Just passing along some news that may be of interest to readers of this blog…
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The Last Dye Transfer Sale Starts April 17th
Waukesha, Wisconsin, Tues. April 16, 2013 — TOP is having a 5-day-only
sale of beautiful, large prints made with the rare, old, and difficult dye
transfer process.
Starting at 12 noon, Central Daylight Time, on Wednesday, April 17th, the
photo enthusiast website The Online Photographer (a.k.a. TOP) ( http://
theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/
blog_index.html ) will begin a sale of four full-sized (roughly 16×20″) prints
by Ctein from his portfolio. The cost is only $575 per print, one third of the
artist’s usual price for a dye transfer of that size. This leaves a comfortable
margin for gallery markup or future appreciation in value.
Ctein—it’s his only name, and it’s pronounced “kuh-TINE”—has been a
photographer and custom printmaker for 45 years. As one of the world’s
few master dye transfer printers, he has been making dye transfers
continuously for nearly four decades. The late Frank McLaughlin, Kodak’s
own dye transfer expert, said of Ctein, “I’ve never seen better dye transfer
prints than his.” Chances are you have seen his work. He has been the dye
transfer printer for many famous photographers, including rock ‘n’ roll
photographer Jim Marshall.
That era is coming to an end.
This spring, Ctein is finally closing down his wet darkroom for good. 99% of
his custom printing business is now inkjet. When Kodak discontinued
making dye transfer materials in 1993, Ctein mortgaged his house and
filled his basement with supplies. Those supplies have been dwindling
steadily. He’s now down to his last sheets of full-sized dye transfer paper.
We have only 160 full-sized dye transfer prints to sell. The sale will last for
five days or whenever the prints run out, whichever comes first.
After completing the orders from this sale, Ctein will be closing down his
darkroom for good and making no more dye transfer prints, ever. He is not
the absolute last dye transfer printer on Earth, but their ranks—never large
—have been shrinking steadily; there may be as few as a dozen dye
transfer printers left on Earth. New ones will not be forthcoming because
the materials are no longer made (and the process is so difficult to learn).
The only dyes Ctein will have to sell in the future are already-made prints
from stock, for considerably higher prices.
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Because TOP sales tend to sell rapidly, there is a good chance this sale will
not continue for the entire five days. The picture choices will be posted at
12 o’clock noon, Central Daylight Time, on Wednesday, April 17th. (The
pictures cannot be viewed and the prints cannot be purchased until then.)
All sales are first-come, first-served.
Please come take a look at the prints on April 17th! TOP is at
http://www.theonlinephotographer.com
