dye transfer is a painted lady

being, at its heart a black and white process that is, late in its game, turned to color. learning it is therefore based upon knowing black and white; and knowing that to a rather high confidence level.

a masked and painted lady of the dark

Condax Notes:

The magenta dye in use during the early 1940s was Brilliant Alizarine Light Red B. In 1945, Condax tested what he found to be a far superior dye, Brilliant Alizarine Light Red 4B, which was manufactured by Sandoz.

In September of 1954 the researchers tested a suitable yellow, Fast Light Yellow 3GX-CF, which balanced well with the standard cyan and Brilliant Alizarine Light Red 4B magenta. It exhibited superior spectral absorption, greater density in the shadows, and improved light stability (Fig. 10).119 Two months later, after a member of the research team purified the dye, Condax deemed it an ideal replacement for the standard yellow.

Erio Fast Cyanine S. as the standard cyan throughout Condax’s career 

[pylam]