Art Business News' guide to photographic processes

Art Business News, Oct, 2003 by Susan Seiling, Laura Meyers

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Cibachrome/Ilfochrome Prints

Cibachrome or Ilfochrome prints are known for deep, saturated colors. If you touch the print itself, it feels more like plastic than paper. That's because the base of the print is polyester.

These color prints are made in a traditional darkroom where an enlarger projects light through a slide onto Cibachrome paper. Since Ilfochrome prints are made directly from the original transparency, they tend to be of a much higher quality than prints made from an internegative (where the photographer prints the transparency onto negative film, then uses the negative to make a print).

Be extremely careful when handling these prints, as they are very fragile and scratch easily. Scratches are especially apparent on Cibachrome prints because of their high-gloss surface.

[Note: Cibachrome and Ilfochrome are different trade names for the same photographic process.]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Daguerreotypes

Invented in 1839, the daguerreotype is one of the earliest photographic processes and was the first to see widespread use. A daguerreotype is printed on a sheet of copper that is coated with a thin layer of silver. The photographer places the copper plate in a camera where it captures the scene viewed through the lens. Photographers often placed finished daguerreotypes in a custom velvet case with glass over the image. Daguerreotypes often had to be viewed at an angle to see the photograph properly. If you're looking at a photograph that looks somewhat mirror-like with a metal base and a coppery or gold sheen, then you may be viewing a daguerreotype.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Silver Gelatin Prints

When you think of a black-and-white print, you probably picture a silver gelatin print. The dominant black-and-white print process for over a century, it was used by great photographers like Ansel Adams and Edward Weston. Technically speaking, silver gelatin prints are pieces of paper that are coated with gelatin mixed with light sensitive silver compound. A silver gelatin black-and-white print is made by projecting light through a negative onto the photographic paper using a traditional darkroom enlarger.

These prints are known for their ability to accurately render sharp details and an exceptional range of tones, which capture pure whites as well as deep blacks. They are available on gloss and matte surfaces, and on either fiber-based papers (which feel like paper on the back of the print) or resin-coated papers (which feel like plastic on the back of the print). Silver gelatin paper is manufactured by major companies such as Kodak and Ilford. Prints are often toned with selenium, which creates a cool tone. Selenium-toned silver gelatin prints also last longer than untoned prints.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Quadtone/Black-and-White Ink-Jet Prints

Quadtone prints are black-and-white prints made with an ink-jet printer. By replacing the printer's standard color inks with varying shades of black ink, photographers are able to make a print with a wide range of greys and blacks. These prints can be made on a variety of papers, ranging from flat matte to fine art papers.