By way of reminder, back in August my eldest nephew William and I were playing with a way of increasing resolution of gel lifters with the Axis Inversion Dyes.
Well, the first few trials were miserable failures. The heat needed to activate the dyes distorted or outright melted the gel. However, as the wizard said said, 99% perspiration etc… So, the work continued to the point today whereby incorporating the dye into a fuming cartridge the heat needed for sublimation does not impact the lifter.
Essentially what we have come up with is this: the dye colors the gel, but where the gel has picked up residue, the dye is blocked from entry. The result is a yellowing of the gel -- up to a few shade units -- without coloring the impression. (See the top picture.)
So who cares you may ask? Well I do, (and possibly others … possibly people who use gel lifters) because, the result is a net bluing of the impression making it easier to view. (Blue and yellow are diametrically opposed on the visual axis. So if the background is yellower the foreground is defacto bluer.)
To be honest, in most cases while we are able to increase the contrast of the image, we weren’t able to achieve an image that couldn’t also be obtained with oblique lighting and optical filters. But, there were cases where the increase in contrast pushed the image just enough to resolve detail that weren’t achievable by conventional means. (See the bottom Picture)
Obviously, this is very preliminary. I may work it into a study if there is time in 2012, who knows, maybe I can get my nephew to work with me on a validation project.
But for now, I am simply content to have figured finished the proof of concept steps begun with William.
But it is Sunday, and I think I have put enough time in the lab tonight so with that …
Until Later
Charles
Well, the first few trials were miserable failures. The heat needed to activate the dyes distorted or outright melted the gel. However, as the wizard said said, 99% perspiration etc… So, the work continued to the point today whereby incorporating the dye into a fuming cartridge the heat needed for sublimation does not impact the lifter.
Essentially what we have come up with is this: the dye colors the gel, but where the gel has picked up residue, the dye is blocked from entry. The result is a yellowing of the gel -- up to a few shade units -- without coloring the impression. (See the top picture.)
So who cares you may ask? Well I do, (and possibly others … possibly people who use gel lifters) because, the result is a net bluing of the impression making it easier to view. (Blue and yellow are diametrically opposed on the visual axis. So if the background is yellower the foreground is defacto bluer.)
To be honest, in most cases while we are able to increase the contrast of the image, we weren’t able to achieve an image that couldn’t also be obtained with oblique lighting and optical filters. But, there were cases where the increase in contrast pushed the image just enough to resolve detail that weren’t achievable by conventional means. (See the bottom Picture)
Obviously, this is very preliminary. I may work it into a study if there is time in 2012, who knows, maybe I can get my nephew to work with me on a validation project.
But for now, I am simply content to have figured finished the proof of concept steps begun with William.
But it is Sunday, and I think I have put enough time in the lab tonight so with that …
Until Later
Charles
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