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black border 'after the fact'

David Lyga

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Location
Philadelphia
Format
35mm
Has anyone attempted, and succeeded, with placing a black border around his/her print after all the processing has been completed? I am talking about something as simple as using a Sharpie and ruler to sketch-in a thin black (or other color) border. My concern is long term ability to withstand fading, but the idea is very tempting, as burning-in a black border is difficult to do with absolute precision.

I do not wish to file out a negative carrier because 1) maybe I wish to crop the negative, and 2) that filing might not be as precisely cut as a border directly applied to the print in full room-light. - David Lyga
 
I have done the opposite for sharp borders for platinum/palladium prints. Make a template with rubylith the size of the image, open the easel arms to the size of the border you want, center the rubylith (size of print), expose then remove the rubylith and print.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/
 
Doing it by burning in seems like it would be better. Sharpie fades, other ink would be pretty obvious, among other things, the ink is probably darker than the darkest silver tone, and most certainly a different color.
I'd make a mask(s) the size of the images you want to print of some sort of opaque material. Then you can set the blades of the easel to the mask. Then it's just a matter of placing the mask and doing the burn exposure by whatever means.
 
I had not thought of making a mask the exact size of the printed image. That would be easy to do, even in room-light, as the easel blades have already been set for the print. I was not aware that Sharpie fades. Of course, burning in is theoretically, and practically, better. Thanks. - David Lyga
 
How about using a double mat, with a black inner mat behind a white over mat.
 
If you are using an easel you can either make a mask the exact size of the revealed area. insert the mask (a couple of magnets to hold the mask in place maybe?) then lift the easel frame and expose the borders to a light flash. Or if you want to get really fancy, make a mask 1/8" smaller than the reveal, push it to the top right corner-flash, then push it to the lower left corner and flash again, you now, in my example, have a 1/8 inch black border inside the white borders. This is the 2-bit version of the Kostiner.

Another solution is to find an old school ruling pen or a Rapidograph pen and draw borders with India Ink.
 
Getting a clean even black line by "drawing" methods may work for small image sizes but may be too difficult to apply for larger sizes. I recommend the method of making extra exposures for the lines, they are usually more even and denser black in my experience.
 
Scored a few sheets of rubylith material off of ebay from reading recommendations here. I've had a devil of a time trying to get good black borders.
 
One of the advantages of burning in one's borders is that its gloss and color will match the gloss and color of the print. I let the mat board determine the actual width of black border to be seen...platinum prints.
 
Vaughn said:
One of the advantages of burning in one's borders is that its gloss and color will match the gloss and color of the print. I let the mat board determine the actual width of black border to be seen...platinum prints.
Click to expand...
+1

but if the print is already made ....

i'd take some rubber cement and see how india ink penetrates it on a clean scrap piece of photo paper
then i'd brush some rubber cement on and trim it to whatever border you wanted
then put the india ink down .
when it is dry rub your hand on the rubber cement and roll it off.
not sure how else you might do this, and no idea if india ink
or your preferred ink will wick under the cement or whatever...

good luck !
 
Double matting is a more common and straightforward solution, though it adds additional cost and labour. A few of my own prints in B&W are with a warm-white top mat and black lower mat, which works to effectively "contain" the image, especially if it has light tones (I print B&W in light tones).
 
After the print is made and dried... India ink?
 
I've used India ink and Rapidograph pens to draw black borders on a few prints.

I used the test strips for practice, to make sure the ink was going to draw cleanly. Koh-I-Noor India ink worked just fine.
 
I burn my borders in via a filed negative carrier. I didn't file it out precisely but that doesn't matter I think, the easel controls the outside edge of the black border and the film's emulsion the inside of it. I get pretty precise borders this way.
Like you mentioned though - if I crop - I don't have borders.

Good luck,
Ben
 
David Lyga said:
2) that filing might not be as precisely cut as a border directly applied to the print in full room-light. - David Lyga
Click to expand...
The junction between the image and the black border would be from the camera's image frame, not the enlarger's negative holder.

If you want a black border around a cropped image, you might look at the Kostiner easel.
 
The only other problem with this approach is the amount of non-image light spilling around the edges of your negatives, some people have complained to me that they need to use a higher contrast paper when using a full frame negative holder, and that's fog.
 
ic-racer said:
The junction between the image and the black border would be from the camera's image frame, not the enlarger's negative holder.

If you want a black border around a cropped image, you might look at the Kostiner easel.
Click to expand...
I have been looking, and looking, and looking...ever since the company discontinued this easel and closed it's doors. If I find one for my price I'll love it and hug it and name it George.
 
darkroommike said:
I have been looking, and looking, and looking...ever since the company discontinued this easel and closed it's doors. If I find one for my price I'll love it and hug it and name it George.
Click to expand...
Or, perhaps, "Look to see how they did it and make something like it..."
 
Years ago they had a device or rather an easel of some type that you could place over the print and exposure of a black border. I know we still have the in the lab some place. I will check tonight when I go in to teach my class

They came in all the basic paper sizes. If interested check with me later tonight or tomorrow after I double check

Ann
 
I spent a decade of my life or so using rapidographs for ad layout and design. Never knew anyone who could get a truly perfect corner - we always used white-out or scratching to perfect the line work.

Sharpies will fade, and on some surfaces they sort of "bleed", even after years. Fade and spread out.

I have one of those carbon-ink pens for signing prints - it's a hell of a nice pen. Might do the trick? Corners still an issue of course.
 
I seem to recall from a previous thread that Maris had a good way of doing this.
 
If your print sizes are pretty standardized, why not have a set of masks cut an 1/8 inch (or whatever line width you want) of some opaque material. Set it on the print in one corner, burn the lines in, shift to the opposite diagonal and repeat.
 
Tim Stapp said:
If your print sizes are pretty standardized, why not have a set of masks cut an 1/8 inch (or whatever line width you want) of some opaque material. Set it on the print in one corner, burn the lines in, shift to the opposite diagonal and repeat.
Click to expand...

Maybe this solution is too easy? Anything else will probably be akin to a "giraffe" being the result of a "horse" designed by committee! Fred
 
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