- Ilfochrome
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Ilfochrome (formerly known as Cibachrome) is a dye destruction positive-to-positive photographic process used for the reproduction of slides on photographic paper. The prints are made on a dimensionally stable polyester base, essentially a plastic base opposed to traditional paper base. Since it uses azo dyes on a polyester base, the print will not fade, discolor, or deteriorate for a long time. Characteristics of Ilfochrome prints are image clarity, color purity, as well as being an archival process able to produce critical accuracy to the original slide.
Contents
History
In the 1960's, the Cibachrome process was originally engineered by the Ciba Geigy Corporation of Switzerland. Ciba acquired Ilford in 1969[1], and sold it to International Paper in 1989[2], in 1992 [3]the product was renamed to "Ilfochrome". Colloquially, however the process is still referred to as "Cibachrome".
Ilford Ltd prior to 2004 comprised 2 main manufacturing sites, Mobberley in the UK, where most traditional products were made, and Fribourg (Freiburg) in Switzerland where Ilfochrome and Ilfocolor papers were made, as well as the inkjet papers. The UK side was subject to a management buyout, and the Swiss operation (Ilford Imaging Switzerland GmbH) was sold to the Japanese Oji paper group in 2005 and to Paradigm Global Partners LLP in 2010. The Swiss plant retained the Ilford name, while the UK operation was inaugurated under the name HARMAN, taken from the name of the founder of the original Britannia Works, later to be Ilford Photo HARMAN Technology Ltd can still use the Ilford brandname and logo under license on previously existing products, while new products will carry the Harman name.
As of 2006, Ilford continues to produce Ilfochrome Classic in front-lit products, back-lit products, micrographic film, and the required chemistry.
Advantages
The composition of the emulsion used in Ilfochrome prints is responsible for color purity, image clarity, and being archival. Azo dyes, which provide stable vivid colors, are embedded in the Ilfochrome emulsion are bleached out in processing. Since the dyes are in the emulsion rather than in the chemistry, the image is also much sharper and clearer because the dyes create an anti-light scattering layer which keeps the reflected image from being diffused when viewed. As the colors formed from the azo dye are far more stable, the prints made from the process are archival and insisted on by galleries and art collectors as they will not fade in normal light.
Use directly in camera
A somewhat "alternative" use of Ilfochrome is that of using the paper directly inside a large format or ultra large format camera. This creates a unique artefact, though the image appears reversed left-right. When techniques similar to this were used in the past (e.g., daguerrotypes) photographers used 45 degree mirror add-ons that - when put on a lens - would reverse the image sideways thus recreating the correct view on the in-camera paper/plate.[4][5]
References
- ^ Araujo, Anderson. "Ilford chronology". Ciba 1963. http://www.photomemorabilia.co.uk/Ilford/Chronology.html. Retrieved 2011-11-13.
- ^ Araujo, Anderson. "Ilford chronology". Ciba 1989. http://www.photomemorabilia.co.uk/Ilford/Chronology.html. Retrieved 2011-11-13.
- ^ Araujo, Anderson. "Ilford chronology". Ciba 1992. http://www.photomemorabilia.co.uk/Ilford/Chronology.html. Retrieved 2011-11-13.
- ^ Annaratone, Marco. "Logistics, contact printing, in-camera Ilfochromes". Going Ultra. http://www.1827.eu/GoingUltra/GoingUltra-3.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
- ^ Evans, Glenn. "Shooting Cibachrome in-camera". Glennview. http://www.glennview.com/ciba.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
- Coote, Jack H. (1978). The FOCALGUIDE to Cibachrome. London: Focal Press Ltd. ISBN 0-240-56981-1.
- Ilford Cibachrome-A. Switzerland: Ilford. MAN 03 GB.
- Peres, Michael R. (2007). "Silver Dye-Bleach Photography". Focal encyclopedia of photography (4th ed.). Focal Press. p. 709. ISBN 978-0-240-80740-9.
External links
Categories:- Photographic film processes
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