A question for those who print from 135 film ...

miha · Jan 4, 2023

I wonder what percentage of your snaps do you actually print in your darkroom and how big do you print them?

mrosenlof · Jan 4, 2023

I print on 8x10 paper with fairly large borders so an image size maybe 6x8. I have rarely been happy with an 11x14 from 35mm. Percentage? don't have a good idea. maybe 5%. it varies

Marcelo Paniagua · Jan 4, 2023

Normally print on 5x7. 8x10 sometimes with slow film, like Pan F 50. I would say about 3%. I print from my 120 negative more often than the 35mm.

Alan9940 · Jan 4, 2023

About 98% of my prints from 35mm are 5x7; occasionally, I'll make up to 8x12, if the negative is good enough and I feel the subject warrants a larger size. Of all the 35mm I shoot, I'd estimate that I print about 2 - 3% of the total. I print MF negs more often and LF the most.

grain elevator · Jan 4, 2023

I print certainly under 3%, but have a backlog of negatives to make prints from, so if I ever catch up on that, the percentage might go up a bit.
Sizes go from 6.5x8" or something like that (I find 5x7 a bit too small to be worth the effort) to 12x16. With films like Delta 400 or finer grained, that looks good to me (grainier films are fine, too, for prints that size or larger, it just becomes a bit of an "effect" in my eyes) and I might try to go bigger at some point, already have trays for 16x20. Unsure if my enlarging lens and enlarger alignment would show too much weaknesses at that size. But I'm fairly confident that the technical quality of the few of my negatives that have some artistic merit and the subject matter that looks good large will not present a problem for a 16x20" print. Yes, grain and perhaps lens weaknesses and even image shake and focus errors might become more visible, but no-one but a few photo nerds cares, as long as the picture is good.

jimjm · Jan 4, 2023

On average, I'll make 5x7 test prints from between 2 and 10 images on any given 36 exposure roll. Depending on how they look, I may select a few of these that are worth going up to 8x10 and doing any burning/dodging and other manipulation. These are the prints that I scan to JPG for any online purposes, as my scanner can't handle larger prints. I shoot mostly B/W, so if the image is a success in my mind, I'll go up to 11x14 for my final portfolio prints, and for mounting and framing. I have some keepers that don't work larger than 8x10 due to processing issues, camera shake or focusing problems, but are otherwise fine as smaller prints. Always my fault, I can never blame the gear!
I have a number of 35mm images that could easy hold up to 16x20 or larger, but I just don't have enough space to store these.

miha · Jan 4, 2023

Thanks all. What do you do with the snaps that you don't print from, or rather why did you take them in the first place? Do you just bury them into oblivion?

ic-racer · Jan 4, 2023

I print 35mm somewhere around 4x6" on 8x10 paper. I print 100% of the ones that interest me at the time. As my interests change, I may go back to find negatives that I passed over. For example, I'm interested in those high-tension wire towers now, so I have been going back looking for those images I may have taken in the 70s or 80s. Some of the towers looked different back then too.

jimjm · Jan 4, 2023

It's difficult to tell if an image really works until I look at the print. Contact sheets are a start and the 5x7 test prints allow me to work out if any cropping or other manipulation is needed. Every few years I'll go back over old contact sheets and discover images that I didn't pick out for printing at the time. Just depends on my mood and if I've figured out what to do with an image. I've dozens of shots that I didn't try printing at first, but ended up turning out great. It's all part of the editing process. I never throw away old negatives or contacts.

GregY · Jan 4, 2023

Back when i only shot 35mm I printed as large as 16"x20." In the last 20 yrs I've worked primarily in medium format and some 4x5" and 5x7" LF. Now i normally print 35mm only as large as 11"x14"....if it's a great image and a fine negative. If I'm travelling somewhere that's interesting photographically I try to use MF, but if I'm for any reason restricted to carrying 35mm....I use TMax 100 and have a tripod or at least a monopod. (I still have a few rolls of Agfapan 25 in the fridge too)

Ben 4 · Jan 4, 2023

I normally print 6x9 (or so—whatever works for the image) on 8x10 paper; favorite images go on 11x14 paper. I'll usually print 6-8 from a roll of 36. The others live on contact sheets.

Rick A · Jan 4, 2023

When I printed from 135 film I would cut 11x14 paper to 7x11 and print borderless. I've used Ilford 9.5x12 paper, not sure I like it(it's a brand issue, not a size issue).

Pioneer · Jan 4, 2023

The great majority of my 35mm work is printed on 5x7 paper.

Don_ih · Jan 4, 2023

I mostly print to 8x10 - but mostly don't crop the image. I prints maybe 10% of the photos I take.

bsdunek · Jan 4, 2023

Gosh! Surprised to hear so few (any!) print bigger. If I can't make at least an 11 X 14 I did something wrong. I do use slower fine grain film and fine grain developers.
Some of my work: https://brucecsdunekphotography.zenfolio.com

guangong · Jan 4, 2023

Many decades ago I made large prints, but as time passes tend to print smaller and smaller. The percentage that actually gets printed depends upon a number of factors: level of photographic skills, opportunity to take photo (there have been threads here on the ones that got away), and one’s self criticism. There are times when I’m not satisfied with anything on a roll. This, of course, is the advantage of an amateur (using formal definition) compared with a professional who MUST produce something. In the latter instances I shoot digital.

Paul Howell · Jan 4, 2023

I make contact sheets from those I print less than 10% of my 35mm negatives, I print work prints on 8X10, a presentation print 11X14. Minor White often said that AA felt 12 good prints a years was a decent haul.

gone · Jan 4, 2023

I print a lot on some rolls, and little to none on others. Generally, unfortunately and confusingly, I save them all. Just in case.

wiltw · Jan 4, 2023

GregY said:
Back when i only shot 35mm I printed as large as 16"x20." In the last 20 yrs I've worked primarily in medium format and some 4x5" and 5x7" LF. Now i normally print 35mm only as large as 11"x14"....if it's a great image and a fine negative.

Same applied for me...16 x 20" was just a bit too large grain for me, when shooting Tri-X, and I did not shoot Plus-X enough due to its ASA 100 (ISO 100) rating.
11 x 14" was tolerable from 135. Then I graduated to medium format, and (until FF digital came along), the only time I deliberately chose 135 format was when I needed really fast lenses to shoot with ISO 400 film.

Sirius Glass · Jan 4, 2023

I have several 24"x36" prints from 35mm film printed by high end photo finishers. I have had very few color negative or color slides to could stand up technically to such enlargement. For years my serious work is done with medium format. 4"x5" format it just for kicks although I have the enlarger for it.

Derek Lofgreen · Jan 4, 2023

8x10 and 11x14 usually.

miha · Jan 5, 2023

bsdunek said:
Gosh! Surprised to hear so few (any!) print bigger. If I can't make at least an 11 X 14 I did something wrong. I do use slower fine grain film and fine grain developers.
Some of my work: https://brucecsdunekphotography.zenfolio.co

From 35mm ?

logan2z · Jan 5, 2023

I mostly print 6x9 images on 8x10 paper. Occasionally I'll print 11x14. I'm not a fan of large prints so have no desire to go bigger.

miha · Jan 5, 2023

While technical properties of a given film, darkroom space, and often our budget dictate the size of the print we produce, it's also obvious that those who shoot various film formats tend to print a higher percentage from large film formats. Am I right?

GregY · Jan 5, 2023

miha said:
While technical properties of a given film, darkroom space, and often our budget dictate the size of the print we produce, it's also obvious that those who shoot various film formats tend to print a higher percentage from large film formats. Am I right?

I know i do.

A question for those who print from 135 film ...

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