April 11, 1893 – The day Frederic Ives patented the process for a half-tone printing press.
Frederic Eugene Ives (February 17, 1856 – May 27, 1937) was an American inventor and photographer who made significant contributions to the fields of photography, printing, and color reproduction.
Ives was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, and showed an early interest in science and technology. In 1874, he began working as an apprentice in the photoengraving department of the New York Daily Graphic, where he learned the art of photoengraving and began experimenting with color photography.
In 1881, Ives invented the halftone process, which revolutionized the printing industry by enabling photographs and other continuous-tone images to be reproduced in print. The halftone process involves breaking an image down into tiny dots of varying sizes, which can then be printed using a printing press. This process allowed for much greater detail and realism in printed images than was previously possible.
In addition to his work on the halftone process, Ives also made significant contributions to the field of color reproduction. He developed a three-color process for reproducing color images, which he called the “Photochromoscope,” and also invented the first practical color photographic process, known as the “Kromskop.”
Ives was a prolific inventor and held more than 70 patents in various fields, including photography, optics, and printing. He was also a member of many scientific and technical organizations and was widely recognized as a leading authority on color photography and printing.
Frederic Ives made significant contributions to the fields of photography, printing, and color reproduction, and his inventions and innovations have had a lasting impact on these industries.