Digital BW, The Print

* -----Original Message-----
* From: jnhugo [mailto:jacknadelle@hotmail.com] 
* Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2003 8:33 AM
* To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
* Subject: Re: [Digital BW] beating a dead horse
* 
* 
* --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, Tom Baker 
* <tbaker1328@s...> wrote:
* > Do you know what kind of machine/process was used?  Are we missing
* something in what we're trying to do today that might have 
* been used then?  
* Also, do you know who did the print?
* >  
* This print was commisioned in the mid 70's by the G.Ray 
* Hawkins gallery in 
* Los Angeles. There were 50 made in the format I have, another 
* 200 or so ( i 
* have the documentation somewhere-) were made on the same paper, same 
* size but with typography announcing the exhibit. Another 200 
* or so were made 
* same size with typography on a lesser quality paper.
* It was produce by the BLACK BOX STUDIO in Chicago,  they are out of 
* business now but were really well know for many years and 
* received numerous  
* industry awards for producing short run, high quality artist 
* prints using the 
* Collotype process.
* The Collotype process is a destructive process that 
* eventually destroys itself 
* thus limiting the length of the run. It uses photo sensitve 
* gelatins to create the 
* plates ( a different plate for each color).
* 
Jack,

Collotype is a form of lithography and is not a quadtone or other multiple
ink process. I believe that collotype prints are made with a single pass
through the press. Given that the prints were made in the mid 70's I would
expect that the AA collotype plates were probably made by traditional
photo-mechanical methods rather than digital.

However this would seem to be a very interesting technique for using
digitally produced contact negatives per Dan Burkholder's methods to produce
the plate.

Sounds a lot like photogravure. Strange Ross has a lot of interesting
information on this technique for digital output and some great shots on his
site as well:

http://www.psy.ku.dk/ross/

Martin Wesley
www.carolyn.cc/Guests/MartinWesley/pages/MW_01.html
www.borderless-photos.de/guests.html