Dye Imbibition Printing Process (aka Dye Transfer)

William Eggleston, Untitled (Peaches), 1973,
Dye transfer print, 16 x 20", Eggleston Artistic Trust

Basic Definition: Dye transfer is a continuous-tone color photographic printing process. (Wikipedia)

Dye Imbibition prints are created from three separation negatives used to make three positives (exposed by contact or enlargement) on separate sheets of gelatin relief film called matrix film. Each positive matrix image is a printer: dye is absorbed in proportion to the density of gelatin forming the positive image, which then transfers the dye image to the final print base.[1]

Combining dyes from three matrices are rolled onto specially prepared gelatin paper in exact registration. Projecting a color transparency onto black-and-white film through red, green, and blue color filters makes three separation negatives. The primary colors of the filters are able to create all the colors of light. These negatives are used to make positive relief matrices of cyan, magenta, and yellow dyes to compliment the primary colors. The dye matrices are placed in direct contact with prepared gelatin paper to absorb a full-color image.[2]

Color and Contrast Control:

Because the dye transfer process uses three separate negatives, as well as three separate positive printers, each of the colors and the color contrast of the image can be controlled at any stage in the process.¹

 [3] Stills from Technicolor 100's video on the Dye Transfer Printing Process showing how in constant motion the dyes blend into a color image.

Color fastness:
Although the dyes do not yet meet archival standards, the dyes used in Dye Imbibition printing resist fading for much longer time that dyes in most multilayer print materials. A carefully handled and stored set of matrices will print from 25 to 100 prints before a serious breakdown of relief image occurs.¹

Key Figures:

-Daniel F. Comstock, the founder of Technicolor, introduced the dye imbibition printing process in 1926.[3]

-Eastman Kodak, marketed the process, produced and sold materials for this process from the early 1940s-1993.[4] 

-William Eggleston, American photographer experimenting with color, prints his first dye transfer photograph Untitled, (Greenwood Moose Lodge) in 1972.[5] 

-Eliot Porter, American photographer, color photographs of nature

-Ctein, Kodak’s PPA Featured Photographer in 1983, a remaining photographer who purchased dye transfer materials before their extinction.[6]

Key Elements & ID tips:

-Saturated, rich, vibrant colors

-Precise control of colors

-Often high in contrast

-Usually glossy surface

-Good image stability

-Mostly free of dye fading, permanence

-Misregistration of dye layers, visible as a fringe of two colors most noticeable at the borders of high and low-density areas.⁴

-Observing prints under a UV lamp will make magenta color visible as fluorescing orange.

The magenta dye used in Kodak Dye Transfer and Eastman Wash-Off Relief prints has the relatively unique property of fluorescing orange upon exposure to ultraviolet radiation.⁴

 -Continuous toning, down to 500x magnification

500x Magnification, Graphic Atlas

Date of common use:

1946-1990

Typical uses:

-Film in Technicolor: The Wizard of Oz (1939)
“Oz was not the first film made in color, but it was one of the first to prove that color could add fantasy and draw audiences to theaters, despite its release during the Great Depression.”[7] 

-Originally used for magazine and advertising copy

-Creative photography

Preservation Concerns:

Dye Imbibition prints have relatively good image stability and permanence. Dye-transfer prints are sensitive to light and water. If they are protected from prolonged exposure to light (and ideally in a dark, low humidity storage environment), dye-transfer prints will maintain excellent image stability and will exhibit little dye fading and no discoloration. On the whole, dye-transfer will display little to no image fading. Yellow or magenta dye bleeding may be a result of water exposure.[8]

-Store vertically

-Acid-free folders

-Fiber based prints have a tendency of curling

-Gelatin binder of a photographic image is a good nutrient for mold or pests

-Paper decay, sensitive to light, water, heat, humidity

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[1] Beede, Mindy. Dye Transfer Made Easy: Color Printing for Permanence. New York: Amphoto , American Photographic Book: an Imprint of Watson-Guptill Publications, 1981. Print. 11-13.

[2] "Photographic Processes at the Amon Carter Museum of American Art." Carter Musuem. August 1, 2011. Accessed September 22, 2015. http://www.cartermuseum.org/sites/all/files/Focus on Photography Process Brochure.pdf.

[3] "Technicolor Imbibition Dye Transfer Printing Process – Technicolor 100." Technicolor 100 Technicolor Imbibition Dye Transfer Printing Process Comments. http://100years.technicolor.com/entertainment-life/imbibition-dye-transfer-printing-process/

[4] "Identification: Dye Imbibition." Graphics Atlas. Rochester Institute of Technology, 2015. Web. 23 Sept. 2015. <http://www.graphicsatlas.org/identification/?process_id=61>.

[5] "WILLIAM EGGLESTON." WILLIAM EGGLESTON. http://www.egglestontrust.com/

[6] Ctein Online-- Who I Am." Ctein Online-- Who I Am. 2012. http://ctein.com/whoami.htm

[7] The Technicolor World of Oz." National Museum of American History. June 7, 2010. Accessed September 22, 2015. http://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/2010/06/the-technicolor-world-of-oz.html.

[8] "Color Dye-Transfer Photographs." Preservation Self-Assessment Program. Preservation Self-Assessment Program (PSAP), n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2015. <https://psap.library.illinois.edu/advanced-help/photo-color-dyetransfer>.