Bromoil printing and bromoil transfer

by Emil Mayer

Larger white spots on the print show that when the grain was made large drops were produced by the atomizer. If such drops are noticed while spraying, the print should be immediately placed in water, dried off and sprayed again. If the print shows spots of rather large area which do not take ink and only show irregular ink spots here and there, it has been sprayed too long, that is, too much potash solution was applied, and the print is then useless as it cannot be corrected. In addition, such a print may be easily recognized after swelling, for a coarse grain pattern will be clearly visible on the film.

This swelled-grain process permits of very beautiful and characteristic results, yet, like all variations, it assumes a solid knowledge of the bromoil process, and must be practically used over and over again before it can be applied with certainty.

Mixing the Inks.—As has already been mentioned, we have at our command for bromoil not only black and brown, but any other color of ink in various shades.

As a rule, however, colored inks are somewhat too bright to be used pure; moreover, as a rule they can only be had commercially in a fairly soft consistency. This is actually no disadvantage, as one is often forced by the consistency of the ink to do what is counselled by good taste, that is to tone down the colored ink with hard black ink. It is not practicable to make a mixture of hard black ink with the colored with the knife on the palette, because it is difficult to hit the exact shade with certainty in this way. It is better when using green, blue or any other colored ink to mix the inks with the brush on the bromoil print itself. First one should go over the whole print very delicately with hard black ink and almost complete the drawing by hopping. Then the work should be continued as would be done if we were mixing hard and soft ink, merely replacing the soft black ink by the colored one. Then the work should be continued with the mixed ink; if the exact shade has not been hit, more or less of one or the other color is taken up by the brush until the desired color effect is obtained.

It is immaterial that those parts of the print on which one has tested the mixture show a little too bright or too dark a tone. By going over these again with the final correct color these places, though perhaps only after resoaking, will reach the proper tone, as the ink in the brush and that already on the print quickly mix to a uniform value.

If, in the course of the work, it appears that the mixture of this and the colored ink, the color tone adhere properly, it is not advisable to attempt further softening by the addition of soft black ink. By the mixture of this and the colored ink, the color tone already decided on will be altered. In such a case varnish or linseed oil must be used to soften the mixed ink.

Polychrome Bromoils.—Prints of two or more colors have previously been made, aside from the three-color process printed from three-color separation negatives, chiefly by the gum-bichromate process, by coating the print successively in different colors. After each coating the negative was printed, usually with masks, and the unnecessary parts of each colored coating were washed away during development. The preparation of a polychrome gum print is extremely tedious and uncertain. Not the least of the difficulties is the fact that in consequence of the addition of the chromate the color effect cannot be determined with accuracy until the print is finished and the chromium salts are removed. Moreover, as a rule the color layers are perfectly distinct and the color mixtures formed by their juxtaposition must be accepted as they happen to come. A correction of the colors during the work is not easily effected.

The bromoil process, on the other hand, is in its very essence preëminently suitable for work in several colors, and offers all the possibilities which have previously been lacking. Without any special preliminary preparation the worker can apply any number of different colors to one and the same print at one sitting; he can harmonize them to each other during the progress of the work, combine neighboring colors by working them into each other on the print and easily correct any error that may occur.

It is true that the execution of a bromoil print in polychrome requires complete mastery of the process; an indispensable condition is a perfect command of the handling of brush and ink. Therefore, experiments in polychrome bromoil printing can only be recommended to those who have the monochrome process absolutely at their fingers’ tips.

If a negative is to be printed in several colors, the worker must first be absolutely clear as to his artistic scheme and know exactly in what color each individual part of the print must be executed; he must further be sure that the chosen colors harmonize with each other. He will not always be satisfied with the colors to be found in commerce, but must prepare the necessary inks for himself.