The World of Master Printers - An ILFORD Inspires Film 

There are so many talented silver gelatin printers in the world and we are thrilled to be able to showcase just a few of these Master Printers in this 3rd video in our ILFORD Inspires New York Silver Stories series. A huge thank you as usual to the talented team @exploredinary for filming and editing and also to Digital Silver Imaging, Griffin Editions and Laumont Editions for letting us in to see and film the tremendous amount of work that goes on behind the scenes.

Any one can take a photo but not all can make a photo, the joy of a darkroom. I have move onto printing my own Platinum Palladium images now! Thanks for the great video!

This is the dark room taken to a totally new level. I can only love and respect the early photographers which did it all in their own humble darkroom.

I remember my first venture into B&W developing/printing. I am much older than you and I started doing it in 1973. My dad used to help me by placing a light proof board across the kitchen window, mixing chemicals and developing the pictures. I didn't have a clue what to do at that stage, but I gradually progressed until I could do it alone. Regrettably, the hobby (it was for me) fell by the wayside due to marriage, work etc and I stopped processing my pictures. Fast forwarding quite a few years, photography was beginning to change to digital. I went down that avenue and bought my first digital camera (Sony Mavica which housed 3.5" discs). Digital continued for me and up until recently I used a Lumix G9 (I still have it). I wanted to get back to my earlier days and recently I bought a Pentax LX. I used about 5 rolls of film and they are currently with a film processor. I need to ensure that the camera is working correctly. I will eventually need to learn how to develop and print again, but everything in small steps. Good luck with your photography, I like your pictures. Greetings from London.

We hope you enjoy this rare look into The World of Master Printers! It was so much fun to meet and film with all of these talented individuals who have dedicated their lives to photography.

Twenty five minutes watching your wonderful video, followed by seven hours in the darkroom. Pretty much a perfect evening, thank you @ILFORDPHOTO, @Exploredinary and all of the labs, printers and photographers involved. Inspiration and motivation are always so appreciated!

Thank you Ilford for providing us the supplies and the knowledge to keep discovering that magic over and over again.

"The Puzzle of the Print" sums it up completely in this fabulous video!

Made a lifetime of printing photographs for myself and other photographers ! Never quit ! Always something new and unexpected !

Great film, thank you! It made me miss my commercial photo lab days, altho I still print in my home darkroom.

Real photography, true masters of the art from capture to print. So inspiring. Thank you.

I love that Joan Jett picture on the wall!!! Made the cover for I love Rock n' Roll back in 1982 when I was -15

This was a fantastic project and we were thrilled to be invited to participate. This is our passion; it's what we do best. Thanks to Marcelle @morrisonhotelgallery for her support and well.

This is really something. Thank you very much. "A print is always a puzzle", this is so true and something I was never thinking.

thanks to Ilford/Harmon and the Explordinary crew. A job well done. I'm not sure if NYC is the centre of the photography world considering Tokyo, London, Paris, Berlin, Mexico City, Sao Paulo but no doubt NYC is an important place in the world of photography. The printers were a treat to watch and hear. I might add a question for clarification.. at the 22.54 mark an Agfa Gaevertz 120 format folder camera is shown as a 135 film camera used by Benjamin Pelaez. You might want to find the appropriate camera and 'adjust accordingly'. A small but niggling point for those of us who are long time film photographers. This documentary is a wonderful effort and video. Thanks and continued success

it's been a long, long time since i smelled "the stop", sadly... i remember times, printing in the darkroom, working to get a print to "say" what was wanted, only to glance at a clock...ohm it's 3:30 ! wonderful to see these dedicated 'craftsmen', who, indeed, bring artistry to their work, a synergy with the photographer that is truly part of the final artwork! thanks for sharing the voices and passion of these "back room" artists!

Ilford definitely inspires - thanks for showcasing

Amazing pictures, great ILFORD products are so highly regarded. I started using ILFORD plates, film and paper in 1962 and I live in ILFORD!

I really enjoyed this 🙂 Its given me motivation 🙂Thank you x

Absolutely awesome ! Winter is approaching. Time for me to start printing in my home darkroom. This is just what I need to get me all fired up !!

Brilliant! Thank you for keeping the dream alive. Can't wait for the next film!

Its always more pure, more beautiful, more perfect when the photographer does his own printing to complete his vision, mono.

Beautiful video. I have been working on fourteen 16x12 prints in the darkroom for the past four days, went through two boxes of 50 sheets of paper. This has inspired me to keep going, only three more prints to go.

What a wonderful video and look at the world of master printers

Every single second of this video made me happy. Thank you.

I'm happy to see the continuation of this beautiful art service! Just this week, it broke my heart to heart that another great lab back in Denver, Reed Photo Imaging, closed their doors after many decades of producing amazing processing and printing for the photographic community. They were one of the leaders in the photographic world and will be greatly missed!

All of these talented people are confident and personable. Simply a video that reminds us of the sheer beauty and incredible impressive power of large prints. I’ve only had a few large prints made. I gave one of a Cheetah to a 9 year old relative. Felt great to see his eyes light up.

i‘m totally speechless. i need to learn this!

I just love these video presentations, better than any TV content here in NEW ZEALAND. My eyes lit up when I saw the darkroom revolving door at 18.19 just like the one I bought for $16.00 which makes loading films for darkroom work a breeze .

Very good video to my friends at Ilford! While I spent more than 20 years as a portrait/wedding photographer I did a little B&W fine art photography. This was my big bonus to me for being a photographer!

Wonderful insight into the world of high-end photographic printing. Thank you for making this kind of documentary, it's very heartwarming to know that this kind of artistry is still happening.

I am a user of ilford products here in ARGENTINA the video is very very interesting Thanks ILFORD to do it

I love this series. These videos are a joy to watch.

Wow! What a great story! People doing what they love. So inspiring. Time for me to dust of my enlarger again! Thank you Ilford, these just keep getting better and better!!

to all of you at ILFORD you are amazing, wow what an awesome video

Thank you love to be inspired by great work

@exploredinary this is wonderful! Loved every part of it!

The murial prints wow the attention to detail is unbelievable. Liked the guy with the bullfight images interpretation of what it was like to print this for the first time. A lovely memory 👌

If you are interested in photography, this is a must watch.

fabulous insight to the printers art, i remember a long time ago being very impressed with Gene Nocon at one of his workshops in the early eighties, so inspiring, sadly no longer with us.... thank you Ilford and Harman for keeping the faith....

More videos like this please! Enlightening!

Well, I'm going right to my darkroom now! Ilford, PLEASE, don't kill Ilfobrom Galerie! Thanks!

Fantastic Film! Just outstanding.

I’ll be sharing this video with my students this fall semester

other people go to New York for museums, I'm jus gonna visit all these printing studios xD

Awesome story! This is the right way.

Wow, Excelente!!!!! Gracias.

What lovely work and to meet the people behind this craft, to hear their stories is a revelation. Please keep this series going...inspirational.

That was one of the best videos I’ve seen ever on RU-vid

Wonderful inspiring video! Thank you.

Great video! Thank you!

Excellent homage to the printers and photogs of New York. I would like to add two printers I knew and worked with at Irwin Welcher's b&w lab, General Graphics, in San Francisco, CA. Eddy Dyba was the master printer and muralist at GG, and he printed the negs of Dorothea Lange, Morley Baer, and others. Kirk Anspach worked at GG as well. He printed Bill Owens' negs among others and eventually became personal printer for the photographer Jim Marshall. Eddy Dyba and Jim Marshall are no longer alive, and I expect that Kirk Anspach is still alive though I haven't seen him for many years. I just felt that they deserve the recognition regardless.

What a wonderful video! As a complete beginner in darkroom printing this is very inspiring.

Love this feature! Learned a lot from this video while having the pleasure of enjoying beautiful imagery! Great stuff Ilford

We love you Ilford! Thank you so much for what you guys do!

Ottimo lavoro Ilford👍👍👍👍👍

Excellent, excellent video. Loved the interviews, the visuals and the topic. I have so many good memories of the darkroom in my high school and college photography classes in the early 90's. This video brought back some of those good memories and really showed how far some masters have been able to take the art and craft of printing. Really eye opening!

Some of us old timers are still around… not so fast, we made our photographs and printed them too!

WoW do I wish I could learn and practice silver-gelatin printing in that environment.

Perfect. Just...perfect!

Great film, more please!

Incredible!

Superb! Very inspiring. Kudos to Ilford for this production.

Bravo! Thanks.

Fantastic and inspiring film. Thank you! 🙏🏾

Thank you very much for this beautiful video!!!!!

great video!👏👏

I used to do this in San Francisco, and developed printing techniques that took advantage of Ilford multigrade technology, using several contrast grades on the same print. I got pretty good at it, and fooled the boss at General Graphics by challenging him to differentiate between a single-weight glossy print and an RC glossy print. He couldn't tell the difference so we stopped wasting time with the ferrotype drum. Then I saw the writing on the wall, and got a degree in electronics, and left the business, got a job in television. Too bad. Now I see that good-old-fashioned black and white gelatin-silver printing is as strong as ever, but I could never live in a city again.

Makes me wanna go 35mm or 120 roll film again!

Thank you! Great video!

Love this! Thank you Ilford 😃

dream job.....especially having access to ultra large printing on your off hours

These stories are fantastic, thank you Ilford and exploredinary for creating this series. Cheers Andrew in Ottawa Canada 🇨🇦

Thank you for sharing. It is an amazing video.

Excellent video, inspirational.

Fantastic artists! Thank you.

Excellent video.Bravo!!!!!

Loved it!! Great work everyone, greetings from Greece!!

Wonderful. Do more 😊

Amazing production!

I loved this behind the scenes video, this was exceptional.

Thanks for this inspiring documental. I would love to see one of my pictures in the hands of these masters …

Excellent video! Printing is such an art itself, it’s kind of daunting to go down that road. Great look at the people involved in that part of the process, and see their involvement in producing some amazing pieces of art.

Wonderful. Thank you!

that was sooo amazing.. feel so inspired

Beautiful and very inspiring !

I fancied myself a master printer printing 8x10 and the occasional 12x16 in my room but i guess not after watching this😢🤣

So badass!

Very cool and inspirational!

Superb

Inspirational!

Awesome :)

awesome

What a dying art. Lions envisioned maybe one day owning a darkroom & processing film at home, in 1993. By 1995, photoshop 3 was the beginning of the end.

I miss Cibachrome material availability so much!

Is this your guys Lab doing all these enlargements in this video?

The art of printing

Looked. I'm going to print 🧐

Woooww! ❤❤❤❤❤❤

Hey Ilford, in order to make this beautiful craft accesible, you must keep prices accesible, your papers have risen in price way beyond inflation year on year... take it from someone who has been printing since the 60s!