Dr.Ania
Chad HillBridgeport, CA, 2013. #trichrome print with #solarfast dye, from digital negatives, on 6x6 watercolor paper. #BelieveInFilm
I like this print and am not sure the cell phone scan does it justice, but it’s also the result of an absurdly convoluted, and not very pure, process: this is a b+w shot, with my f4, from 2013. I used an AI colorizer to artificially color the original image, then inverted that, split it to C,M,Y, and K negatives and then printed those with solarfast. So it started as b+w film, digitized and artificially colored, turned back into individual b+w negatives, and then printed back into color. 😅
Billthoo@ChadHillPhotos maybe my favourite so far…!!!
@Billthoo 😄. I’m pretty sure it’s mine, too. 😀. I’m running low on transparency film (and watercolor paper), so made this small enough to only need 1 sheet, but I bet it would look good at 8x10, too (at some point, I’m also gonna have to try even bigger sizes, I assume I can find somewhere to print me oversized transparency sheets).
SuzPed@ChadHillPhotos woww just read up on solar fast! I didn’t even know it existed but now I’m intrigued! Is this one done with the black dye? I have been cyanotype printing and may have to try this next!!
@suzannepedersen I didnt know it existed either before finding it at a local art shop!
This is 4 layers of dye: C, M, Y, K, like a gum bichromate print. But in Solarfast colors it is: “Teal”, “Violet”, “Golden Yellow”, and Black. Printed in order: Y, M, C, K. I remain surprised that more people aren't using this. I have written a short piece about my experiences (and failures) trying to learn how to use it, and am working on getting that posted somewhere.
@ChadHillPhotos I will definitely take a look at that write up!! I can’t wrap my head around how you align the negative with 4 different coats, unless you coat all at once! How long was your exposure for this last print?
@suzannepedersen No, one layer at a time! Coat yellow dye, expose yellow-filtered negative as contact print, wash unexposed dye off. Coat Magenta dye over previous yellow layer, expose via magenta-filtered negative, wash unexposed dye off, etc... After a BUNCH of experimenting, Im now using a custom UV exposure box. About 15 minutes exposure time per layer. Plus a few minutes of wash and a few minutes to coat next layer. Total time from start to end is a little over an hour.
@suzannepedersen There are a couple ways to get good registration, you can add registration marks as you are editing the negatives digitally, you can line up all the negatives before hand and then push a thumbtack through all of them plus the paper, leaving little pinholes that you can use to align each layer, etc. BUT Im mostly just lining up each new layer by eye, via the contrast at the edge of the image. It is very fast and mostly works OK.
Peter Robinson@ChadHillPhotos @suzannepedersen Chad, I am trying Burton registration pins for multi-layer linocut prints. Do you think they would help for aligning your layers? https://www.ternesburton.com/
I’ve built my own registration device based on one by Laura Boswell, but trying the Burton pins made me wonder if they might help your process.
One of Lauras videos: https://youtu.be/zWly6DBtbSA
I’ve built my own registration device based on one by Laura Boswell, but trying the Burton pins made me wonder if they might help your process.
One of Lauras videos: https://youtu.be/zWly6DBtbSA
Ternes Burton Co. - Register Pins, Stripping Tabs
Ternes Burton makes specialized proprietary art supplies and pre-press products. We are known worldwide for our quality register pins, stripping tabs, pin bars, hole reinforcers, compressible pin contact boards, and step and repeat boards.
@peterobi @suzannepedersen that’s really interesting, thanks!! I absolutely should invest more time into the registration infrastructure in my setup, but have been trying to get away with the least complex setups possible!!
@ChadHillPhotos @suzannepedersen it’s been working well so far for you so there’s no need, unless it makes something a little bit simpler - which it may not :-)
@ChadHillPhotos so so rad! I just set up a uv light box too, so nice to have this option! Wow your process is so interesting! I seethe dye isn’t too pricey! I May give single color prints a try first!!!
Joe@ChadHillPhotos 🤩 I love the work you’re producing with this technique Chad. I think you’ve inspired a lot of interest in solarfast, it’s certainly on my Christmas list.