Digital BW, The Print

Bill Morse wrote:

 >Has anyone had any success reproducing the look of old cyanotypes?
 >
 >If I were to try to mix up an ink-set, how would I go about it?  What
 >workflow would be most appropriate?
 >
 >
 >
 >
The Lyson Small Gamuts work for me in this regard...

However, it depends how saturated you want the blues...

I've easily reproduced the images at:

http://www.p-o-v-image.com/images/memoriam/Liberty&Ellis_Roll2_23_duo.jpg

http://www.p-o-v-image.com/images/memoriam/Liberty&Ellis_Roll3_18_duo.jpg

without any problem...  (of course, they were printed at a higher
resolution then they are displayed at)

If you want/need to go with pigment inks.. I'd say the MIS Perpetuals
could probably get you close (if not be able to do the trick)..  If not,
you might want toe talk to Bob Zeiss at MIS about coming up with a
custom quad or hex set that would give you extended tonalities in the
blues/cyans...  However, most of the actual cyanotypes I've seen in
person had a very short tonal range and high contrast in comparison to
standard gelatine silver prints..

IMHO -- The question  really becomes do you want to reproduce the look
of cyanotypes (with the reduced tonal range) or simply utilize the  hue
of the cyanotypes (while keeping to a more gelatine-silver like tonal
range)?   If just the former, it is more likely the Perpetuals, as sold,
could do the job.  If the latter, I would recommend the Lyson SG, or
talking to Bob (if you need a pigment based set)..  Keep in mind, also,
that in a hexset you already have a cyan AND light cyan position,
allowing smoother tonal transitioning in that Blue/Cyan range, so it's
an easier nut to crack than if you wanted, say, Orange toned prints with
the same tonal range and smoothness of tonal transitions...

Keith




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