Digital BW, The Print

At 7:47 pm -0600 9/8/03, Carolyn Frayn wrote:

%< snip >%

>Ferrotyped: refers to the procedure for producing a glossy or glazed 
>surface on a photographic print by drying it with the emulsion in 
>contact with a highly polished surface. The term " ferrotype " 
>reflects the fact that the original surfaces used in this process 
>were plates of enameled sheet iron. Today those surfaces are chrome 
>- plated, stainless steel, glass, or plastic. In order to be 
>successfully ferrotyped, the photographic print has be fixed in a 
>fresh hardening fixer, thoroughly washed, and squeegeed image - down 
>onto an immaculate surface. The print is then exposed to heat. It is 
>common in this process for the surface to be unevenly glossy, 
>bubbled, or ridged, due to air pockets between the print and the 
>drying surface and fluctuations in temperature at the drying stage


I have to disagree with parts of this definition. I know that there 
are a lot of different types of ferrotype machines and that not all 
of them give optimal results without great care and preparation, but 
not all of them require squeegeeing. And some (at _least_) of them 
have a low probability of causing "unevenly glossy, bubbled, or 
ridged" prints.

In the mid 70's at R.I.T. we used large cylindrical-drum ferrotype 
machines. They had big chromed-steel drums (maybe a yard or more in 
diameter) and used wide canvas belts (probably 24" to 36") to feed 
prints onto and around the drums. The tightly-stretched continuous 
belt fed onto and around about 75% of the drum and then around some 
other rollers which brought it back to the staging area. There were 
also some smaller models that looked to be about 3/4 scale versions 
of the same thing. There was a temperature setting for the drum, 
which was usually set to "Burn Fingers but Don't Ignite Paper," and a 
speed setting. If the speed setting was fairly low you could place 
quite a few prints in a space-saving manner along and across the belt 
and have your whole job arrive within a minute or two of the first 
print.

You just placed your prints on the canvas feed area and popped them 
off when they came around the far side of the drum (they usually just 
dropped, but second passes around the drum were...not recommended, 
though not usually fatal). I sent hundreds of prints through those 
machines and I never squeegeed. I don't remember anyone else doing so 
either. I never had any problem with uneven glossiness, bubbling or 
ridging. I suspect that (with these machines) squeegeeing might well 
have _caused_ "uneven glossiness," etc.

You did have to use a hardening fixer and pay enough attention to the 
process that you didn't lay your print on the seam that completed the 
belt. You also had to stay away from the last quarter of an inch or 
so of the edge of the drum: there was a small area at each side that 
wasn't chromed and was recessed about a 64th of an inch.

If my print was good before I sent it through the ferrotype machine I 
always got back perfectly good "pressed" prints when I peeled them 
off the drum.

Sending RC prints through the machines was usually "not recommended" 
and, depending on the temperature setting, might require additional 
"remediation" on the part of the student. (Though I think that low 
temperature settings and fast speeds were successfully used by some 
-- with good results.)


-=-Dennis