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Why we switchedWhy did Portland Color abandon its darkrooms in favor of this technology? The digital workflow offers the ability to adjust contrast, color, saturation, sharpness, and density both in the overall print and in specific, sometimes minute areas of the photographic print. To former darkroom printers, the fineness of control offered seems like magic compared to the gross burning and dodging tools once used. The repeatability of the process is also extraordinary; because the digital information can be archived, and the Lightjet can be calibrated and returned to a neutral state, a print can be remade precisely with little effort years in the future. Another unusual thing about Lightjet digital prints is that enlargements are extremely sharp. While traditional darkroom prints would often get soft because of grain enlargement and subtle enlarger shake, the Lightjet print appears to get sharper as it gets larger. Ilfochrome was an extraordinary material, with intense colors and rich blacks. However, there were many drawbacks; the chemical process shifted as material was sent through the chemistry making it almost impossible to keep the line balanced, the contrast masking needed for many images degraded the sharpness of Ilfochrome prints, and some colors simply could not be rendered with its dyes. Ilfochrome, like dye transfer, platinum printing, gum printing and other esoteric processes, will continue to be the best way to print certain fine art images. However, we feel that by using a digital workflow, the OCE Lightjet will enable us to make prints with greater fidelity to the original photographic positive or negative. |