this is not exactly a black-and-white question, but. . . .

i've been wanting to learn to do ilfochrome printing. my local university is offering a class in ilfochrome printing this spring in its continuing-education program. i'd love to take it, but i'm a graduate student in a city 50 miles away, and i have a really significant workload this spring. i just don't think i have time right now. i know they won't re-offer it in the summer.

my questions are these: how hard is ilfochrome printing? is it something i should be able teach myself if i'm a competent b&w printer? if the answer is yes, can anyone recommend an ilfochrome how-to book? i can't find anything on amazon.com. (there's some stuff on cibachrome, which i understand is a predecessor to ilfochrome.) finally, what extra equipment am i going to need, and, roughly, how much will it cost? i have a dichro enlarger, so i guess i'll need a developing drum, which might be all.

thanks.

-- brad daly (bwdaly@hiwaay.net), February 23, 2000

Answers

Sure you can teach yourself Ilfochrome printing. It is not really any more difficult that printing color negatives. However, because of the contrast of transparency material, and the contrast associated with the Ilfochrome material, you may want to learn how to make contrast masks. This is not difficult either. The hardest part is accurately registering them to the transparency. Ilfochrome material is very costly when compared to color negative print materials. Look in Shutterbug on the B&H pages and you will see a huge difference between the costs for Ilfochrome paper, and Kodak, Fuji, or Ilford color negative print paper.

If you have a dichroic enlarger, the only other thing you will need is a way to process which it looks like you've got an idea on.

Exposure on the material is easy to arrive at - it seems to have a wide latitude for under/over exposure before you really notice a big change. Color balance on the other hand, is easy to get "in the ballpark," but fine tuning is really the crux of the biscuit. I've made 1cc color changes and had the look of the image totally change.

Also, while it is easy to arrive at an acceptable exposure, fine tuning the exposure will also slightly change color balance in many instances, so the color balance is interactive with exposure. Sometimes a small exposure change (5-10 percent) will make a print that was difficult to color balance suddenly just "fall into place."

You cannot evaluate the color while the print is wet. The prints have a red look to them and must be dried. Buy a hair dryer, squeegee the test print dry (front and back), and then use the hair dryer to totally dry the FRONT and BACK. Yes, dry the back of the print too. You will be amazed at how the color changes when the back is dried. In fact, you can watch the color change in the image as you dry the back side.

Other than that, you just have to buy the materials and start doing it. I would suggest that you buy a Kodak Color Print Viewing Kit as this makes evaluating required filtration changes much easier.

-- steve (s.swinehart@worldnet.att.net), February 26, 2000.