Re: 4-color carbon question
s carl king (sanking@hubcap.clemson.edu)
Sun, 10 Dec 1995 10:10:23 -0500 (EST)
> >
> >The "true" carbon, if there is such a term applied to color photography, in
> >my book(s) refers to the traditional technique described in _History and
> >Practice of Carbon Processes_ (1982), long out of print but available in
> >many libraries. It refers to a three-color dichromated system somewhat
> >popular ca. 1900-1938, that requires, besides manufacturing the materials,
> >and color separation on continuous tone negatives (1) Sensitizing and
> >Drying the pigmented papers (2) Exposing them (3) Transferring them to
> >temporary plastic supports (4) Developing in hot water (5) Drying them (5)
> >Transferring them one at a time (and drying) to a STS, i.e., Soluble
> >Temporary Support (paper coated with soft gelatin) (6) Registring
> >carefully, usually with fingers in icy cold water with floating ice cubes
> >(to prevent heat from the fingers from cementing the layers too quickly)
> >all three layers (complete drying between each step) and finally
> >transferring this STS to a permanent high quality support to find out,
> >usually, that the cyan printer was 10% overexposed and the magenta lacked
> >contrast:-(
>
> Why is only the "double transfer" method considered "true"?
>
>
In fact the single transfer method is just as "true" or as
(traditional) in the history of three-color carbon/carbro
photography as the double transfer. All of the very early carbon
three-color prints were made by the single tranfer method and
I suspect that it was not until the 1920s that the double
tranfer method was popularized by Autotype with the carbro
process. I have somewhere in my files a detailed description of
the Raydex process (precursor of carbro, introduced 1912) and
there is no mention of the double transfer method. If anyone
has more specfics on the introduction of the double transfer
method in three-color carbon/carbro photography I would like
to hear from them.
Sandy King