How Large do You Print?

[Ed Sukach]

I am comfortable with 16" x 20" - both in black and white and color. I can go to 20" x 24" in the JOBO CPP-2, but that would mean the use of a 3000 series tank, and I'd have to buy one of the wide angle enlarging lenses for my enlarger - and devising some sort of auxiliary easel for the enlarger.

I am nearly at the point where I will "standardize" on *one* frame size - I think it will be one of the "deep-dish" profiles - 2" or 3" thick, sloping to the glass - probably in a "gunmetal gray" finish. I'll print on 16" x 20" paper - using whatever area I think "works" at the time.

 

[photomc]

Thanks to everyone for your replys..My Apology's to those not in the US, I know that the paper size is somewhat different (at least in UK). In fact, I was trying to figure out if the 16x12 would work better for a print I am working on right now. Thanks again everyone for your input.

Mike

 

[Flotsam]

On the wall, I like the look of an 8x10 matted in an 11x14 frame or an 11x14 in a 16x20 frame.
In my current set-up going bigger than 11x14 is do-able but it would raise time/hassel factor of the printing session substantially. Not worth it.
Also, like most sufferers of this d*mned photography disease, I have a large excess of photographs and a severe shortage of wall space. Smaller prints are better.
Right now I'm printing 8x10 exclusively.

 

[blansky]

I print 16x20 and 20x24 mostly.

Michael MCBlane

 

[Jim Chinn]

I have printed up to 16x20 but only a few times, and that was to print something I sold. Usually 8x10 or smaller depeding on format or cropping etc. Sometimes 11x14, but mostly contact prints in that size.

I have always found that it is really a moving target. I may think big is great and then go to a gallery or someone's home and see a bunch of 4x5s or something about 5x7 in large mats and frames that really look great. I am getting to the opinion that where the print is to be displayed is the deciding factor.

 

[John Sparks]

I print a lot of 8x10 work prints, but final prints are almost always 11x14 or 16x20 (I prefer the look of 16x20, but print more 11x14's). I think I would really like 12x16, wish that size was available in the US. I have printed a couple of 20x24's in recent years, but they always seem a little too big.

In a past life, I worked in a photo studio where I made a few 30x40's but not from my negatives. I have a set of 30x40 trays that I've never used, they don't fit in my darkroom and I don't know what I'd print that big.

My darkroom is about 9x13' and I can put 4 20x24 trays in my sink, though 16x20 trays fit more easily.

 

[Donald Miller]

John,
12X16 paper is available from JandC photo in the event that you are interested. I use their polywarmtone classic and it is fine paper.

 

[Shesh]

I use 35MM film, print up to 8x10 most of the time. I do rarely go to 11x14, but I have never felt like framing any of the 11x14 prints. I like framing both 8x10 and 5x7 prints in 11x14 and 8x10 frames respectively.

 

[dr bob]

Funny thing, at the gallery, people will select a 16x20 black and white print but then ask if it is available in a "smaller" (meaning less expensive - I'm sure) format. They usually settle on an 11x14 on a 16x20 mat. I think I see where they come from: a fully framed 16x20 takes up a lot of space in many of the smaller homes in the Annapolis area (1. historic and 2. the newest push to high-end condos) and smaller work allows more room for additional art. Actually I have never sold a 16x20, but the judges sure like 'em. I guess size counts sometimes ;-)

Truly, dr bob.

 

[photomc]

Has anyone, cut down 16x20 to 12x16 or 14x17 - if so how do you see to size. Don, thanks for the heads up on the 12x16 from JandC, may give that a try. Would the 12x16 mat up in a 16x20 mat OK?

Thanks, Mike C

 

[Donald Miller]

Has anyone, cut down 16x20 to 12x16 or 14x17 - if so how do you see to size. Don, thanks for the heads up on the 12x16 from JandC, may give that a try. Would the 12x16 mat up in a 16x20 mat OK?

Thanks, Mike C

I would tend to move to 20X24 if I were matting a 12X16 print. (appr. 4 inch sides, 3 1/2 inch top, 4 1/2 inch bottom) However that is a matter of personal preference. Some folks prefer larger mats and others don't.

 

[glbeas]

I'm printing almost all 10x10 on 11x14 now. I'd love to go larger, and I have plenty of space to do it (14'x18' dedicated darkroom) but my enlarger would definitely need to be upgraded. And I've got to find a deal on a darkroom sink, a big one. Right now, printing is serious exercise, as I have to run up two flights of stairs to the bathtub to wash all prints larger than 8x10. *eeeeeeesh*

You have running water for the small stuff, eh? I made a wash tank for 16x20 by hanging some plumbing on one of those plastic bins that the convenience stores get thier shipments in. You'd just need a spot to put it thats higher than the drain. The plumbing is optional if you can manage to drain the thing without pouring it on the floor.

 

[Thilo Schmid]

My Bobinoir is capable of processing 51" wide roll paper (practically up to 30 feet length), but my current darkroom is not suited for wall projection. So I' currently limited to my easel 40*27". But my drum- and PE-dryer* are limited to 24". I found that drying larger prints is the most challenging part of making such murals.

 

[Scott Edwards]

My largest prints come as 11"x11" and 11"x14". I feel that viewing photographs should be an intimate experience. It also adds to the drama involved in viewing. Subtle surprises reveal themselves upon close inspection, where viewing a large print advertizes itself from a distance. I subscribe to the "build small fire, move in close", as opposed to the "build big fire stand way back" theory.
I overheard a fellow photographer proclaim that "people like em big". My response to that remark is if an image is good, it is good at any size. Conversely, playing bad music louder certainly doesn't make it sound any better.
My $.02

 

[ksmattfish]

I print squares and rectangles on 5x7, 8x10, 11x14, and 16x20 paper. Some of my prints look best at 5x7, others look great at 16x20. Almost everything gets printed 8x10 at least once.

I have my own darkroom. Right now I can dry about 30 8x10s or 6 16x20s at one time. I need to figure out more drying space. I wash my 11x14 and smaller in the darkroom, and move to the bath tub in a DIY washing tray for the 16x20s.

 

[Cheryl Jacobs]

You have running water for the small stuff, eh?

Nope. I only have to run up one flight for the small stuff.

 

[bjorke]

depends on "you print" -- bigger than 16x20 goes to the lab (usually bigger than 11x14 even -- in fact right now I don't think I have a full set of 16x20 trays!).

Biggest so far: 50x50 in

 

[PBrooks]

photomc, I'm printing 30x40 and 40x50 fiber. I printed a 20x24 the other day and wow! printing by myself kinda quite. Oh! all prints made from 4x5 tec pan and 8x10 negs developed in pmk.

 

[sanking]

The largest prints that I make are 20X24". I havd made quite a number of cyanotypes, vandykes, kallitypes and carbons in this size from in-camera negatives.

 

[David R Munson]

I currently do not print any larger than 11x14. Why? It's a combination of the fact that big prints have never really done much for me (any more so than a smaller print of the same image), and the fact that I feel like an image loses something if enlarged more than the format can really support. Unless I'm enlarging from 35mm, I don't want to see grain in my prints. I want them to be sharp, very sharp. And I want good tonality. And the way these things come together means that I don't print 35mm or 645 negs any bigger than 8x10 usually, and 6x7cm and 4x5" negatives any bigger than 11x14. I can see myself enlarging my 8x10 negs to 16x20, but that won't be for a while as I don't see myself being able to afford an 8x10 enlarger any time soon.

 

[gareth harper]

What happened to 12x16?

 

[clogz]

Take one or two steps back, look again and the grain will have disappeared. As Capa once said: Ïf your photos are not good enough it means you were not close enough. When looking at the finished enlargement the reverse is true.

 

[snapnsam]

My contacts & work print are 8X10 and my finished prints usually 16X20

Sam

 

[jamesiscool]

I print mostly 11x14 with a half inch white border around the image. I also print quite a few 16x20's. I like the large format as I shoot a lot of texture which I think works well at 16x20. I shoot mostly with a 4x5 and some 8x10 with a few 5x7. I like small print too. Around 4x4 or 6x6. I like the gemlike quality of them and the subject matter is very simple.