on the pier, among the peers… fishing from the banister. never made a living by fishing; not even by teaching fishing. although they tell stories, enlarged with each pinochio, of what they know, what they maybe considered doing.
maps of their exploits assuring you they list the reefs and quicksand hazards. all in effort to have a following. to reassure themself they hadn’t wasted … so much.
killing dye transfer in a puff… beyond complaining that you weren’t included in the 20th Cent Club. knowing what was done gets you to a point of increasing unknowns since there wasn’t a single path to mount fuji.
there are no turtles on turtle island. it’s only a tale told to tourists at the t-shirt store they have seen fish. they have heard tales. that should be enough for you; it was for them.
REWRITING DYE PRINTING.. --what is the output surface. what formulations: dye, base, surface... -- what is your input form. --- then you can build/design the intermediates
They couldn’t make their mark, so now, they are determined to mark their territory.
widen your search for old knowledge; use old texts:
Everybody loved dye transfer. Nobody made them. Why? This century, this time span one and all bemoan the death of a friend they never knew. Never even visited.
supplies were a phone call away
documentation was available free, or for minimal charges
workshops were held at getaway photo shops.
several colleges held courses
trade schools were in major cities, or by mail-order
A simple enough question . with likely very few answers — honest, introspective responses.
The obvious response: there aren’t any materials . What about when there were — why didn’t you buy the Efke film? Assuming you were an adult in 1990, why didn’t you buy Kodak dye transfer material ?
And for those of you who did buy the materials: why didn’t you use them ?
Continuing along this expansion, for those of you who bought Materials and took a workshop, why didn’t you use dye transfer as your print process?
If you were drawn to dye transfer enough to buy the materials and take the training, why didn’t you expand your skills and become a die transfer printer?
Why do people buy beyond use : compulsion vs obsession. The ownership vs the authorship. Do they believe themselves stewards?
Catalog prices for some Dye Transfer supplies. These are the retailer list price. Labs paid much less.
Consider: Giffen vs Veblen goods. The professional depended on the supplies. The hobbyist didn’t. 1981 was a break year for Kodak’s process. By 1986, the decision had been made to let the process run out the clock. During this time, the larger labs had a decreasing dye transfer business. It was maintained as a prestige factor attracting interest but resulting in few projects. Small specialist labs grew in the eighties; even the best known added other processes to their sales brochure. “Now, the finest Black and White from the finest Color Lab.” — 1987 —
Kodak chose not to license, nor sell the process[ 1981,2] . Wonder why? In their final run of product, the only supply sold completely was Tanning developer. Nope, not even all the matrix film was sold. Not even the Pan Matrix. So it goes…. much of the film and paper was held in store for years.
and then it was recycled. The Fotokemika branded Efke matrix film also saw few buyers.
Maybe there is a market for the Coffee Mug, the Trucker Hat, the Film Vest… not the film… Sell the tchotchke, maybe the tattoo, no need for the mats and blanks.
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