Frank Roy Fraprie.
Boston, February, 1923.
CONTENTS
| PAGE | |
| Preface | [iii] |
| Contents | [vi] |
| Preliminary remarks | [1] |
| CHAPTER I | |
| Production of the Bromide Print—Definition of Perfect Print—The Choice of the Paper—Development—Control of the Silver Bromide Print—Fixation | [10] |
| CHAPTER II | |
| The Removal of the Silver Image—Bleaching—The Intermediate Drying | [29] |
| CHAPTER III | |
| The Inking-up—The Production of the Differential Swelling—The Properties of the Relief and Its Influence on the Character of the Picture—Effect of Warm Water—Effect of Ammonia—The Utensils—Brushes—The Inks—The Support—Removal of the Water from the Surface of the Print—The Brush Work—Use of Dissolved Inks—Use of Rollers—Resoaking of the Print during the Working-up—Removal of the Ink from the Surface—Failures—Alteration of the Character of the Picture by the Inking—The Structure of the Ink—Different Methods of Working—Hard Ink Technique (Coarse-grain Prints)—Soft Ink Technique—Sketch Technique—Large Heads—Oil Painting Style—Night Pictures—Prints with White Margins—The Swelled-grain Image—Mixing the Inks—Polychrome Bromoils | [38] |
| CHAPTER IV | |
| After-Treatment of the Finished Print—Defatting the Ink Film—Retouching the Print—Refatting of the Print—Application of Ink to Dry Prints | [104] |
| CHAPTER V | |
| Transfer Methods—Simple Transfer—Combination Transfer with One Print-plate—Shadow Print—High Light Print—Combination Transfer from Two Prints | [115] |
| CHAPTER VI | |
| Oil vs. Bromoil | [134] |
| CHAPTER VII | |
| Bromoil Transfer, by Eugen Guttmann—The Bromoil Print—The Choice of the Paper—The Machine—Printing—Combination Printing with One Bromoil—The Value of Combination Printing—Retouching and Working-Up—Drying | [142] |
| CHAPTER VIII | |
| The Preparation of Bromoil Inks, by Eugen Guttmann—The Varnish—Powder—Colors—Tools—Practice of Ink Grinding—Ink Mixing—Permanency—Ink Grinding Machines | [176] |
BROMOIL PRINTING AND BROMOIL TRANSFER
PRELIMINARY REMARKS
We all know what great progress photography has made in the last few years. The most obvious sign of this advance is the fact that it has gradually escaped from the practice of literal reproduction of the objects seen by the lens, and slowly attained to the rank of a recognized means of artistic expression, so that it can justly be considered as a new branch which has grown out of the old tree of reproductive art. This pleasing development may primarily be ascribed to the fact that the practice of photography, which was originally confined almost exclusively to professional workers, has gradually spread and has become a means of recreation to the multitude in their leisure hours. It was the amateur who demanded new methods and apparatus and thus gave a new impulse to photographic manufacturing. Improvements of the most fundamental character were made in optical apparatus, in the construction of cameras of the most varied types, and in the fabrication of plates and films. An extraordinary number of novelties has appeared in these lines in the course of time; modern photographic apparatus makes possible the solution of problems which would not have been attempted a few years ago, and improvements are still appearing.
The situation in the matter of printing processes is quite different. We are provided with apparatus and sensitive material for the production of the photographic negative, in a perfection which leaves nothing to be desired. To produce a print from the negative, however, we had until recently no positive processes which were not well-known to previous generations. This may be confirmed by a glance at any photographic textbook written around 1880. The various printing processes, platinum, bromide, carbon, and gum, which were until recently the alpha and omega of printing technique, had been known for decades. Compared with the methods for the production of negatives, printing methods showed practically no advance; they remained in complete stagnation. We can scarcely consider as an exception certain new methods brought forward in recent years, which proved unsuccessful and quickly disappeared from practice.