Enlarging Photographic Paper Negatives with an enlarger

[Theodor Bader]

This looks really nice to me. I can see why you want to push further.

I think good advice here is simply “trial & error”

Trial & error works here. At the moment 180x240mm is my biggest enlargement.
I must everytime remember me that the papernegative is taken with my DIY pinhole-camera.

 

[Theodor Bader]

Here my first and at the moment only result. I am very happy about the result. Left: paper negativ with white frame. The picture is 40x50mm. Right: Picture 90x140mm

OK!! looks great - the "Picture 90x140mm" is from a projection ??? how??

The 90x140mm is produced with my enlarger which has a maksimum picture stage/image carrier up to 60x70mm.The papernegative was placed in facedown.

I must admit that I was also very skeptical and thought the exposure times would be practically endless. With my biggest projection to 180x240 mm only 4 minutes.

Focusing the image also went surprisingly well.

Nevertheless, a medium aperture is recommended on the enlarging lens. f8 with my 50mm enlargerlens.

 

[Theodor Bader]

Looks good. What is the exposure time in minutes?

f8/50mm: 90x140mm 2 minutes and 15 sec., for 180x240mm 4 minutes.

 

[mshchem]

You need the sun for light source . Either that or an arc lamp.

 

[DREW WILEY]

One trick is to use a high quality distinctly longer than "normal" focal length enlarger lens, so that you can take advantage of just the center of the optic printing with it wide open, or almost so. That's what I did when enlarging onto slow Azo contact paper. For example, for 6x7 negs, I used a 150 Apo Rodagon lens wide open at f/4, and got very sharp results (provided everything else in the setup is properly aligned, focussed, and dead flat the whole time).

 

[Theodor Bader]

One trick is to use a high quality distinctly longer than "normal" focal length enlarger lens, so that you can take advantage of just the center of the optic printing with it wide open, or almost so. That's what I did when enlarging onto slow Azo contact paper. For example, for 6x7 negs, I used a 150 Apo Rodagon lens wide open at f/4, and got very sharp results (provided everything else in the setup is properly aligned, focussed, and dead flat the whole time).

Thanks for your advice. I'll try it!

 

[Kevin Allan]

I've done this a couple of times with 4x5 paper negatives. I made the same image on to a 4x5 paper negative, and a 4x5 sheet of Tmax 100, and enlarged both onto 8x10 Ilford MG IV RC paper, to permit a comparison to be made. The first image is from the paper negative, the second image from TMax 100.

I was surprised how similar the two images are. Sure the enlargement times are long, but lith printing has made be comfortable with long exposures

The next example was made using two types of very old paper I was gifted. The negative was made on Kodabrome II RC and the positive onto "Barclays" paper. In this case, the imperfections of the paper show up but I'm happy that they add to the feel of the image, which is framed on the wall above me as I write this.

 

[Theodor Bader]

I've done this a couple of times with 4x5 paper negatives. I made the same image on to a 4x5 paper negative, and a 4x5 sheet of Tmax 100, and enlarged both onto 8x10 Ilford MG IV RC paper, to permit a comparison to be made. The first image is from the paper negative, the second image from TMax 100.

View attachment 417964View attachment 417965


I was surprised how similar the two images are. Sure the enlargement times are long, but lith printing has made be comfortable with long exposures

The next example was made using two types of very old paper I was gifted. The negative was made on Kodabrome II RC and the positive onto "Barclays" paper. In this case, the imperfections of the paper show up but I'm happy that they add to the feel of the image, which is framed on the wall above me as I write this.
View attachment 417966

Fantastic,Kevin!

Thanks for your contribution!

Your comparison should convince even the last skeptics that enlarging from paper negatives works very, very well!

I'm also fascinated by the "graininess from the old paper" in your second example.

I still have some (prehistoric ) old photographic papers from the 1960s/70s lying around. They have very coarse paper as a base.

They would have to be flattened beforehand. These Forte papers were produced in Hungary back then.