I need some advice on Ilfochromes

hey all,

late night post to all you out there....

I have the hair-brained idea to make some Ilfochromes. "Why" is what I'm getting from people at my local photography center. When I try to tell them about them, and how they look very different in so many ways than standard c-prints or even well-done lightjets(same process I know).

The problem I have is this:

1. I have NEVER printed Ilfochromes before (I'm 21)
2. There isn't really anyone at the center who has done it in any recent amount of time. Most did the more common reversal process(can't remember the name)
3. What do I need to do this? Chemistry-wise?
4. Technique/Process. How is it done, basics?

I will have access to enlargers(duh), and a jobo cpp2 motor base with arm(yum). So temp. control shouldn't be a problem.

Any of you experienced Ilfochrome printers out there please respond. I REALLY WANT TO DO THIS before Ilford decides that there is no need for this anymore.


Thanks

-Dan in so cal USA




P.S. Any little Tips and Trricks would be helpful as well. I will most likely be printing from my kodachromes I've shot over the last year and some High Sierra stuff from a few years back.

Blessings

I'm not 'experienced', but I have printed Ilfochromes, and I can assure you it's ridiculously easy to do.

The chemistry packs seem to change every other week, but I think this week it's called 'P30' - in any event, it's three solutions (developer, bleach, fix) that are incredibly easy to mix compared to regular colour kits - if I remember right they all just dilute 1:1 (i.e. 1 litre of concentrate makes 2 litres working solution.)

If you don't have a colour enlarger head you'll need a set of colour filters for your enlarger, but once you've got that it's easy.


The Ilfochrome 'paper' (plastic really) will have a suggested filtration printed on the pack. Dial that into your enlarger (or put the appropriate filters above/below the lens,) expose the paper, develop for a few minutes, bleach for a few minutes, fix for a few more, and then wash. That's it!


(Obviously you'll want to make test prints, adjust the colour to taste etc., but it really is that simple.) If you wind up in the world of having to make contrast masks to flatten the contrast of your slides for the paper you're in a world more difficulty, but there's no reason not to get started as you are.


The only painful part of Ilfochrome is paying for the paper and chemicals! It's absurdly expensive, but otherwise a doddle - and the results are beautiful.

Good luck!

(Incidentally, I can't remember - there may be an intermediate wash step in there somewhere ;-). Also, it's been a while since I did any Ilfochromes, but if I remember rightly the process is at something approaching room temperature and isn't particularly temperature critical (insofar as you can adjust development to match the temperature you're developing at.))

I've done RA4 color printing. I'm personally fine with that. I know how to do Ilfochrome though I've never done it myself. There are a few web pages out there.

I believe you start with the filter pack listed on your box of paper or you establish a filter pack by trial and error, viewing your confirming strip underneath the correct light that you want to display under. This is after you establish your time using a test strip. Once established, you make a print using the time and filtration specified.
It sounds simple though there are a few things you should know. You'll need to mask the contrast of the original negative 90% of the time to get the contrast within the range of the paper. This requires a pin registration system, b+w film and processing, and a lot of time. The paper at the 8x10 size is $3 a sheet, and the chemistry costs $200 for a 2 liter batch. The bleach has a pH of 1; don't stick your fingers in there. I've also heard that the paper is very slow, almost to the point where people had to use a regular enlarger with filters because dichroic heads don't produce enough light to escape reciprocity in the paper. Other than the cost, health hazards, and time it takes, I've heard it makes great results.

Personally, printing from negatives works and works well. Ektar gives me good colors, and the prints are big and shiny. I'll probably have one made sometime, but for now I'm sticking with negative work.

The chemistry comes with adequate instructions for processing the prints. Using minimal chemistry one-shot (150 ml for 2 8 x 10's) gives best results in a drum. Don't put your hands in the chemistry and have good ventilation. For disposal, I use a 2 gallon paint bucket (about $2 at Home Depot) to dump the chems from each step. By the time the dev, bleach and fix are mixed together it starts to neutralize. Add some baking soda and when it stops fizzing, its more or less neutral. Add some water, then slowly pour down the drain with water running. This is relatively environmentally safe and won't eat your drain pipes. The printing itself is relatively easy. The paper is slow, so will require much longer exposures than RA-4 and easier to get the right exposure, as it has a wide exposure latitude. Nail exposure before adjusting color. It takes about twice the filter change as RA-4 to get an equivalent color change. When exposures get much beyond 1 minute there is some reciprocity failure in that a 2 minute exposure is not twice 1 minute. Also in this range some additional yellow filtration is needed. This process works best with subjects that are not high contrast. Get familiar with the process before experimenting with masking. I rarely use masks. If detail is not in the slide, you will never get it in the print.
Good luck.

Bob

And one other thing - remember that this is positive to positive - so everything is backwards from what you are used to in the darkroom. More exposure makes a print lighter not darker. Filter changes are also backwards from RA-4 printing.

Bob