To make a shadow mask, you must use a high contrast film together with a high contrast developer. When registered with the transparency, exposed, and then developed, the film will be ultra-dense in all highlight and mid-tone areas but devoid of any density in the shadow areas. Of course, the intensity of the initial exposure determines the cutoff. In this way, shadow areas can be given additional exposure, bringing them into visibility, without allowing additional exposure in the mid-tones or highlights. When the second mask is placed in register with the transparency, the “either-or” effect translates directly to the print.
If you wish to avoid a sharp cutoff effect, you can choose a standard developer rather than a high contrast developer. This gives some tonal gradation into the mid-tone values of the transparency, though the highlight regions still develop to very high densities (which is just what you want). When a shadow mask developed in this manner is registered with the transparency, not only the deepest shadow areas get additional exposure, but also the mid-tone highlights, allowing them to become quite brilliant and rich within the general context of the shadow areas.
By using both the overall contrast mask and the shadow mask, every area of the print can achieve a glow that is unmatched by any other method. In essence, the overall contrast reduction mask allows prints to be made; the shadow mask makes them brilliant. That’s why an Ilfochrome print can be more “alive” than the original transparency.
The basic printing exposure is made with or without a mask. If the initial exposure is made with no mask, a second exposure can be made with the contrast reduction mask. Choosing the length of each exposure carefully can yield the precise overall contrast you desire, but it can never be higher than the unmasked print. After these two exposures, a third exposure can be made with the shadow mask to bring out subtle detail in the darkest areas. The shadow mask exposure can often add 200 percent or 500 percent more exposure under the enlarger—perhaps more! This is not surprising when you consider the extended range of the transparency compared to that of the paper. It also creates a strong argument for using lower contrast indoor transparency material rather than outdoor film as a further means of gaining contrast control over the material and achieving visibility into additional areas of the original scene.
Note
The prime limitation of color printing is reality. When the subject matter has a realistic character you can go only so far with manipulation before you stretch reality beyond the breaking point.
It may be worthwhile to point out that shadow mask exposures can be made through a filter, just as with any additional burning, to subtly edge color balance as you please. For instance, if the shadow area of the transparency is an actual shadow within the scene (under a tree, beside a wall, etc.) it probably has a blue shift. The shadow mask exposure can be made through red or magenta filtration to reduce or eliminate the blue cast. With clever insight, the print can be made incredibly true to the original scene or incredibly different.
The prime limitation of color printing is reality. In any situation in which the subject matter has a realistic character—portraits, landscapes, etc.—you can go only so far with manipulation before you stretch reality beyond the breaking point and elicit responses like “wrong color”, “too much magenta”, etc. Much of color creativity involves subtlety. Especially with an inherently brilliant material like Ilfochrome, don’t let unrestrained color control your seeing. Always maintain your control over the medium.
Spotting and Rebalancing Color for Color Prints
If spotting of color prints is necessary, or if you wish to alter the color balance of portions of a color print using dyes, I have found that the best time to do it is when the print is still wet. This way, the dye absorbs into the emulsion, leaving no residual signs of manipulation. If spotting is done when the print is dry, there is usually a reflective difference from the surface that is obvious and distracting. I find it best to apply color dyes just after squeegeeing the print and prior to putting it on the screen for drying. If the surface has a layer of water on it, the dye immediately runs all over the place. If this happens, give the print a long wash until the dye is washed out and start again.
Once the wet print has been squeegeed, spotting colors can be applied. It takes some experimentation to see how dilute the applied color should be. I recommend trying it on some failed prints before you start working on your best images.
Ilford has a color spotting kit of transparent retouching dyes expressly for Ilfochrome prints. It consists of seven small tubs of hard color dyes, somewhat like tempera watercolors. A wet brush dissolves the material, which can be directly applied to the prints or diluted further to your liking. Of course, colors can be mixed to achieve virtually any hue or density you desire. For Ektacolor prints, Retouch Methods Company makes a set of liquids called retouching colors. I often use them to nudge the color to my exact desires when mixing spotting colors for black-and-white prints.
It’s extremely difficult to do any spotting or retouching on the gloss Ilfochrome surface without it showing, but the pearl surface accepts the dyes quite readily. For best results, I find that after fully applying the colors, it’s best to quickly immerse the print in water one last time (with the emphasis on the word “quickly”, or the dyes may begin to run or disappear). This quick immersion allows any dye still remaining on the surface to absorb into the emulsion, thus preventing any sign of it from showing when the print is dry.
Washing and Drying Color Prints
Washing color prints is usually a fairly quick thing. Most color emulsions are coated on an RC base, which requires very little washing. Ilfochrome gloss is coated on a polyester base, which also requires little washing since it absorbs virtually no liquid. My print washing consists of several minutes of hose rinsing of the print (on both sides), then a final immersion in a tray of water with a small amount of Kodak Photo-Flow. This helps the print dry more evenly, greatly reducing the possibility of water marks. Though I have been told that Photo-Flow removes some magenta in the final image, I have seen no sign of this. If I were to observe a reduction in the magenta layer, I would simply add a few units of magenta at the start to end up exactly where I want to be.
However, as Ilfochrome prints dry, they lose some of the magenta cast that they have when wet. Papers used for color negatives tend to lose a good deal of the blue cast that they show when wet. It’s never possible to fully judge any color print when wet because of the significant color shift while drying. Ilfochrome paper and most color negative papers also tend to darken during the drying process (i.e., in color, there is indeed dry-down). Therefore, color prints cannot be fully evaluated until dry.
Achieving Proper Color Balance
When printing color photographs, it’s best to do a complete test print and dry it fully before deciding how to improve it for the next print. The dried print may be too light, too dark, or color shifted in a displeasing manner. It’s generally quite easy to determine whether the print is too light or dark, and how to alter your exposure to improve it.