colour printing for dummies

cs_foto · Mar 15, 2010

Hi all, I'm learning to colour print and I have a question/issue:

I think I'm doing well with the colour balance but I'm finding I want to add more contrast to the print, the prints are coming out quite flat.

I'm doing 24"x20" on kodak supra endura out of a 35mm negative (fuji 400H)

It might be that the negs are a bit thin (underexposed) so any help or tips will be appreciated.

Im balancing the colour leaving the cyan channel on ZERO and adjusting Magenta and Yellow accordingly...

Cheers

nickandre · Mar 15, 2010

If the negative's thin you're stuck. I believe you can add hydrogen peroxide to the developer to increase contrast, but the developer expires quickly.

cs_foto · Mar 15, 2010

Thanks,

now I read that the cyan channel adds neutral density to the print. I do understand that the light source gets dimmer, hence longer exposure times.

So what effect does that have on the contrast of the final print?

Jedidiah Smith · Mar 15, 2010

Hi CS foto,
I haven't done any color printing (just scanning) but a couple things I'm thinking right off - I don't think Fuji Pro 400H is really that contrasty of a neg to begin with, and also you are making a very large enlargement off of a 35mm neg. I believe the greater enlargement you go, the less contrast is in the print. I read something galen Rowell wrote about that once, and he was always making huge enlargements off his 35mm slides. That is apparently one of the reasons he switched over to drum scanning them and printing off digital RA4 process.
How is something like an 8x10 from that same negative? If there is better contrast there, then that makes sense.
Good luck, I hope someone can help!
Jed

cs_foto · Mar 15, 2010

Hi, thanks for the comment,

I am used to scan (imacon) and digitally print (C-type and Inkjet) my negs and slides and yes it is easier and the results are not bad, in fact they are good, easy to dodge and burn, easy to give contrast, etc. NOT so easy to colour balance thou!

Im experimenting with analog printing as I feel there is something to it that digital prints lack... extremely noticeable with inkjets and in a very discreet way in digital C-types.

Thanks again

Sparky · Mar 15, 2010

Well- actually one thing you CAN do to increase contrast - if you want to try - is to exploit reciprocity law failure in the endura you're using by stopping WAY down (f/32 or beyond) and once you get beyond a certain exposure time, you'll find that your shadows will fill up more efficiently than your highlights (hence increased contrast) - expect your color balance to shift though. Some layers will be more sensitive than others. You MAY have problems balancing the color of the print exactly - but you'll probably be okay. It'll probably take some time anyway to get your 'sea legs' and learn to recognize a really well-balanced color print - it took me a few years of constant printing to get the hang of really good color balance... just stick with it.

Sparky · Mar 15, 2010

The other thing you can do - if you're subject's amenable is the old dodge and burn selectively... but it takes a special kind of image to do that... you're the best judge of that though.

Jedidiah Smith · Mar 16, 2010

That's awesome, I think there is something special about optical color prints as well. Maybe they just aren't as technically perfect as the digital prints or something...unique, anyway. Some day I hope to do color prints as well. Hopefully there will still be materials left by the time I'm ready!
Jed

hrst · Mar 16, 2010

The problem with digital prints is that they are usually too far from technically perfect. That's why many people here choose optical workflow.

On the other hand, if you want some retrovintagelomographyshit, it's easier to do in Photoshop.

nickandre · Mar 16, 2010

Nothing quite like getting out the dyes to do some spotting

cs_foto · Mar 16, 2010

tiberiustibz said:
Nothing quite like getting out the dyes to do some spotting

talking about dyes. where can I get some dyes in the UK (london) to retouch colour prints?

Are dyes for negatives the same used for prints?

Thanks

L Gebhardt · Mar 17, 2010

cs_foto said:
Hi all, I'm learning to colour print and I have a question/issue:

I think I'm doing well with the colour balance but I'm finding I want to add more contrast to the print, the prints are coming out quite flat.

I'm doing 24"x20" on kodak supra endura out of a 35mm negative (fuji 400H)

It might be that the negs are a bit thin (underexposed) so any help or tips will be appreciated.

Im balancing the colour leaving the cyan channel on ZERO and adjusting Magenta and Yellow accordingly...

Cheers

The easiest thing would be to pick up some Kodak Ultra Endura. It is a more contrasty paper than Supra.

cs_foto · Mar 25, 2010

just to let all know that i've been through this process and found that Supra Endura prints much better with shorter exposure times.... basically if you need more contrast/punch try shorter exposure times..

adariusbelly · May 13, 2010

I bought one just for the Greyscale calibration for dummies to compare to my Eye One display2LT. If you want a good introduction to color management with PSE, many people here have found Colin Woodbridges tutorial very accessible and helpful.

richard ide · May 13, 2010

Adariusbelly
I have read your 3 posts so far and please correct me if I am wrong but your posts seem to indicate that you do digital work. Discussions of digital aspects of photography are only permitted if they involve the posting of analogue images to the APUG gallery. Any other aspect of digital is totally off limits. Try our sister site hybridphoto.com

brucemuir · May 13, 2010

For ME the main advantage to an optical/RA4 workflow is the colors are so much richer.
Period.

Also regarding spotting, does anyone favor the newer spotting pens or are the dyes the way to go?

Freestyle has color spotting pen kits for around 15 bux usd.

colour printing for dummies

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