Inkjet and Imagesetter Negatives

Whether an image starts as a film negative or as a digital file, 3-colour gum dichromate and platinum both require a contact film negative the same size as the final print or, in the case of polymer photogravure, a film positive. These internegatives are made digitally for the simple reason that it affords me greater control over the contrast adjustments needed for these processes.

My personal work is still shot on film and a scan made from the medium format original, although much of the work that I print for other photographers is now from digital files.

Currently, I output the film using two different methods, depending on the final process. For the 3-colour gum dichromate prints, the separations are output on an imagesetter, whereas for platinum and polymer photogravure, I use Pictorico OHP and Epson printers. For imagesetter negatives, I use Revere Graphics in Portland, OR.

Although I use an adjustment curve with the platinum negatives to compensate for the difference between the printer output and the printing process, the colour separations are different. Recently I've been working with an excellent colour management expert, Rick Haring of Picture Farm Inc. in Minneapolis, to construct a profile for the three-colour gum dichromate process. Converting the working file from Adobe RGB to my profile allows me to soft proof the image and get a realistic idea of how it will appear on paper when printed in gum.