Colour printing using conventional B&W materials?

[Removed Account]

I was up really late last night and a few different darkroom ideas running through my head, which eventually merged in to one. I hope to try it out soon if the general concensus is that there was nothing other than tobacco in my pipe.

I was thinking about 3 colour carbon, using in-camera separations on B&W film. I was also thinking about emulsions lifting off paper in hot water, and how the emulsion can be stained or dyed a colour rather than a chemical toner for the metal.

My idea was this: Using the RGB in-camera separation negatives to produce 3 prints. Each of these prints would be dyed using food colouring for testing, perhaps more permanent dyes if the idea proved workable. Cyan for the red neg, magenta for the green, and yellow for the blue. Then the emulsions would be floated off in hot water and reassembled on to a plain white sheet of paper hopefully revealing a full-colour print. If the emulsion is unmanageable after removal from the original paper then perhaps removing them one at a time, in contact with another sheet of paper, and then again on to the final base to correct the lateral reversal. An undyed emulsion could even be used as a K layer.

I don't have much money for photo stuff right now, but I think some food colouring and a package of 5x7 RC paper is doable provided I'm not COMPLETELY insane!

 

[Steve Smith]

This sounds interesting. I assume that the separations would be done the same way as for CMYK printing.

I experimented with CMYK screen printing of photographs about twenty years ago but I didn't really have the right equipment or knowledge to do it with any degree of success.

Good luck,


Steve.

 

[Aurum]

Its the sort of thing that could work. The same sort of thing can be done with Gum bichromate or casien work, but needs a substrate that is very stable, and a good degree of registration for the negatives, otherwise it'll end up looking like a cheap, badly printed comic from the 50's

 

[Ian Grant]

Just occasionally the old Tri-colour cameras appear on Ebay, I think there was one on another forum recently to. With one of those you could make all your negs at the time of shooting

Ian

 

[Photo Engineer]

This method was used for years to make Carbro, Bromoil and other types of color prints. Today, Dye Transfer is used.

For a complete discription of this see the book by Leadly and Stegmeyer, which I believe is "Color Printing". You may also wish to visit http://www.dyetransfer.org/ and the dye transfer group on yahoo. Ctein is also noted for using this method.

Many of these guys use 3 color cameras and there is a discussion going on at this time on the Dead Link Removed about this method.

PE

 

[Aurum]

I'll whisper it, but this is the sort of thing that the Hybrid photographers like doing as well. Be worth your while having a look around hybrid photo to see how its done over there.

If nothing else it will give a different slant on it, and there might be some ideas that you can carry over into the analogue sphere

 

[Removed Account]

Is Efke Matrix film still available? Going the dye transfer route would probably be more productive than trying to reinvent the wheel, although that certainly has its charms!

 

[Removed Account]

Is Making Color Prints by Jerome H. Leadley the book you were talking about, Ron?

 

[Photo Engineer]

Justin there is a volume by Leadly and Stegmeyer published by Ziff Davis. It is a small book but very comprehensive on many color processes. No color examples are presented though. It includes color carbon and color bromoil in the examples and these are easily done without Matrix film if you can't get any.

I understand some of the Efke Matrix is still available. Try on the yahoo site for dye transfer for information. Someone had some for sale recently IIRC.

PE