Ilfochrome / Cibachrome Howto

[MichaelM7]

Hi,

does anybody have a little advice or experience, whether one can do Ilfochrome prints at home? As far as I have found out on the Ilford homepage, I should require a 5 bath process at a temperature between 25 and 35°C, very similar to normal color printing / development. There was nothing said about the criticality of the temperature, so it seems manageable to me.
However, I could not find any description on how the process exactly works. Do you need a color head for your enlarger? How long do you need to develop in each bath? What does it cost (roughly, I read that it should be quite expensive).
Are the results it worth it? Are there any sources in Europe or Germany, where you can buy the chemicals?
Thanks a lot,

MichaelM7

 

[ully]

I haven't done any for some time but as I recall it was developer and blix steps with wash steps in between and after. The temp control was not as critical as chromes or C41 but controlling contrast was difficult. It is also pretty expensive but get great results. Should be in Europe as I think Ilford is a German company.

 

[oftheherd]

Probably 30 years since I did Cibachrome. I don't remember the development process. I remember they used to sell a kit with 4x5 size prints and a small roller to develop them in. I then got an 8x10 roller and larger sized prints for a few. They also sold the filters as I recall.

I didn't have an analyzer, and as leicasniper stated, mistakes weren't cheap. But it was all do-able. And the results were fantastic! I have a small print I made of my wife on a lake that has survived all that time, through a house fire, and still has vibrant colors. It was good stuff.

 

[Santafecino]

I used Cibachrome to make prints from old Autochrome plates (like 90 years old) using a regular incandescant light enlarger. The results were very pleasant. I am thinking now about printing from slides using it but I probably won't. I would think twice now about the environmental effects of that bleach; it's pretty potent. Plus, the stuff is pretty contrasty.

 

[Svitantti]

Sorry for being lazy and just copying most of my other post...

I am a lab manager at our camera club in the Technics University of Tampere. We recently purchased an Ilfochrome-Kit and papers from Nordfoto, Germany.

So far I personally have just done one single print with help from my friend who was the "pioneer". Before this, we have been doing RA-4 for some time.

The processing time is about double from RA-4, which means something like 3x2,5 minutes + some rinses in between. With the chemical-kit you get better explanation of the process (this is also found as a pdf somewhere on the Ilford homepage). You can get info about the papers and chemicals and their storage life from the Ilford forums. They wont last forever, but probably a lot more than the package says - if you get air out of the bottles etc.

Determining exposure and filterings is easier than with RA-4, because Ilfochrome is less sensitive to changes on these settings.


Not a very cheap process, but when you really want to print good lides, you should be willing to pay the price.

Ilfochromes are said to be the best colour prints that there are. They will also last long time. Years is nothing - speak of hundred or a couple.

Quite contrasty, extremely glossy, great colours. Sensitive for scratches and fingerprints.

 

[stefan_dinu]

I do it, but I am a pioneer. Under 50 prints up to date. But this days I have been printing a lot. Very nice results. But also packed with some frustration. You need a lot of patience with the tests, in order to make it perfect. And I didn't play with masking yet.
I own an condenser enlarger, Durst AC650 which is best for that. It has color control on panel and automatic exposure, which quite works. Or, better, worked. Until stopping like 15 minutes ago. You could not understand my frustration. Now I am hooked and my toy broke up.
On 20th this month I'll attend a Magnum workshop in Brighton and I was planning to make all the photos on the portfolio on Cibachrome. Now, I only got 10 prints made, and my enlarger died. Is not the bulb, as I checked with a fresh one. I don't know what might be, but this is not the place to ask.
Anyway, if you need some advice on enlarging, please ask. I am not an expert, but I did get more than decent results.