Bromoil printing and bromoil transfer

by Emil Mayer

The failures caused by the use of the ammonia bath were described on [page 46].

Alteration of the Character of the Picture by the Inking.—If the inking is carried out exactly according to the previous instructions, which have been given chiefly for the benefit of beginners, the result will be a picture which, as regards gradation, will be like the original bromide print before it was bleached. The finished bromoil print, produced by a perfectly even application of ink over the whole picture by means of successive additions, each thoroughly worked over with the brush, differs from the original bromide print in coloration, structure, more extended gradation, and change in the character of its surface. As the worker is at liberty to stop at any desired stage of the work, he can obtain from the original bromide print, according to his taste, a delicate light-toned bromoil or a very rich and highly modulated print, or any intermediate stage between these two extremes.

Yet these possibilities by themselves alone would not justify the conversion of the original bromide print into a bromoil. The substitution of a new photographic positive process for an old one is only justified if the new process accomplishes something essentially different and above all something better. But absolutely uniform working over of the bleached bromide print with greasy inks does not completely fulfil this postulate. Mere changes of gradation of the whole picture or of its color can certainly be attained by simpler photographic methods. The extraordinary advantages of the bromoil process lie in other directions.

Bromoil printing, for instance, permits us to ink any individual part of the print more or less, or even not at all, at will; it is possible to give enormous brilliance and aerial perspective to the high lights; they may show when finished every tonal value represented in the negative; it is also possible to darken them to an extraordinary extent by the application of more or softer ink. On the other hand, the shadows may be kept perfectly light by omitting to ink them or by very delicate treatment, or, by successive applications of the ink, they may be strengthened to very great intensity and yet retain all their details.

The worker has wide opportunity for control in the local treatment of his prints. His dependence on the negative is limited to the drawing, while in the treatment of the tonal values he is absolute master. Most of the other positive processes are dependent on the negative for their extremes of depth and of delicacy; the bromoil process does not know this dependence. If it is desired to obtain a delicate picture from any negative, one uses only a little ink, and hops it off thoroughly; then there may be obtained from even the most contrasty negative a delicate print, but one thoroughly worked out in all its details. On the other hand, there is practically no limit to the continued application of ink; the film is still capable of taking up more ink, long after the limits of artistic pictorial effect have been passed. The result is that in the bromoil process vigor and depth of the shadows can be produced in any desired intensity. The most striking advantage of the process lies, however, in the possibility of changing the tonal values of any individual portion of the print at will.

If for example, a negative was used in making the original bromide print which had been taken without any attention to the requirements for getting correct tones, by suitable treatment in making the bromoil one can obtain an approximately correct print without special trouble, since one can, for instance, convert an absolutely clogged-up sky, which is pure white in the bromide print, to a suitable grey tone by the use of soft ink, and at the same time lighten foliage which is too dark; a flat print, wanting in plasticity, may be improved by making objects in the foreground more vigorous, and accentuating appropriate parts of the middle distance. It is easily possible to supply the lacking aerial perspective of certain kinds of prints. In portrait work in the bromoil process, skilful workmanship renders one absolutely independent of the nature of the background. A light background can be made dark, a dark one light. In portraits taken out of doors, the small details of the background that are out of focus or obtrusive may be omitted, toned down or completely remodeled. Unpleasing details of the clothing or the hair can be omitted or so far softened down that they are no longer disturbing. We are able to accentuate certain parts of the picture to make them dominant, while other parts of the image may be treated very sketchily; in short, the possibilities of control which this process offers are almost inexhaustible.

I will now try to outline the methods of carrying out some of these modifications, as far as is possible without practical demonstration.

The beginner is first of all recommended to use a proof print from the negative as a check, so that he may have a clear idea as to what changes he needs to make, and so that further, in carrying out his ideas, he does not change neighboring parts of the print which should remain unchanged. The simplest example of control is the lightening of the shadows. This is done by very careful application of the ink, which is stopped before the shadow parts become too dark. One should avoid touching such parts later with the brush, when it is charged with soft ink.

If light portions are to be made darker, the procedure depends upon the size of the parts involved. Extensive parts of the picture in high relief, as for instance the sky, should be gone over as evenly as possible with a suitable soft ink, and with this, simultaneously, by going lightly over the lighter places and applying it more heavily here and there, clouds may be put in. The evenness of the inking is of the greatest importance here, as it cannot later be hopped off very much; frequently in such cases the ink only lies on the surface, without adhering firmly; if left untouched, it combines intimately with the surface when the print is dry, but is easily removed by hopping. It is possible to change the outlines of neighboring parts of the image; if too dark edges are formed, they can be easily softened by after treatment of the finished print. In some cases it may be necessary to add considerable quantities of varnish or linseed oil to dilute the ink. The darkening of too light places may be also effected by dabbing ink with the brush on the finished dried print, which the print then naturally takes all over.

If tiny light patches are to be made darker, the point of the large brush, or if necessary of a very small brush should be used, avoiding any disturbance of surrounding parts, as far as possible. Such changes are difficult only when the bright spots that are to be worked out are in immediate contact with very dark parts. The process is much simpler when parts of the print of medium tones, which are surrounded by lighter parts, are to be darkened. If, for instance, the eyes of a portrait are to be darkened, ink should be applied to the whole of the eye with a small brush, and then hopped off. A tree trunk, which must be brought out in relief, should be covered throughout its whole length with soft ink, and the ink should then be worked over, by hopping it from the lighter toward the darker parts. In practice, the bringing together of neighboring tones, which differ considerably in value, can be easily effected by hopping off the ink from the darker parts with a brush that has not been freshly charged with ink, and depositing it on the lighter parts. The lightening of too dark places can also be attained by going over them with a perfectly clean brush that has not been dipped in the ink. Isolated high lights can be accentuated by touching them with a pointed water-color brush, dipped in water; then the film swells and repels the ink. Stained high lights or too dark middle tones may be lightened by wetting a brush of proper size by means of a wet cloth and then lightly hopping with this the places which are to be corrected. The brush picks up the color, but must be immediately cleaned by rubbing it on a clean portion of the palette, after which it may be again wet and used again. Clouds can be worked into dark parts of the sky in this way.