The final part in this three-part series on Orthochromatic Photography, describes how scientists used new light and color measurement techniques to characterize photographic plates and determine the precise specifications required for color photography and color printing. Many of the concepts developed during this period can be seen reflected in the work of the CIE that defined modern colorimetry decades later.
View More Orthochromatic Photography, Part 3: Prelude to the CIE…
Orthochromatic Photography, Part 2, traces the graphic arts community’s quest to understand the nature of photographic materials and develop a system for accurate light and color measurement. We can clearly see the origins of what developed into modern spectrophotometry, densitometry, and the CIE system of Colorimetry, through the work of William Abney, Leon Warnerke, and others.
View More Orthochromatic Photography, Part 2: Measuring Light and Color
The development of orthochromatic photography, using plates sensitive to a broad range of colors, had a drastic impact on the ways in which photographers were able to capture the world around them and made possible the development of color photography. This article tells the story of orthochromatic photography’s early development.
View More Orthochromatic Photography, Part 1: True Color in Black and WhiteThis books provides a great review of the history of color printing. Field draws from his vast industry experience, especially in the area of digital color reproduction and scanning technology. He further supplements the history with a discussion of how to identify different printing technologies, aided by photomicrographs of the different printing structures.
View More The Color Printing Revolution: Productivity! Creativity! Quality!
William Kurtz created the first successful three-color letterpress print in the world. His example inspired the growth of color in the commercial printing industry, but it did not come without a cost. Kurtz invested his entire fortune in three-color research without any return, then lost his key patent to a corporate collective bent on monopolizing process color printing in America, bullying engraving firms to either join the collective or cease process color work altogether. This is the story of William Kurtz, his patent, and the attempt to monopolize color printing in America.
View More William Kurtz and the Attempt To Monopolize Color Printing in America
The first offset lithographic press for printing on paper was invented by Ira Rubel in 1903. Yet, offset lithography did not overtake letterpress in publications printing until the second half of the 20th century. It took many decades for the industry to fully understand offset printing technology, such as the chemistry of ink-water balance, plate coatings, and color reproduction. One of the most important technical innovations in printing was the use of masking to correct for deficiencies in printing inks. This is the story of how masking evolved from a craft to a science, and solidified its place in printing toolbox.
View More A Color Correction Maskerade
In 1936, Alexander Murray published a simple equation that would have a profound impact on the printing industry. This simple equation, first suggested to him by Edward Roy Davies, and now known as the Murray-Davies equation, was a key development in the quest to create standardized tone reproduction processes in a world where printing was a much a craft as it was a manufacturing process.
View More The Murray-Davies Equation: An Origin Story
In the early 1900’s, Milton A. McKee, a “technical expert and authority on letter-press printing,”2 made two of the most important contributions to printing industry. Donald C. Cottrell, President of The Cottrell Company, for whom McKee worked, referred to McKee as a “printing genius” in his 1955 address to the Newcomen Society.3 That Cottrell made a point to honor McKee with this epitaph 26 years after his death is a testament to the impact he had on the industry. However, achieving this level of success…
View More A Printing Genius Named Milton A. McKee
This the story of the original wet-printing ink technology, the man who invented it, and the man who tried unsuccessfully to market it as the next revolution in multi-color process printing.
View More Ivan Orloff and His Press
First, it is my pleasure to welcome you to CMYK History! This is the first post of a site that I hope will serve as a platform for those interested in the history of color. Before starting on this research, I had just finished reading the wonderful book, “Mauve,” by Simon Garfield (about William Perkins and his invention of the first aniline dye), and was looking for my next adventure into the history of color. Having worked in the printing industry for many years, much…
View More Thomas A. Lenci and the Eagle Printing Ink Company