The Ataraxia process for pigment prints is a blend of nineteenth century methods and modern digital technologies. The prints made with this process have exquisite tone and color quality and also exceptional stability. Light-fast pigments dispersed in hardened gelatin layers on a white polyester (Melinex) support, account for this combination of great visual values and a 500 year life expectancy.
The origin of the process dates back to the discoveries of the French inventor Louis Ducos du Hauron (1837 - 1920), who not only conceived most color photographic systems, but also was among the first to make a color print on paper support in 1868. He used pigmented gelatin layers that had been sensitized with bichromate and could be hardened and rendered water-insoluble by exposure to sunlight. Color images were possible by assembling hardened cyan, magenta, yellow and black gelatin relief images on a white paper base, made in this way from three-color separation negatives.
The Ataraxia process requires the generation of four-color separation negatives that have the same size as the final print. These are made from negative or positive transparencies, reflection prints, graphic renderings, digital files, graphic arts or laser image setter. In next step, a pre-registered, laser-exposed color separation negative is contact printed onto a pigment gelatin foil with automatically controlled, high intensity light. Then, the exposed foil is wetted and adhered to the surface of white-opaque polyester sheet. Immersion of this sandwich in warm water cause the unexposed, unhardened gelatin to dissolve, leaving a hardened gelatin relief image on the polyester base. Finally, the image layer is stabilized and dried.
This procedure is carried out in sequence for the cyan, magenta, yellow and black image components to yield the complete image assembly. Standard support for this prints is polyester, but can be also high-quality watercolor paper. This variation requires the double-transfer of the pigmented layer assembly onto the paper support.
The Ataraxia process can also be a high-quality black-and-white print, whose image is formed by black carbon particles embedded in gelatin.
Atarxia Carbon Print on Melinex SubstrateMany thanks to Monique Fischer, Senior Photograph Conservator at NEDCC who kindly gave me the Ataraxia print from her collection to illustrate this post.
