Started fooling around with paper negatives so I can use an old Kodak 3A my wife bought me at full size. To simplify the learning curve (there seem to be a lot of variables), I rigged a Polaroid back for my Bronica SQ-Ai to hold paper for paper negatives, and finally got a negative I liked (also providing inverted scan).
If you didn't say it was paper you would never know. The trick is in the pre flash i believe. Did you pre flash enough to get and change in paper tone or just below it?
I pre-flashed enough to get a tone. Looking at my test strips tonight (and after I made my initial judgment), I'm wondering if there was even a tone at 5 seconds, or one-half the amount I flashed. In other words, I initially thought the first tone was at 10 seconds, but now I'm thinking there is actually a tone at 5. I made a note to try test strips at 4, 6, 8 and 10. I'm using a 7.5 watt bulb in a soup can, an idea I picked up -- like most of my good ideas -- off of an archive thread on this site. I don't have a darkroom, per se. Just a bathroom and some trays.
Not yet, but that's what I want to try next. My overall plan is to shoot the big Kodak 3A negatives and then contact print those, since those would be big enough to see.
But can I use the same Soup Can light i'm using to contact print, or do I need something stronger? I guess I thought I'd just put the paper in contact, cover with a piece of glass from a frame, try some various times and see what happens. If my flash time is 10 seconds, any thoughts on where I might start with contact printing times? 20 seconds, 120 seconds? I have no idea.
you probably will need a stronger light to print through the paper ..
it is easy to do a test strip to see what the best time would be ...
i know people that just turn the room lights on / off if your other light isn't strong enough ..
i have a 300w bulb in a fixture i usually use for contact prints through paper,
it works great, and the electric company loves me
i'm using a 3A too, they are fun camera