Printing color images from 3 black and white negatives

[tibz]

Recently for experimentation I tried to create color images from 3 black and

white negatives shot through red green and blue filters, as the class I am

taking is a black and white photography course. I used Ilford FP-5 film through

theater light filters, processed the negatives, scanned them into Photoshop, and

then combined them by adding the three images to the red green and blue

channels. After lining them up the results were very good-much better than I

would have expected using these materials. My question is whether there is a

good way to print these without the technology. I am taking a high school

photography course, and my school doesn't do the usual C-41 RA-4 color due to

the "extreme toxicity" involved. There is a printing process I found a while ago

called something like Gum Bichromate printing which involved a compound that

became insoluble in water when exposed to light, and once you added a pigment

and painted the solution onto paper you could treat this like an ordinary print

and simply wash it in water after exposing each color. The problems here would

be aligning the paper up for each color as each have to be done separately so as

you can see this could quickly become extremely long and tedious spanning many

days of excruciating effort, trial and error, and possible success. The other

problem is that one of the substances used is carcinogenic, so that probably

would not fly in a school afraid of anything over vinegar. My photo teacher

suggested using three sheets of lithographic film, toning them, and displaying

them with a light behind it. I have not had any experiences with toners so far,

and I'm wondering if A. this would work at all with litho films, or B. if cyan,

magenta, and yellow toners are made in the first place. I don't know how many

other people have tried this since Kodachrome was invented, but any helps and

hints would be appreciated.<div></div>

[rnt]

I think that if you're going to display them as a composite transparency you'll need to leave them as RGB. CMY(K) is for reflected print media. I've done stacked color separated images using transparency material in an inkjet printer (yes, CMYK, but it worked, sort of).

[philippe_ayral]

Everything explained there but it's in French?

All the process?

[kparratt]

Nicholas, you are well on the way to working with either Gum bichromate, and/or a number of other printmaking methods, such as photogravure (either the real copperplate version or the currently used photo-polymer - with less depth) photo-etching and photolithography. But clearly it is beyond the scope of the school you are attending.

 

Don't give up, but you may have to shelve it and complete the course you are doing for now without it. Make it a study on-the-side, building up some knowledge and contacts. Sadly the fear of "extreme toxicity" has killed the interesting departments in many colleges, and the technical know how has simply been snuffed, whereas with careful management, there is nothing to fear at all. The same problem has affected artists' printmaking workshops around the world, where the "Non-toxic" evangelists have similarly taken over. The work hasn't stopped. It has just been driven "underground", that is, back into the private studio where dedicated practitioners are producing some of the most interesting work. I don't know where you are in the world, but there are several suppliers of everything you need for whatever you want to do.

 

Regarding "extreme toxicity", I still don't see the world facing up to the billions of spent ink cartridges being generated by those who promote "non-toxic" printing.

 

This does not help you produce an image today, but I want you to encourage you to stick with it. I make copperplate photogravure prints occasionally, and my favourite developer is PMK Pyro. And I will use selenium toner when required. All the chemistry is managed correctly, from purchase, through storage and use, to disposal. Neither myself nor the environment will suffer as a result.

 

That said, there are several excellent books to be found. Check out some of the titles at www.silverprint.co.uk. Most will also be found on Amazon, and I will come back later with some suggestions.

 

Cheers, Kevin.

[kparratt]

Many of the best books are out of print, but thanks to market places such as Amazon, they're not very difficult to obtain.

 

However, I just now put this one face down on the EpsonV700 to show it to you here. Included are chapters on "Carbon, Carbro and Three-Colour Carbro", "Gum Printing", "Oil and Bromoil", and "Three-Colour Printing".

 

Very well written, it has been one of my favourite books.

 

I would highly recommend it to someone with an interest and drive such as you seem to have.

 

Kevin.<div></div>

[johan_de_groote]

Wow! I'm very impressed by your achievement of making colour out of 3 b&w photo's. After seeing some cameras in a museum that just work that way I gave it a little tought. But I never guessed someone would acutally try to do it these days. You really made my day.

 

If you are interested I'll check if I got some pics of those cameras.