast (or anywhere else for that matter) to consider doing a workshop with Mac if you have any interest in pigment printing processes such as carbon and carbro. He is truly one of the great masters of carbro, by any historical context. Mac has knowledge and experience with monochrome carbro equal to or greater than anyone in the world today, and his carbro prints are as exquisite as any I have ever seen. I would very much hope that there are people who would want to learn and perpetuate this beautiful photographic printing process, and if you want to learn to make carbro prints, know for certain that Mac is a master printer in what he does.

I can say for fact certain that just looking at one of Mac’s prints some fifteen or so years ago resulted in tremendous lift in the quality of my own work in carbro, though for several reasons I later shifted to the sister process carbon.

Sandy King