Christopher Burkett has been making Cibachromes since 1982 and specializes in Cibachrome print development. His efforts to preserve the Cibachrome print has resulted in having much of the last remaining Cibachrome materials since it was discontinued in 2012. Read below to learn about the process and the journey to get where we are today.
What makes a great Cibachrome print? When I am attempting to make a great Cibachrome print, what do I look for? What process do I go through to make the image as close to perfect as I possibly can? I have spent 44 years making exhibition quality Cibachrome prints. I’d like to share with you what goes into making a superlative print.
The fine print is much more than a mere reproduction of an image. It is the culmination of the inspiration and vision of the photographer. It is the clearest, most direct and powerful form of the image, and has the ability to move beyond words, ideas and concepts to touch and move the viewer in the most direct and immediate way.
When we view a Cibachrome print what we see is light reflected from the print so the choice of viewing lights is very important. Colors change hue, saturation, and brightness with the quality and intensity of the viewing light.
There are a number of issues to consider when someone asks, “Is this a limited edition Cibachrome?” Sometimes people assume that without setting a limited number of prints, the market would become flooded with copies of the image. This does apply to mechanical processes such as offset lithography, where thousands of posters can be printed on a printing press.
Under changing humidity conditions, sometimes Cibachrome prints will exhibit a waviness which can be disturbing. This problem can be solved by pressure mounting the print.
Shortly after the last production run of Cibachrome was delivered, Ilford Switzerland declared bankruptcy, the employees were dispersed, the property sold, the equipment scraped. After almost 50 years, it was over. Hard to accept, but Cibachrome will never be made again.