New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-12-01
A NEW HALF-TONE PROCESS.
RESULTS OF A RECENTLY INVENTED
PHOTOGRAPHIC METHOD.

Illustrations in the daily press have come 10 stay
and some OF the brightest minds In the trade OF sup
plying by photo-mechanica. processes, pictures ol
constantly improving standard Of excellence nave
spent time and money without stint in the endeaFor
to bring their ideas 10 practical WORKING eeoho-
cal point The trade has been absorbed In It's
own IDEAS that perhaps the announcement tha' one
Almost entirely outside of il has process practically
completed which will make another Improvement !"
n vii he n surprise That the art of reproducing
scenes from actual life. photographs, or ehgraV-
ings for use on the rapid printing presses OF Inc
daily papers - susceptible of improvement not even
those with a high opinion Of their own methods are
ready to deny.
The criticism has been made by artists that ever
since the haf-tone process was popuariZed one ne
feet has been apparent. The using OF scree"
has brought out unpleasant effects in fiat surfaces
which in woodbock would have texture D1cK-
ground and relief. In the effort to overcome TINS
diflculty which was "A serious defect. even when
the half-one blocks were used on the SLOW presses
Of a magazine. recourse was had to the running OF
tool through a line Of dots TO cut off such parts OF
the latter as might not be needed in the lights OF
picture Later the application Of the technique OF
the woodcut was made TO the hal-tone plate, ana
the result was Jump forward in excellence TO
which many magazine readers have not yet become
accustomed but in which they delight. Ihe ehhi-
nation OF the dot. line and stipple from process
mates was the object sought for, and In measure
accomplished.
them that the masses of light and shade as shown
NV the art OF the graver on steel may be reproduced
for the printing press with all the half-tone effects
for which the artits have striven. may be brought
within the reach not only of the magazine put III
the daily press has apparently been overlooked by
those whose business ii has been to supply ilustra-
tons for tine daily press, and the oversight has
been taken advar tage of by one OF the pesl-hho"h
photographers of NewYork.
THE COMPOUND NEGATIVE.
So far the new application of old idea. for that
"a all the new process is has been used only in the
renroducton in photographs, taken in the ordinary
way Of the line and dot. stpple effect. which Is
the distinctive characteristic of steel engravings OF
the finer sort. Specimens of this work, printed on
nI,,inotype paper show that the old line photog-
raphers have still much TO learn in the way OF
giving to their patrons Photographic portraiture in
its perfection. The process is simple and consists
principally in the OF what Is termed by the IN
yentor a compound negative" Not only is the
new method capable of producing In photograph
the effect OF a steel engraving. but 1t may be ham
died In such a way that different parts Of picture
will have a different effect, a face being brought
on, in stppie. while dress may have line effect,
ard a background be a mass of cross-hatching IN
which all the lights and shades OF halftone are
given. The photographer who has in THIS way IN
vaded the domain OF the process-pate maker Is
The Photographic and patemaker will naturally
made into a negative bearing the lines OF dots in
tended for use in the finished picture, the object
steel copper. From this negative print Is made
paper prepared under special formula. the
tzing emulsion being the inventors secret por-
trait negaye MADE Dy the usuhi the af
turpentine and rosin which Is allowed to dry After
print previously mentioned is placed film side
down, the film side of the negative. optical con,
tact being assured by pressure under squeeze"
When the printed film has set and united with the
film OF the negative which takes only a few min,
utes. they are placed in water which is heated
TO moderate temperature, about half the boiling
point, when the paper print becomes loosened and
double film, is subjected TO washing which re;
moves all the unaffected gelatine in the stripped
film. leaving that on which the light has acted in
seperaby connected with the film Of the portrait
Compound ner ist eoposd Of ecued
translucent. gelatin9us coating, containing lines,
dots and spples, and an original negative. TO which
such coating Is intima tely secured"
LIKE STEEL ENGRAVING.
From this compound negative pictures printed
In the ordinary Photographic manner on paper
other substances. and they show all fneness Of
a frst-class steel engraving. as. owing to the thin
of the film and the fact that it is practically
a part of the original negative, of the details
halftones of the negative lost by the trans
mission of light through 1t while printing To have
the picture contain variety Of engraving lines the
film Is attached TO the negative in sections as may
be deemed best having iiTsi been produced in the
style Of engraving 1t Is desired to reproduce.
process. The work of fitting plates intended for
submission to the stereotyplns process in use on
daily papers IL another matter and, although the
underlying principle Is the same. the manner Of
carrying 1t out is different. The chief difficulty at
present IL not 80 much the turning out OF a good
plate doing II within the limited time which the
exlgencies OF newspaper work sometimes fix. The
reticulated film Is fixed on a plate of zinc instead OF
a Photographic negative, and is made after a dr.
ferent formula to Withstand the action OF the acids
used 10 etch out the lights OF newspaper picture.
The plate after the etching shows the fine work
OF an engraving. In just the manner as does
the Photographic print from. the compound mega
tive
That the process marks a distinct advance In the
method of producing fine photographs is evident TO
any one who has seen the result Of the APP
plication Of the rules: and IL the inventors
IDEAS regarding the adaptaby OF the method for
the use OF newspapers are correct, the magazines
will not long have monopoly OF the production OF
the finer sort OF picture work. II is likely that
newspapers will be slow TO take advantage OF any
thing which will increase the artistic effect OF the
Illustrations which are now SO large a part OF the
daily production OF the printing press.