Fine Art Photography and Original Art by Lena Johnson Studio

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Contemporary Photography Produced with Chromira  Process

What is a Chromira photographic print?

Chromira photographs are C prints (chromogenic prints) which is an established term in museum nomenclature that is commonly used in the production of contemporary photography.  The Chromira is a Digital Photographic Enlarger that exposes traditional type C photographic paper with LEDs (light emitting diodes).  The Chromira uses red, green and blue LEDs, which travel side-to-side directly over the photographic printing material. This assures that each dot is round, with no elliptical shape distortion near the edges, as has been experienced with previous laser-based printers.  The Chromira produces fine art prints of unparalleled quality. Unlike large format inkjet output, there are no inks used that can smudge or fade and there is no "dot pattern" as in other contemporary photography methods. 

After being exposed to the LEDS, the photo paper is then processed in RA-4 chemistry, creating a continuous-tone, true photographic print. The Chromira is different from inkjet printers because it exposes photographic paper (no ink is involved), whereas inkjet printers physically lay ink on paper or canvas.  Chromira prints have more brilliance, richer blues and cleaner colors and are sharper than Lightjet digital prints.  In contrast with prints produced by ink jet printers or lithography, Chromira prints are real continuous tone photographs with no dots. Subtle gradations are represented smoothly and naturally in image tones that can be extraordinarily deep and rich.  Lena Johnson's contemporary photography chromira prints are printed on archival photo papers with a lifetime of 100 years or more. 

How do Chromira prints compare to fine art photos made through more traditional methods, like Ilfochrome?
Ilfochrome is a beautiful analog process, but notoriously difficult. Even at its best, Ilfochrome printing requires much more time than Photoshop. Quantitatively, digital prints will be sharper, which allows you to make larger prints with the Chromira process; the color is cleaner; and the contrast problems so common in Ilfochrome prints are removed by the scanner.

How do contemporary photography prints off the Chromira compare to prints made with the Lightjet?

• Sharpness: Chromira prints are as sharp or sharper than Lightjet prints

• Both the Chromira and Lightjet accept standard 300 dpi files. The Chromira can accept any resolution file.

• Gamut: In comparison tests, photographers are seeing richer blues and cleaner colors.

What is archival paper?
Acid free and lignin free paper that lasts longer than other papers and holds color well is referred to as archival paper.  With a quality lifetime of 100 years or longer, archival paper is often used for critical, permanent records that must be kept for many years.  Lena Johnson uses archival materials exclusively to produce her contemporary photography fine art work.