Bromoil printing and bromoil transfer

by Emil Mayer

In practice the method of procedure is as follows: there is first produced, on the print which is to be worked up, a relief which is vigorous enough to sufficiently develop all the detail in the shadows. An ink which is fairly stiff for this degree of swelling is chosen; the brush is first dipped in the solvent and then into the ink, which has been thinly spread on the palette. After a few dabbings on the palette the ink solution with which the brush is charged is spread on the print with a hopping motion and distributed with the same brush as evenly as possible. If the distribution becomes difficult in consequence of evaporation of the solvent, the brush should be again dipped in the solvent, and then the distribution can be easily completed. The film of ink thus obtained should be fairly thin, but must not be quite even.

After the complete evaporation of the solvent, the ink is worked up with a clean brush, with which the guide print can be finished without trouble and in the briefest time.

There are also other variations of this method of the application of dissolved inks. For instance, one may first apply some ink with the brush to the print and then distribute it with a second brush dipped in the solvent; one may also prepare a solution of the ink in a dish and paint it on the picture, or bathe the whole print in a solution of the ink. All these variants, especially the last two, have, however, certain disadvantages, so that the procedure first outlined is to be preferred.

After the guide print is prepared in this way, the further application of the ink is carried out in the normal manner.

The solvent is most conveniently chosen so that it is not too volatile, as for instance heavy benzol. But it ought not to contain any oil. When placed on the surface of the hand, it should evaporate fairly slowly, but without leaving any trace of grease.

Certain failures, which sometimes appear in this process, must be mentioned. If the film of ink is too thin, it can be repeated without further trouble in the same way, with rather more ink. If, on the other hand, too much ink is applied, a complete image is immediately formed without any possibility of the shadows being worked up. In this case the ink must be again removed by the solvent. If individual parts of the picture are too dark, from too much ink, it is sufficient to go over these parts with a brush dipped in the solvent, in order to clear them up.

If, after evaporation of the solvent, great irregularities in the distribution of the ink are seen, as for instance, spots and streaks which cannot be easily worked out, the print should again be placed in water; after drying off, the evening-up may be carried out without difficulty.

If in hopping with the second clean brush the image does not appear at once without trouble, either the relief was too low, or the ink too soft, or the solvent contained oil.

The ink can obviously be placed on the bromoil print not only with the brush but with any other suitable ink carrier, such as rollers. Yet by this the process is rendered more mechanical and deprived of all those great advantages, which distinguish it from all other printing methods. Especially, the possibility of local treatment is mostly lost; the unlimited command of the tonal values and the structure of the ink can only be guaranteed by the use of the brush. The only offset to this loss is a gain in speed. Agility, however, is not sought after in artistic labors. If one wants to prepare a lot of prints quickly, it is better to use the bromide process, which is especially suitable for such a task, and thus save the trouble of the bleaching and the other processes necessary in making bromoil prints.