A/NZ Print Exchange Round #2 - Sign-up

[SMBooth]

I believe Tim is sick, so the prints going out might be delayed anyway. But lets keep the swap fun, and operating as a relaxed affair.

 

[Ian David]

I believe Tim is sick, so the prints going out might be delayed anyway. But lets keep the swap fun, and operating as a relaxed affair.

I agree that this should be fun. And I am happy for a longer time frame for the printing stage of future exchanges if that is the consensus. But I think any significant relaxations of the timetable (ie more than a few days) after people have already committed to that timetable (and others may have pulled out because they felt they could not commit to the timetable), should be avoided if at all possible.

Ian

 

[w9cae]

I believe Tim is sick, so the prints going out might be delayed anyway. But lets keep the swap fun, and operating as a relaxed affair.

Ment to ask you how your feeling ? Seems a few of us who went to the Chinese restaurant have had crook guts for over a week now. But you & Tim went camping in a down poor.

 

[timk]

hm, yeah in retrospect shouldn't have gone camping. I think I have Glandular Fever so probably not the food that would have caused that. Have been off getting blood tests and xrays etc. I have a massive migraine and finding it difficult to stay awake. (as someone from work said, probably just a man-cold).


So sorry, I'll try not and let the exchange down, shouldn't be too much of an issue I think, I need something to do while I'm off work!!

 

[Andrew K]

Tim - I hope you don't have glandular fever. I had severe glandular fever over 15 years ago - don't ask how long it took to get over the worst of it..but it wasn't counted in weeks...

Thanks for doing the print exchange - I'm sure we can wait until you are up to doing the exchange..and if you need help ask - I'm sure someone will be able to help.

As for future print exchanges - I think no matter how much time you give people there will be some people who will change their mind, or leave things till the last minute - thats just human nature....

I think we need to set the closing dates for 3 print exchanges next year - with a sign up say 8 weeks before that date, with sign up open for 2 weeks. That way people can plan and print ahead of time, of decide when the exchange opens to sign up if they have the time.

6 weeks should be long enough for people to get prints to the organiser...even if they are overseas, or don't have regular access to a darkroom..

Cheers

Andrew

PS - as we allow commercial & inkjet prints if you run out of time you can always get someone else to make the prints for you......I did, but then again..I don't have access to a color darkroom at the moment either

 

[Mick Fagan]

We allow inkjet prints?

I didn't know that, I though this was an analogue photography happening.

Mick.

 

[Andrew K]

inkjet - glicee - whatever - yes it's allowed - I'm sure you read the rules at the start of the post when you signed up?

You HAVE to take the original image on FILM...if you don't have access to a darkroom but want to participate then why be left out?

I would have been left out - as I shot my image on slide film and haven't printed Cibachrome for years....my prints were made on a Fuji frontier - but thats only because the other printer wasn't working in the lab at the time I got my prints made....

 

[Mick Fagan]

I just read the rules carefully, it appears that inkjet prints are acceptable.

So be it.

Mick.

 

[Chris Nielsen]

If commercial (Frontier) prints weren't allowed I couldn't afford to take part, as I have no darkroom currently, and the local commercial darkroom lady charges $15 per 8x10... Whereas the frontier prints I made cost $2.50 each and they were still originally shot on film

 

[Kevin Caulfield]

$15 per 8 x 10 in a community darkroom? You are being ROBBED.

 

[Chris Nielsen]

I don't know what a community darkroom is, but I call this place a 'commercial' darkroom - I bring her a piece of film and get prints back. I can't do the work myself

 

[Yamaotoko]

Hmmm... this brings up an idea (possibly worthy of it's own threead, but since we're on the topic...): I was having a chat about darkrooms etc with photographer I was working with a few months back. I'd just moved house and so was in the process of re-setting up my darkroom in a new space. We got chatting about the (seeming) lack of available community darkroom space, and how someone like her, who now shoots mostly digital because of work, but dables in the odd roll of film, wouldn't know where to go to get any prints done, and so ends up doing nothing with them.

This brought about the idea of making my darkroom available to folks in the area who have an interest, but no facilities, so they can have occasional access to a darkroom as they need. Is this anything anyone else is doing? I'll be the first to admit that my darkroom is far from being very well equiped, but with the two enlargers just about anyone can have a play at prints up to about 16x20 (the low ceiling in my shed won't let the enlarger head raise any higher than that).

I've had a couple people stop by and make themselves some prints that they may not have otherwise been able to get without paying a small fortune (ie, $15 for an 8x10!). In future exchanges, I'd be happy to make my humble facilities available to anyone who doesn't have access to their own setup. Any thoughts on this kind of arrangement? I just feel lucky/blessed/fortunate to be able to have my own setup, and so am happy to share the wealth. Of course, stranger danger should be heeded...

 

[Kevin Caulfield]

Oh, sorry, I thought she was charging you $15 to print your own 8 x 10.

 

[Mick Fagan]

$15.00 NZ is very cheap for a commercially produced 8x10" print, do the maths carefully and think how you would print a stranger's negative and what exactly it would cost you in time, materials, leaving some room for a modest profit.

In my opinion at that cost, there is no profit, that is a very cheap price.

If you are talking more than one identical print from the negative, as in 10 or more copies, then the $15.00 per print for 10 or more, would be more like it.

I usually take three sheets of paper to make what I call a commercial standard print from a customer's negative. The first sheet is used up getting correct density, or what I believe is correct density, as well as close to ideal contrast. The second is a full print with what I believe is correct, the third is usually commercial quality, not best possible quality, but commercial quality.

$15.00 NZ is starting to look cheap, don't you think?

Mick.

 

[Oxleyroad]

This brought about the idea of making my darkroom available to folks in the area who have an interest, but no facilities, so they can have occasional access to a darkroom as they need. Is this anything anyone else is doing? I'll be the first to admit that my darkroom is far from being very well equiped, but with the two enlargers just about anyone can have a play at prints up to about 16x20 (the low ceiling in my shed won't let the enlarger head raise any higher than that).
...
I just feel lucky/blessed/fortunate to be able to have my own setup, and so am happy to share the wealth. Of course, stranger danger should be heeded...

You know what this exact topic was what got me started posting on APUG. I read someone needed a darkroom and I had one that was not being used. Seemed to be a waste to me so I offered it up to the person in need, and you know what I was greater with silence. I put it down to being a country kid living in the big smoke and city folk don't know how to accept this sort of thing from a stranger. Guess I will never know. I also see it as a way to meet new people and possibly learn new things - is this wrong?

The darkroom I have is tiny at 9 sqm. But I have running water and drainage something I managed without for 10 years. I still don't have a deep sink only an old kitchen sink, hot water is still by electric jug or brought in by the bucket. But I am still able to churn out everything. The only format I don't process is colour 16mm cine film - got to reduce the number of formats I work with as I will save money.

So if I was to still want to make my darkroom available? I have no idea how I would go about it, any ideas from all of you?

 

[Nige]

appears that inkjet prints are acceptable.

tolerated in the interest of education and sharing.

And Mick, you're not going to include your time into those $/print calcs are you? I've toyed with the idea of doing this but soon realise I don't get to spend any time doing anything i want to do so the idea oftaking on other peoples work is a bit silly! Maybe when my kids leave the nest!

 

[Chris Nielsen]

$15.00 NZ is very cheap for a commercially produced 8x10" print, do the maths carefully and think how you would print a stranger's negative and what exactly it would cost you in time, materials, leaving some room for a modest profit.

In my opinion at that cost, there is no profit, that is a very cheap price.

If you are talking more than one identical print from the negative, as in 10 or more copies, then the $15.00 per print for 10 or more, would be more like it.

I usually take three sheets of paper to make what I call a commercial standard print from a customer's negative. The first sheet is used up getting correct density, or what I believe is correct density, as well as close to ideal contrast. The second is a full print with what I believe is correct, the third is usually commercial quality, not best possible quality, but commercial quality.

$15.00 NZ is starting to look cheap, don't you think?

Mick.

Yeah, it's something like $20 or $25 for a single print, $15 for multiples. I haven't gotten around to using her services yet so can't say what the results are like. I must dig some negs out and get her to print them up

 

[trotkiller]

prints are packed, and will be in the post tomorrow

 

[Andrew K]

I would expect to pay around $25 for standard commercial quality/custom B&W 8X10 print on RC paper, and then less for each additional print.

As Mick Fagan said - in a commercial darkroom it is actually harder to make a good B&W print than it is a good color print. Color is far easier - you need to get the color and density right - you rarely burn on dodge standard commercial color prints.

Printing B&W it can take anything from 2-5 sheets of paper to get a good print - just depends how hard the neg is to print, and the look you are after..

I was a professional photographic printer for around 1/2 of the time I've worked in the photographic industry (cominu up to 27 years now..), and have printed using most processes used commercially (EP2, RA4, R14, Cibachrome, plus processed most film types - C41, C22, E6 - plus B&W processing and printing using both fiber and RC papers).

We have always embraced new technologies - I remember when Type 8 Agfa color paper came out - you didin't get a color/density shift when you changed magnifications! What an time saving.. So was RA4 - 4 minutes to process a print - down from 10 (or 12?) minutes of EP2..

I don't know why anyone would complain about accepting an inkjet print, but then accept a Frontier print?

A Frontier (or other commercial lab) print may be on photographic paper, but it's printed digitally from a scanned file (your negative) via a laser (or LEDs in the case of some large format printers..)

To me APUG is about having fun, and keeping people shooting old cameras that use film (negative or slide, black and white or color) - how you make the final prints is up to you and the facilities you have available to you...

Sorry to be so long winded.....

 

[hoffy]

......
Sorry to be so long winded.....

You obviously haven't read the thread - (there was a url link here which no longer exists)! I gave up reading and responding 20 pages ago!

 

[Andrew K]

no I didn't read it......

What can I say - don't have that much time at work to read every post

 

[hoffy]

no I didn't read it......

What can I say - don't have that much time at work to read every post

Haha! I would be....FIRED if I tried

 

[timk]

hey guys, just a quick update, I'm missing 3 sets of prints, and I've PM'd those who haven't submitted.

TK

 

[Chris Nielsen]

I see a bit of a negative reaction to my frontier prints in this thread. If I have offended any of you by doing this please accept my apologies and feel free to ignore my print...

 

[SMBooth]

Have not offended me Chris, I'll look forward to seeing it.