Re: Digital Negative Etiology

As Dave suggests the practice seems to go back a very long way.
However, if you limit the question merely to making contact prints by
an alternative process the earliest example I can remember is the
Ultrastable process (originallyintroduced by Polaroind) that was
introduced sometime in the mid- to late 1980s. Ultrastable was a
four-color color carbon process that was developed by Charles Berger
and the late Richard Kauffaman.

Sandy

>It went long long time back, so I don't think we can really trace it back.
>
>When people use halftone screen to make negative and contact prints
>to make plates for printing, they were using digital negatives.
>Although they did not use computer or imagesetter to produce the
>negatives, the negatives were in fact digital (or more accurately,
>binary). The use of computers make the process simpler and quicker,
>but there is nothing really new about it. Just like when people
>created computer software to do accounting, they did not invent
>anything new in the field of accounting itself, but they did make
>accouting simpler and faster, of course.
>
>One might say that is not alternative process as we are discussing,
>but the principle is the same. Note that in platemaking (in the
>earlier type and some current ones too), the plates were coated with
>gum arabic, you expose it with UV light, then you wash out the
>unexposed area, etc. If instead of using metal plates, you use paper
>as the base, you have gum bichromate prints, in principle.
>
>Digital color separation, however, can be considered something new.
>This is because in the traditional 4-mask or 12-mask system, you
>still cannot completely color correct the whole gamut. In digital
>color separation, the process is not simply speeding up the 12-mask
>system, for example. It is actually using numerical analysis and
>interpolation algorithm to do color characterization and to create
>the separation, so technically it can be considered different or new.
>
>
>Dave S
>
>----- Original Message ----- From: "PhotoGecko Austin" <gecko@photogecko.com>
>To: <alt-photo-process-l@sask.usask.ca>
>Sent: Monday, February 28, 2005 3:02 AM
>Subject: Digital Negative Etiology
>
>>Greetings all,
>>
>>Just a late night rambling curiosity (. . . but these things
>>matter, don't they? -- otherwise there would be no OED): Who
>>first (according to reliable objective sources) came up with the
>>idea of making digital negatives for contact printing on whatever
>>strata? Can anyone on the list trace it back. . . . ?
>>
>>(Note to D.B.: If you claim this you'll need LOTS of witnesses.)
>>
>>It just occurred to me (while politely cajoling a few
>>transparencies) that I should know. But I don't have a clue.
>>
>>Curious minds want to throw.
>>
>>I hope you are all well and prosperous,
>>John
>>__________________________
>>John Campbell
>>PhotoGecko Studios & Gallery
>>1413 South First Street
>>Austin, Tx 78704
>>(512) 797-9375
>>
>>www.photogecko.com
Received on Mon Feb 28 09:58:38 2005