"Without obsession, life is nothing."
-John Waters
About twenty years ago I read about my friend Dan Burkholder combining platinum/palladium and inkjet to make color prints. I experimented a little bit at the time, but didn't like what I was getting so I put it down. Another friend of mine, Jim Collum of Santa Cruz, CA has been working this way since about 2001. When I decided to try the process with the Mongolia work, I turned to Jim with some technical questions to get me started. And once I got started, the obsession began. Over the last 2 months, I've printed almost every day I've been home (I was gone for two weeks traveling and teaching). In that time I've made about 150 prints using this process from about 80 different images. Most of the prints have been about 8x10 plus about a dozen at 12x18. I've been working with platinum/palladium since 1989 and have never had such a concentrated, productive period. Not having a day job really helps!
The Process
Begin with a color image in Photoshop:
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This needs to be converted back to RGB color space for printing. The color image is printed onto whatever paper you choose that is compatible with the platinum/palladium process. I often end up adjusting saturation either locally or overall, depending on the the colors in the image and the result I'm after. For all of this work I've been using the wonderful Hahnemühle Platinum Rag (HPR) paper.
Going back to the original image, convert again to CMYK, then the contents of the black channel is isolated and turned into a digital negative. To isolate the black channel, after converting to CMYK, go to the Channels tab, select the black channel, then go to Image>Mode>Grayscale. This will give you a file from which to create your digital negative of the black channel.
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This is then inverted and flipped to create a negative and printed on Pictorico OHP transparency film the same way I would for any other image I make into a platinum/palladium print.
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Note: You need to make a change in your default Color Settings for this process to work. In Photoshop under the Edit>Color Settings menu select CMYK, then Custom CMYK:
Then select Black Generation and choose Maximum and click OK:
Now you are ready to go!
Registration
The hardest part of this process is registering the digital negative with the inkjet print. And it gets harder as the prints get bigger. I used registration marks on most of the prints I've done so far with mixed success. What I'm doing now I find easier and gives more consistent results. After I size the color image to the same size as the negative, I increase the canvas size by 10 to 15 pixels with a black background like so:
This gives a thin black border around the image. After coating and drying, I place the print and negative on a light box and carefully align the negative within the black border. Jeweler's glasses are a big help!
Once everything is lined up, I tape down the four corners of the negative and make the print.
And another thing (important)...
It turns out when the color image is printed onto paper (HPR in this case), the image comes out slightly longer than the image on the negative. When I say longer, I mean in the direction of paper movement through the printer (I am using an Epson 7880). This happens for two reasons. One is due to the difference in the thickness between the paper and negative material (Pictorico OHP). Also, I am printing the pigment using Photoshop and the Epson driver. The negative I am printing with a different piece of software, QuadTone RIP. Both of these issues contribute to the dimensional disagreement. Through trial and error, I determined by adjusting the height of the color image by 99.7% I could get a good match with the negative. To do this, go to Image>Size, de-select the little chain link, change units to percent and enter 99.7 in the Height box and click OK:
So far this adjustment is working for me. The results may be different on other printers.
Moving Forward
Clearly this process has struck a chord in me and has changed my work. You can see examples on my website. I will also be adding this process to some of my workshops. Leave a comment if you want to be added to my mailing list.
While, it's not for everything, it has given me a new voice to work with. Some colors just work better than others, and success is also image dependent. I feel like I now have a much better handle on what it can do and what I need to do to get what I want out of it. Initially I thought I would only use it for the Mongolia work, but as I've tried other images I'm finding it has a home in other bodies of work as well. You get good at a new process the same way you get to Carnegie Hall. Practice! And nothing makes you want to practice more than being obsessed.
While, it's not for everything, it has given me a new voice to work with. Some colors just work better than others, and success is also image dependent. I feel like I now have a much better handle on what it can do and what I need to do to get what I want out of it. Initially I thought I would only use it for the Mongolia work, but as I've tried other images I'm finding it has a home in other bodies of work as well. You get good at a new process the same way you get to Carnegie Hall. Practice! And nothing makes you want to practice more than being obsessed.
"Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment."
-Claude Monet
Kerik - are you curving your black channel for printing. Also, are you mainly printing paladium or Na2 Pt/PD or ????. I'm thinking about trying this, but with silver (e.g. kallitype) and perhaps gold toning. I really love the work you are doing.
ReplyDeleteYes, I make these negatives like I would for any other pt/pd print. I'm using palladium with a tiny bit of Na2 added.
DeleteThank you Kerik - is now placed on top of my list !
ReplyDeleteSuperb process and wonderful to see many of these in person Kerik. They truly are something special and I am looking forward to see where this goes for you. Thanks for sharing the details behind the work!
ReplyDeleteThank you, brother!
DeleteGreat information, Kerik. Very gracious of you to share. You are really rocking the process and it seems to be a perfect match for the new work from Mongolia.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mike!
DeleteThanks (AGAIN) for sharing Kerik! Do you use any specific print profile for setup for printing Inkjet on Hahnemuhle Platinum rag? Obviously, Hahnemuhle gives no guidance on inkjet printing for this paper...
ReplyDeleteI'm not using a profile. Just letting the printer control color and printing in Adobe RGB. I'm not too worried about color accuracy. I'm not after a perfect color print with this process, but something that is distinctly different.
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ReplyDeleteKerik, Thank you for this information, especially the images presented. I was amazed how much the black contributes to the overall image.
ReplyDelete