Digital printing has matured. With the latest generation of pigments and printers available it is possible with little experience or training to produce a print whose quality can approach that of, dare I say it, Dye Transfer.

 

The digital work flow, starting with digital capture or scan, through manipulation and color management leaves few choices however when ready to print. Aside from print size the only other real choice is the media you chose to print on. There are many papers to chose from but the differences are subtle. You can select a glossy, satin, or mat finishes, smooth or textured. There are also a few more unusual media such as canvas and transparency materials that can be used in a digital printer. Tri-Trans printing presents another method for producing a different look for your Prints.

 

I came to this process indirectly. Alternative Photographic Processes have been of interest to me for a long time. I recall making salt and gum-dichromate “SUN PRINTS” following the instructions in the chemistry set that I had as a child. So I began tooling up and getting educated to start doing tri-color gum-dichromate printing. I found that I had a problem in producing gray scale transparencies because of the mat black K3 ink in my printer. It seems that the mat ink does not have the chemistry to allow it to adhere to transparency material. The ink would smudge and rub off on handling. At first I thought of lamination to protect each separation but I feared this might result in less sharpness during contact printing due to the additional thickness. I then thought of using a protective photo spray but could not find one that did not include UV filtering. UV light is a necessary component for gum-dichromate printing, as it is this part of the spectrum that hardens the gum. Not wanting the expense of changing to the glossy ink I next thought why not print another