Re: Users of digital negatives
I have worked with photoceramics. You know- the images made permanent by fusing at high temperature onto ceramic substraits- for many years. Digital printing has taken me out of the darkroom and made it easier, quicker, more responsive and repeatable, lowered pollution and costs. I started photoceramic work using the wet collodion process. Noble metals for toning such as platinum or iridium were and are very expensive. Many of the wet collodion chemicals are toxic and present many hazzards. Digital printing has exceded the results of wet collodion photoceramics in all except exquisite image detail. I have worked with dust-on photoceramic processes and find digital printing to be less polluting and more dependably repeatable. Digital printing requires no ultra -violet light source as does the dust-on process. I presently am digitally printing waterslide decals which can be fired onto porcelain, tiles, glass and enameled steel. The choice of fusable frits that have correct expansion and fusing temperatures is much greater using this process. To digitally print waterslide decals for fusing images onto ceramic substraits, I concocted a digital fluid that I load into a suitable ink jet cartridge that will work in a drop -on- demand piezo electric printer. Most important is the ease in which toneality can be controlled through the use of digital techniques. The importance of this alone must be emphasized. When the organics of the waterslide decal are incinerated and the fusing temperatures are reached, ceramic image pigment particals melt and spread as they fuse. This inevitable "dot gain" plays havoc with the mid to dark tones. Digital manipulation works miracles to control this inherent problem. Perhaps this unique use of digital printing may interest you. Harry L Burnett Jr
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