What is a digital C Type print?

A digital C Type or Chromagenic print is any photographic print that has been exposed using digital technology, rather than traditional analogue (otherwise known as ‘darkroom’) techniques. In an analogue setting, an enlarger, an optical apparatus similar to a slide projector, projects the image of a negative onto a sheet of photographic paper whilst controlling focus, intensity and duration of light.

With a digital C Type (Chromagenic print) this part of the process is controlled from a computer and the paper is exposed using lasers or LEDs rather than a bulb. The second part of the traditional process is much the same however: the paper is processed in a photographic developer, followed by bleach fix before being washed to remove the processing chemicals.

So a digital C Type (Chromagenic)  is a traditional photographic print, made from a digital file rather than a negative. Many customers think that a ‘digital print’ has to be a Giclée print but this is not so. A Giclée print is quite different, using no chemistry or light sensitivity. For more information about Giclée printing, see: What is a Giclée print?