Carl Fransman (salto@salto.be)
Wed, 24 Mar 1999 17:01:47 +0100
Terry,
This mail is sent to the list because I think it may be of general
interest.
Salto is a printing company that works almost exclusively for
photographers. We're small enough (10+ people) not to be an industrial
printer and to be able to answer customer's needs (we even have an artist
residence). I think we are special in that we are printing at resolutions
of 10160 dpi/600 lpi. We also print very short runs at this quality (100
or up). We are investigating (and investing in) other means of
reproduction for photographers; pt/pd, ziatype, heliogravure, collotype,
archival processes?
The reason I send you this mail is because you appear to be an
influential person in the altphoto circles. I would like to know if you
could help us find people we need to speak to concerning our interests.
We are investigating digital negs as well. Anybody interested can get our
feedback too, we'll share all our trade secrets. Here's what I've found
about ziatype so far:
- It's very difficult to get the even coating we're looking for. A good
test is to expose a full middlegray negative. It often gives blotchy
cloudy patterns. I understand this could be due to the paper (we use
Cranes platinotype) or to the humidity (±60%).
- Imaging through the classical lightbanks everybody descibes can't yield
very sharp results. Best results are obtained with pointlight sources and
vacuum boards such as those used in the graphic arts market.
- Temperature often rises after several exposures in the chassis,
changing results. Adequate cooling should be provided.
Are there any other means of reproduction we should investigate? The only
issue is quality without compromise.
I understand you are in close contact with the RPS, could you specify
that?
Sounds a bit like a sales question, but passion makes me ask everybody
passionate about photography; if you know anybody in need of extreme
reproduction quality, think of us...
If you need samples of 600 lpi printing in waterless offset, please ask.
Any input welcome,
greetings,
Carl Fransman
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SALTO
Printing & Lithography
Groenplaats 1
3621 Rekem-Lanaken
BELGIUM
tel +32 89 73 18 70
fax +32 89 73 18 30
salto@salto.be
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