Cibachrome from digital file

[tsjanik]

Anyone else hate the look of inkjet with a passion? I'd take a chemical print any day of the month...

Well I don’t hate it, but if I could print Cibachrome with the ease and control I have with Ilford Gold Silk on an Epson, I’d chose the Cibachrome without hesitation.

Ben: I have printed on transparency film and then mounted on a white paper background in an attempt to achieve the depth you mentioned; it works, since you see color from both the light reflected off the print and the backing, but sharpness suffers a bit.

[DarkPenguin]

The stuff I've had done for me was Epson 3800 and Harman Baryta paper. Just hate the look of the ink lying on top of the paper rather than the image being within the paper as with chemical prints.

If there isn't a lot of gloss differential or bronzing I quite like the look of ink on top of the paper.  At least if the paper is nice like Silver Rag or the FB-AL stuff.

[Randy Carone]

Back to the OP, here is a document that gives one route to the emulation of a Cibachrome/Ilfochrome print. I have done this using Roland's white high gloss PETG film and polyester laminate with excellent results. The look of Cibachrome and the longevity of pigment ink. [attachment=23047:Cibachrome.pdf]

[willbeep]

I have cibachrome prints that have been stored using no extraordinary measures and in over 30 years show no fading or deteriation.

[iamacamera]

I printed Ciba's in my personal darkroom for years, and still would if the materials were easily available.  I started printing them in 1976, with all the accompanying masks, and the early prints show no fading.  If the Cibas are fading I would question if they were washed properly at the end of the chemical steps or if all the chems were up to specs.  As to the issue of polluting the water supply.  I was told that the later chemicals neutralize the earlier chemicals.  E.G.  that the bleach neutralizes the developer and the fixer neutralizes the earlier two steps making them neutral as chemicals.  They used to include neutralizing tablets to be place in the chems at the end of the process.  I really like the Ciba/Ilfochrome process and liked the fact that each print was a "one off" print, unlike prints from digital files which are, in theory, an exact duplicate of any earlier iterations.  There is, in my opinion, a benefit in the fact that each successive print is unlike the earlier prints simply because, no matter how good and diligent you are, you will not ever do everything exactly the same each time.  Now I'm in the position of either not getting prints from color film or having them scanned and making a Fuji Crystal Archive print.  They look okay but I prefer the other process.