Exposure Conversion Factor Between MGIV Fiber and RC

FilmIs4Ever · Nov 21, 2006

Hey, I'm trying to save some money by doing test prints and workprints with the RC version and then making the final print on fiber. I know that there is more tweaking that is necessary with fiber than with the rc because of the expanded tonal range, but is there a good starting conversion between print times for the RC version and print times for the fiber version? Say I am exposing 10 seconds at f/8 with RC, will fiber be the same, longer, or shorter?

Regards,

~Karl Borowski

clemenstriest · Nov 21, 2006

RC to Fiber

Hi FilmIs4Ever,

usually I do it the same way, but it seems to be a little bit more tricky: a wet fiber print looks good and if dry: tooooooo dark. (Even more if toned.) Depending on the light source I reduce the exposure time from 5 to 20 %, sometimes also the gradation by 1/10th.

A useful trick I got from this forum: it is possible to dry a strip of fiber paper in a microwave (!!!) in 60 sec's. So it is easy and quick to set the reducing factor of exposure time.

Good luck!

Clemenstriest

Lee L · Nov 21, 2006

Go to the manufacturers web site and find the technical information on your chosen papers. This should provide the paper speed with different filters and without filtration. Make your initial adjustments by using the relative speeds, then fine tune.

Lee

rtuttle · Nov 21, 2006

I myself wouldn't recommend doing it that way. IMO you would end up wasting more paper than saving. You may like printing it a little different on fiber paper than you would on resin. You need to see it. Just figure out your drydown factor and then apply it to your final print and you will be fine.

Ben 4 · Nov 21, 2006

Almost Identical

I used to use both of these papers a good bit and did exactly what you are proposingexperimenting on the RC and, for those images that were special, finishing on fiber. In my experience using VCCE and dichroic heads (the latter with Ilford's speed-matching filter settings), I usually had to drop a half level in contrast and incresase exposure 5-10% when moving from the RC to fiber. So if the RC print I used as my target was 12 seconds at grade 3, the fiber was likely to be 13 seconds at grade 2.5. Give it a try and see what you think!

drpsilver · Nov 28, 2006

27 Nov 2006

FilmIs4Ever:

In general I agree with RTuttle that you will save paper by doing your :work prints" on fiber. With time and experience you will find what the "drydown factor" is for the paper you are using and then can factor that into the exposure for a final print.

With that said, I do make "test prints" on RC just to see what the negative looks like enlarged. I use these prints mainly as a yes/no gate on whether I want pursue a "fine print" of the negative in question.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Darwin

Will S · Nov 28, 2006

I do proofs on the RC and then print on Ilford warmtone or MGIV. Unfortunately, you can't get by without testing. However, I have a RHDesigns Analyzer that I use. Once the exposure is set up for RC I can very easily switch to the other paper type and keep the same basic exposure by using the programmable paper types, comparing the grayscales, or just re-metering the same spots again. It saves a lot of time and a lot of paper. They are expensive (somewhat), but I think well worth it if you are going to be doing enough printing to justify the expenditure. With expensive paper, I think it pays for itself pretty quickly.

Best,

Will

Exposure Conversion Factor Between MGIV Fiber and RC

FilmIs4Ever

clemenstriest

Lee L

rtuttle

Ben 4

drpsilver

Will S

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