Digital BW, The Print

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "jnhugo" <jacknadelle@...>
To: <DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2003 5:32 PM
Subject: Re: [Digital BW] beating a dead horse


> 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).


I mentioned Black Box some time ago on the Epson Wide Format list
and someone wrote me that it still exists. It must have been in
the seventies that I first saw an article about them. Google with
("Black Box" collotype) and there are several hits so I guess
they are still working.

The printrun can be much higher than the 200 mentioned here. The
gelatine on the glassplate is hardened. Collotype is known for
its subtle tones, the density of the black is not that high but
with several printruns (quad or duotone) a better black is
obtained. The reticulation of the gelatine gives an extremely
fine grain, it has been compared with a 500 lines offset screen
(as if that ever was done). Collotype is possible on aluminium
and zinc plates as well. There used to be another collotype shop
in the USA, Trinity ?  In Europe there were several till the last
one shut in the early eightees, Hanfstaengle in Southern Germany.
They also sold materials for the process. There have been many
collotype shops in Japan. I have a Japanese book with handcolored
collotypes on crepe paper. Of the article on Black Box I remember
that it was quite unpredictable whether the plate was good or
not. A window open in the shop and it wouldn't work. But that was
in the seventies.

Ernst