Copying prints onto LF film?

[BetterSense]

I have a 35mm negative I like to print full-frame at 11x14. Being pushed Tri-X, it's quite grainy but it works very well. The trouble is that although it's probably my favorite image, it's a total pain to print. For aesthetic reasons I have to erase a whole element of the image in the darkroom which is very labor intensive and has about a 25% success rate.

Since I only have about 3 of these prints left, and I'm NOT looking forward to trying to make more, I have been thinking about copying one of them to 4x5 TMAX100, and using that to make subsequent, hopefully 'straight' prints. Has anyone ever done this before? Any tips on exposing and developing for print copying? Do you think the copy will have significantly degraded optical quality compared to the original printed from grainy 35mm?

 

[keithwms]

Why don't you "print" your neg to ortho film, do whatever you need and make another negative from that. The process of working with an interpositive and then a new neg will give you two unique chances to take care of whatever offends you.

You could also have an LVT made.

Anyway, yes, you can print from a print... a paper negative. Many use them. They are highly retouchable (on the backside).

 

[removed account4]

why don't you make a photograph of one of the finished prints and then print that ?
using 35mm film works well for this ... just level off the camera. you can shoot
it with a telephoto lens.

a 4x5 internegative can be a pain.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

I'd make a large format dupe of the print using ordinary copy techniques. It's an absolutely standard method used for years, particularly for performers' headshots (usually with the performer's name and contact information stripped in), and labs that do this well can make prints that are virtually indistinguishable from the originals.

I usually use two strobes with small reflectors, 45-degrees and about 4 feet from the work to be copied. I check with a flash meter and flat diffuser to be sure the lighting is even. Another method with continuous lighting or modeling lamps is to hold a pencil under the lens axis, perpendicular to the copy work and make sure the shadows are even on both sides. If the work isn't flat, you may need to cross polarize.

 

[BetterSense]

why don't you make a photograph of one of the finished prints and then print that ?

Maybe I wasn't clear. That's exactly what I was talking about doing. Just copying one of my finished prints with a large format camera and an enlarger lens.

I'm just not sure if you need to expose and develop specially when you do this, and I'm not sure how good the quality is.

 

[richard ide]

If you are careful, it should be hard to tell the difference. Just make sure you have the full tonal range on the negative.