ANR glass to contact print?

[ericdan]

I have a anti newton ring (ANR) glass plate for 120 film scanning and I am wondering if I can repurpose that to contact print 120 film under an enlarger.
Is ANR glass suitable for that? What would be the best base to use?

 

[DREW WILEY]

With contact printing you need a bit of pressure on the glass to get consistent pressure of the film against a spongy backpad. If you borrow glass from a scanner, you'd have to be certain it isn't too thin, with the potential to break under those circumstances. Gosh, AN glass isn't that expensive
compared to all the other things photographers routinely think they need.

 

[ericdan]

Probably better to get a used contact printer then.

 

[Tim Layton]

A very effective solution is to visit your local glass company in your town and have them cut you a piece of 3/8" thick glass and polish the edges. For example, if you are planning on using 8x10 paper, then get a 10x12 piece of glass. It is worth the investment and will last a lifetime. Another option is to pick up a contact printing frame online.

Tim

I have a anti newton ring (ANR) glass plate for 120 film scanning and I am wondering if I can repurpose that to contact print 120 film under an enlarger.
Is ANR glass suitable for that? What would be the best base to use?

 

[DREW WILEY]

Your "local glass company" won't carry anti-newton glass. Since contact printing is done emulsion to emulsion, the slick back of the film is what lies
in contact with the glass itself, an ideal scenario for ring issues.

 

[Richard T Ritter]

You have to remember that anti-newton glass is a fairly modern glass. For the past 100 years most photographers used plain extra thick window glass. I tested anti newton ring glass years ago and throw the piece away. It was fine until you printed an evenly lite wall or the sky with no clouds, the pattern of the glass would show up.

 

[Tim Layton]

I've been making contact prints like this for 30 years and never had a single problem.

Your "local glass company" won't carry anti-newton glass. Since contact printing is done emulsion to emulsion, the slick back of the film is what lies
in contact with the glass itself, an ideal scenario for ring issues.

 

[Tim Layton]

My experience tracks with yours Richard.

You have to remember that anti-newton glass is a fairly modern glass. For the past 100 years most photographers used plain extra thick window glass. I tested anti newton ring glass years ago and throw the piece away. It was fine until you printed an evenly lite wall or the sky with no clouds, the pattern of the glass would show up.

 

[DREW WILEY]

If the texture shows up, it's either the wrong kind of glass or you are using the enlarger lens itself incorrectly in relation to the glass. I have NEVER
had this happen in thirty years using six different enlargers and gosh knows how many different lenses, even with very hard grade papers and inherently high contrast work like Cibachrome. People chewed tobacco for over a hundred years too. So what does that prove?

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

I have a piece of ANR glass for contact printing 8x10 negatives. Works like a charm!

 

[Jim Noel]

I have ANR glass in all of my contact printing frames. It has been there for years and never presented a problem.

 

[Slixtiesix]

I did like Tim said and had me cut a 8x10 piece of AN-glass by a local glassmaker. Cost me some 12 bucks. Works perfectly, no Newton rings on my contacts.

 

[Tim Layton]

Awesome!

I did like Tim said and had me cut a 8x10 piece of AN-glass by a local glassmaker. Cost me some 12 bucks. Works perfectly, no Newton rings on my contacts.

 

[DREW WILEY]

There is some obvious confusion in nomenclature here. No local glass shop is going to carry anti-newton glass, let alone charge twelve bucks for a
piece. They might be offering etched non-glare picture glass. That might work OK in direct contact with a negative; but don't try it in an enlarger carrier where the image passes through a lens afterwards!

 

[Slixtiesix]

Yes Drew, it was etched glass. They did not advertise it as anti-newton, however it seemed the same to me and it works perfectly. If you could explain me the difference between etched glass and AN glass I would be grateful, since I always thought AN glas to be etched. As the original question was about contact prints and not about negative carriers, I thought my experience would contribute to solve the question.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Ordinary non-glare picture glass makes the image look diffused if there is space between it and the object. So it will not come into focus. You can get
away with it in this case because you are tightly sandwiching your negative and paper all together in tight contact frame compression. If this works fine for you, great! Goal achieved. But true anti-newton glass has to allow full optical quality even with a projected image, as in an enlarger situation, or slide projector. This kind of glass is much more expensive - typically around a hundred dollars for an 8x10 piece. No need to elaborate here, since it is a contact printing thread - just pointing out the distinction, because it is critical to enlarging or scanning topics elsewhere.