A word about Split-tone digital printing

I have long held that Black and White is something of a misnomer. Silver darkroom and previous versions of monochromatic prints have long been toned or bleached, chemically stained, given a dip in tea, printed on off white paper, and more to give the image what the photographer/artist/printer knew the image needed from its print. Chromatic presence, not color, but an intentional subtle shift from neutral to warm or cool can greatly influence a viewer’s experience of the work. Chromatic presence holds the key to the physiological impact of a monochromatic print.

Digital prints have done this through introducing colors, but, for me that has been unsatisfactory. Indeed, I thought I would never be interested in making digital prints of my work or anyone else’s. Credit is due to Cone Editions for developing a split-toning system based on their decades of experience making monochromatic inks.

In my studio I do a lot of platinum-palladium, and direct-to-plate photopolymer (dtp) gravure printing. Obviously, I did not create the basic process of platinum-palladium printing, though sometimes I feel that old. However, out of my own personal need I, with artist Deborah Riley, did create the basic process of dtp photopolymer gravure practiced now by so many. Understand, I will go a long way to get the print my image needs.

Split-toning with digital lit a fire in me for work I felt needed more than simple toning. Now, to be able to control the chromatic presence, cool, warm, or neutral, of highlights differently from shadows, and mid-tones, including transitions, opens a whole new arena for interpretive printing. It is not enough to simply make a print; the image must live in the format it is printed. And as Clyde Butcher puts it, “it ain’t done till it’s printed!”