How I make Inkjet Print Copies of Silver Gelatin Prints
The image above, Flowering Bush, is a digital blog-published version of a 15x15" inkjet copy
print I made of an original 10x10"gelatin silver print I produced in 1983-84. Since I no
longer have a chemical based photographic practice (I am working only digitally now)
I needed to make a large digital copy file--in the Tif. format--so I could make
the inkjet copy print of the image; then I had to make a copy of that file
and reduce it to a Jpg. formatted digital file so that I could publish
the image in this blog project.
There are several ways of making high quality digital copy files of silver gelatin prints . . .
or images in any other media. Many galleries sell digital copy prints which they
sometimes refer to as "fine art reproductions" or Giclée Prints.
Most recently I have been making my digital copy files--for making inkjet copy prints and
publishing images on my blow--with a high quality digital camera. Before I got that
camera I used an old Nikor film scanner to make the large digital copy files
(formatted as Tifs and Jpgs) with which I could make the inkjet copy prints
and files for publishing on my blog.
(Another option: you can hire a professional digital services business to make
high quality scans of your prints--or your negatives. And they could also
make the inkjet copy prints for at an additional cost.)
The wonderful thing about the digital process is that after the digital files are made
they can be adjusted with digital editing software (like Adobe Photoshop)
to make any improvements to the image deemed necessary by you.
I have been able to make very high quality inkjet copy prints of my original silver gelatin
images that, in many cases, are more articulate and preferable to me than
the actual vintage silver gelatin prints I made many years ago . . . with
the added benefit of the archival nature of the papers and inks I
have chosen to use for the inkjet copy prints.
