Do you print 4 x 6's?

rpavich · Jan 28, 2016

Noob to the darkroom here.

I've been printing 8 x 10 and 5 x 7 but I wondered if anyone prints 4 x 6? I noticed that nobody seems to sell 4 x 6 paper (except for printable post cards)

Do you just trim down 5 x 7 paper when you want to print 4 x 6 or does anyone just not do that?

MattKrull · Jan 28, 2016

rpavich said:
Do you just trim down 5 x 7 paper when you want to print 4 x 6 or does anyone just not do that?

Pretty much.
Labs tend to print 4x6s without borders, which is hard to do in a dark room. For 5x7 I use my 3-in-1 non adjustible easel, and that gives me 1/4" borders for a 4.5" x 6.5" image. If I really wanted it to fit in a binder I could chop those down after the fact, but really, I just leave them as is.

rpavich · Jan 28, 2016

Thanks Matt, I guess I'll try that.

bvy · Jan 28, 2016

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/114740-REG/

rpavich · Jan 28, 2016

Thanks, I wonder how I missed that. 500 sheets...wow. That will last me a lifetime.

fotch · Jan 28, 2016

Back in the days that 3.5x5 were standard, retailer labs offered 4x6 to make their offering more attractive. Since 5x7 cut in to 2 is easiest for the home dark room, I would either print that or just print 5x7 and be done with it. Or print 4x5 & crop a little bit.

fotch · Jan 28, 2016

Also available were easels that would hold 8x10 paper with masking so you could print 4 prints on 1 sheet and cut later.

bvy · Jan 28, 2016

rpavich said:
Thanks, I wonder how I missed that. 500 sheets...wow. That will last me a lifetime.

It's about twenty cents a sheet, which isn't bad. If you're printing larger, you can use these for test strips or prints. They'll go fast.

rpavich · Jan 28, 2016

Good point. Right now I'm tearing 8 x 10's in half. This has to be more economical.

bvy · Jan 28, 2016

fotch said:
Also available were easels that would hold 8x10 paper with masking so you could print 4 prints on 1 sheet and cut later.

Combination easels.

MrBrowning · Jan 28, 2016

I haven't used it but came across it while looking for other photo papers.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Adorama-Var...710775?hash=item4d3ae72d77:g:hSgAAOSwyZ5UpSu6

gone · Jan 28, 2016

My preference would be 5x7 for 35mm, just to have something to work with on the edges. It's funny how print sizes got "standardized", when it's fine to print any size you like. Back when I used to send my film out to a lab, I liked the 4x6 machine prints that the labs made just for my own reference, but when they started printing everything on colour paper instead of true B&W it was a pretty big hit in image quality, at least to my eyes.

At home, I use 8x10 as a minimum size for 35mm, which doesn't work that great for full frame printing. There's lots left over at the top and bottom. I spent too much time painting before going to photography, and still think that 8x10 is a little bitty print.

bergytone · Jan 28, 2016

I just slice up 8 x 10 to get three 4 x 6, and you get a nice left over 2 x 4 that you can use for 'wallet size' prints, or for test strips. It's probably the most economical. Still probably costs 5 cents per 4x6 print, but at least you don't have to buy 500 sheets.

miha · Jan 28, 2016

Yes! All the time. I have a couple of Fomatone 4x6 boxes of 100. I call them album prints and they do end up in albums which is where (narrative) photographs belong if you ask me, rarely on walls, but nowadyas everyone prints 8x10 and above. I miss single weight BF papers, Agfa Record Rapid to be precise

MattKing · Jan 28, 2016

bergytone said:
I just slice up 8 x 10 to get three 4 x 6, and you get a nice left over 2 x 4 that you can use for 'wallet size' prints, or for test strips. It's probably the most economical. Still probably costs 5 cents per 4x6 print, but at least you don't have to buy 500 sheets.

Same here.

If you are doing multiple prints of the same negative, you can leave the 8" x 6" piece together, and print it one half, flip around, and then the other half, leaving two prints on a sheet, to be trimmed after drying. This cuts the time spent developing.

8.5" x 11" paper will cut into four sheets of 4.25" x 5.5", if those will serve your needs.

rpavich · Jan 28, 2016

Wow. Thanks for the good information everyone!

Very helpful crowd.

Patrick Robert James · Jan 28, 2016

I like chopping 5x7 RC paper in half. I have one of those 4-in-1 easels that makes perfect borders. Great way to make some quick proof prints. Highly recommend it.

Chan Tran · Jan 28, 2016

rpavich said:
Noob to the darkroom here.

I've been printing 8 x 10 and 5 x 7 but I wondered if anyone prints 4 x 6? I noticed that nobody seems to sell 4 x 6 paper (except for printable post cards)

Do you just trim down 5 x 7 paper when you want to print 4 x 6 or does anyone just not do that?

I have masked easel that I can print 4 4x5 on a sheet of 8x10 paper. I can print 4 different frames on the same sheet of paper not 4 prints of the same frame.

Black Dog · Jan 29, 2016

We could send letters

miha said:
Yes! All the time. I have a couple of Fomatone 4x6 boxes of 100. I call them album prints and they do end up in albums which is where (narrative) photographs belong if you ask me, rarely on walls, but nowadyas everyone prints 8x10 and above. I miss single weight BF papers, Agfa Record Rapid to be precise

Perfect for the APUG postcard exchange!

Do you print 4 x 6's?

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