Do you ever see the printed photographs of your parents and grandparents and think about the printers that produced them? Now is your time to learn about the types of printing processes, their names, and their pros and cons.
Like all other devices, printing devices and color printing techniques have seen a gradual improvement in results in the past centuries. Nowadays, the printers are capable of producing photographs depicting exactly the colors as the human eye observes them.
This article aims to elaborate on five types of photograph prints which various kinds of printers have been producing in history.
Five types of photographed prints have evolved through
Evolution in technological devices and related technologies is not unheard of. Before the technology-enabled humanity to develop real-looking life-like images and print them onto paper with exact colors as our eyes see them, lies an evolutionary process.
At the end of this evolutionary process are cutting edge devices. You can opt for devices supplied by Xerox Abu Dhabi that produce excellent results for the business and personal use of photo printing. Before human being became able to get such photographs printing, the following kinds of photographs being printed in the past centuries:
1. Platinum Prints
People adopted this kind of printing process in the nineteenth century for the first time. Art photographers immediately began to consider it their first choice of the printing process. These prints are long-lasting, and the tonal range was very vast for those times. These prints form as a result of a layer of platinum compounds called salts over a photographic paper.
The photographs are developed with exposure to light and through a chemical process. They are also used alternatively to palladium prints.
2. Gelatin Silver Prints
In the twentieth century until the 1960s, these prints became the standard printing preference. The era where the gelatin silver prints became common is referred to as the brightest times of film photography. The print resultant from this process is black and white. Before digital printing invaded the photographic industry, this was the go-to method for black and white printing.
The gelatin silver print is also capable of high tonal range, but not higher than platinum photograph’s tonal range. The process involves exposing the image to gelatin-coated photographic paper or sheet. Silver halide ions form on the surface of the photographic paper. Lastly, the paper goes through a chemical reaction called fixing. The fixing process completes forming a finished print.
3. Chromogenic Prints
These are also called C-prints. Chromogenic prints became a standard for photographic printing in the 1960s. The fil photographers working on 35mm film used this process as a standard. Negatives or slides are the main components used in this process.
Through an enlarger, you can expose the negative or slides to a gelatin-coated paper. This gelatin has to be light-sensitive to form a chromogenic print. For developing these images, you need to take the slide through a chemical process.
4. Digital C-Prints
With the advent of digital devices, chromogenic prints were replaced by digital c-prints. These prints rely on paper exposed to a source of light. Hence, it is similar to the conventional c-print or the chromogenic print. But in digital c-printing, an LED or laser replaces the enlarger.
Once the digital printing process is complete, you have to follow a similar chemical-induced developing process as in the chromogenic printing process. After the chemical developing process, there is a fixing process as well.
5. Giclee and Inkjet Prints
Giclee and inkjet prints are two similar but distinct printing types for photographs. Both of these types of prints started rising to prominence in the 1990s. The key difference in both of these lies in the kid of paper and ink used and how ink is used for the printing process. Giclee printers can spray ink in microscopic droplets from the print head. The quality of print as a result of Giclee printing is better than inkjet in some instances.
Inkjet printers are reliable and more suitable for modern-day business use. You can opt for devices supplied by Xerox Abu Dhabi are exceptionally high-resolution image producers. You can opt for inkjet printers and get your printing business thriving in no time.
Do you find the printing evolution interesting?
In the age of tech, people often overlook the history of things that they use daily. Printing technologies have evolved for good. While in the past black and white images were the only option, now people have the leverage of putting filters for aesthetics and make things look black and white. As times change, the options people have at their expense vary.
As a printing business, you have many options to choose from. Be sure of making the best choice of a business multifunction printer to keep your customers coming back to you. Happy photograph printing!