Does a book exist for making color separation negs?

[sanking]

Drew,

Fifteen years ago I communicated by mail on a regular basis with three master color carbon printers from California, so could be that you lived at the epicenter of color carbon work in the world and did not realize it. Unfortunately, a lot of water has gone under the bridge since the year 2000.

And for sure, people who bathe in sinks and don't exhibit their work, or write about it, do remain unknown to the rest of us!!

The aggravating issue about working with color carbon today is that it does not suffice to know how to print, you must also be able to make the tissue and make or prepare the temporary and final supports. I think it is about five times more time consuming than my own work with monochrome carbon. And making high quality color carbon prints is a whole different beast than knowing how to make them.

Sandy

[Drew Wiley]

Well, Richard Kaufman and Charles Berger were here in the Bay Area and have long were conspicuous in alt process color work, along with several commercial
ventures in pigment printing, including Polaroid Permanent, Evercolor, and Ultrastable. But there were several other people doing strictly handmade. The bathtub
fellow was quite a story, a reclusive starving artist if ever there was one - he lived his process, spent every minute of his time and every cent he had, then barely made enough selling one-of-a-kind prints one at a time, all 14x17 (paper area, including borders), simply because that was the largest tray he could carry through the bedroom door to the bathrub, and Kodak had outright given him a stash of discontinued 14x17 film for his separations. Watercolor pigments. Average of one week per print, with about a 1:3 success rate, so that equals three intensive weeks per print. Final transfer onto watercolor paper. Heard all the details. Probably passed away from either malnutrition or sensitizer poisoning years ago.

[sanking]

I corresponded for many years with Richard Kaufman. He was a great color printer and very generous in sharing his vast knowledge of the carbon and carbro processes. He collaborated with Charles Berger in developing the Ultrastable process, but supplies are long gone. Tod Gangler still prints with the Ultrastable process, as does John Bentley of Toronto. Berger still lives in California, and has contributed from time to time on the subject of color carbon printing on APUG and on the carbon forum on Yahoo.

McGraw Colorgraph Company, or Devin McGraw, was also located in your area, in Burbank. I believe Kaufman was involved with McGraw, but am not certain.

It would sure be nice if there were a history in print of all of this. The memories, with the experts, are going fast.

Sandy

[Natenaaron]

Sandy I fully expected to have to do this digitally. Is there literature out there that covers this?

[Drew Wiley]

Sandy - there was another fellow in Sacramento who routinely did color carbons. But you should link up with Andy Cross in Australia, because he learned it from
a completely different source than anyone around here. Then there was another outfit that attempted volume commercial color carbon back East with their own
proprietary method or trade secrets, distinct from when Evercolor briefly moved to Connecticut - though none of those halftone versions ever appealed to me
like continuous tone prints. A history would be nice. But at least I've gotten to see quite a range of prints in my lifetime, even if I never have the opportunity to
fiddle with the process myself. Of course, a lot of these things were admirable for the technical challenge and craft per se. Not all prints are artistically compelling as compositions or for any sophisticated color strategy. Some of Kaufman's work appeals to me from a homesickness standpoint - carbro images of
the Sierra almost in my back yard, when I grew up.

[Drew Wiley]

Almost forgot - Ctein filled me in with some background about Kaufman, including the time he watched him working with emulsions. But Kaufman owned and ran
the publishing company that did his hardback coffee table books. That is what allowed him access to the equipment, and gave him the necessary financial muscle.
He had money. But as image-maker, he controlled everything from the shot to the final printing plates and book run himself, a jack of all trades and master of them all, it seems.

[Bill Burk]

Natenaaron,

I don't know if you need a "book" to run out a set of color separations digitally. But maybe I just know too much and it seems so obvious to me.

Just get a RIP and submit the print job.

Are you looking to become an expert at process color for offset or electronic press print production? Then we might look for resources related to the printing trades. Search for things like Color Management, Device Independent Color etc.

[bob carnie]

There also was a dude from Drew's area who first showed me the complete process at Maine Photo workshops. All his work was on Melimex and was very good landscape, mostly sea related.
He was very active in San Fran in the 90's doing tri colour carbon.. Charles Berger sponsered the week long workshop, unfortunately the Maine workshop location was very poorly equipped for this, no hot water, no registration , no solid source of negative, so it was a bit of a cluster.,,,,


John Bentley and I were both interested, at this time, John continued on , I was running a business and decided I could not do the process as it required outside expertise which I was not
willing at the time to do. 20 years later, I have the equipment and the client base, but I am not going down the colour carbon route.
I have decided tri colour gum over palladium suits my colour pallette and vision.. Not as visually real as John Bentley or Todd Gangler's prints but they do have their own beauty. Think Steven Livik
carnival series if you have ever seen them , then that is what is in my mind.

I would describe my process look as something between a dye transfer print and a fresson.

I corresponded for many years with Richard Kaufman. He was a great color printer and very generous in sharing his vast knowledge of the carbon and carbro processes. He collaborated with Charles Berger in developing the Ultrastable process, but supplies are long gone. Tod Gangler still prints with the Ultrastable process, as does John Bentley of Toronto. Berger still lives in California, and has contributed from time to time on the subject of color carbon printing on APUG and on the carbon forum on Yahoo.

McGraw Colorgraph Company, or Devin McGraw, was also located in your area, in Burbank. I believe Kaufman was involved with McGraw, but am not certain.

It would sure be nice if there were a history in print of all of this. The memories, with the experts, are going fast.

Sandy

[bob carnie]

Steve Sherman and I are doing a workshop (hopefully over New Years) that is going to go intensive into separating digitally for alt process.

Sandy I fully expected to have to do this digitally. Is there literature out there that covers this?

[bob carnie]

Drews words.


Re: Does a book exist for making color separation negs?

Sandy - there was another fellow in Sacramento who routinely did color carbons. But you should link up with Andy Cross in Australia, because he learned it from
a completely different source than anyone around here. Then there was another outfit that attempted volume commercial color carbon back East with their own
proprietary method or trade secrets, distinct from when Evercolor briefly moved to Connecticut - though none of those halftone versions ever appealed to me
like continuous tone prints. A history would be nice.



I think the guy I am referring to is this guy.. I just forgot his name and I know he is not doing them now as I researched him when I wanted to start back into it.

I agree with Drew... I do not like the halftone look as much as other methods...

I am using continuous tone lay down with four registrations on the aluminum mount. I am getting very happy with the results.. so far fingers crossed its laying down well