How many tests

[Melvin J Bramley]

How many test strips do you make before the final enlargement ?
How do you do your tests?
I am leaning towards exposing between two exposures, on roll film, using the clear area to find maximum black whilst seeing the effect on two frames.
As a good print should usually have maximum black or near to for the shadow areas this works for me.

TB

 

[xkaes]

If you have tested your paper to determine the time needed to obtain maximum black, that should be close to your exposure time.

That assumes that you have tested your film to create a negative that will provide the maximum black for that paper exposure time.

The difference is that each type of film needs a little bit more exposure due to base + fog -- which your testing determines.

I use a meter on my easel -- which adjusts for the magnification of the enlargement -- and gets me very close. Then I will run a test strip of 2x10 inches of an appropriate, important area -- adjusting only a few seconds, depending on the total exposure time. If the exposure time is 20 seconds, the steps are different if the exposure time is 20 minutes, for example.

At that point, I can also adjust contrast -- which normally means changes in exposure, and another test strip.

Rinse and repeat.

How many test strips? Sometimes one, sometimes twenty one.

 

[M Carter]

I don't seem to do 'em much anymore. I'll start at 5x7 and expose the whole print at #3 or so with a guess, maybe I'll split it in half. Takes me a couple 5x7's to get it together, but I'd rather see the whole image. Then I can do the math and move up to the print size I want and suss out a printing plan.

I did years of nothing but lith printing so I guess I got good at guessing? Test strips aren't very useful with lith.

 

[ic-racer]

Easy way to make single-location test-strips

The big advantage of having every step in a test-strip cover the same area of your image is that you can place the most important parts of the image there and see how they look with all the exposure-times. For example, every step above contains the foreground hill, trees and sky. But such a...

www.photrio.com

 

[Bill Burk]

I try to adjust for an expected 32 seconds exposure then I make one test strip from 50 seconds stepping in slivers by third stops to 20, 16 or 13 seconds if I am lucky. If I miscalculated (the paper comes out almost white), I open up two stops and try again. Usually one strip covers the range of attractive possibilities. I am using grade 2 or 3 paper, and it’s obvious enough to me which grade I need from the start.

I don’t know how other people can figure out multigrade and split grade. That’s got different procedures that aren’t as simple.

 

[Doremus Scudder]

Finding time for "maximum" black through fb+fog and making "proper proofs" is a good way to keep tabs on your exposure and processing. Other than that, all bets are off as far as I'm concerned. Note that if you have an underexposed negative, you'll just get a dark, muddy print at a time for max. black at a middle contrast setting. To get a decent print, you may need to sacrifice blacks and up the contrast a lot. For underdeveloped negatives, there will be adequate shadow detail, but you'll need lots of contrast to get a print - again, time for max. black at a medium contrast isn't helpful. With overexposed negs you just need longer print exposure times. Highlights will block up on severely overexposed negatives, though, and there's not much you can do about that. Overdeveloped or extra-contrasty negatives need a lower contrast setting, so again, your max. black time at a medium contrast grade won't help.

I proof everything, which gives me a starting point for contrast setting/grade. Then I'll make a test strip in 25% intervals using a highlight area of the print. I base my print exposure on the highlight rendering. It's better for me to base print exposure on lighter (least-dense) areas and then adjust contrast from there to get the blacks I need.

So, one test strip gets me to the point of my first straight print unless I'm working with entirely new materials and need a second. I'll then make a (fairly) straight print (sometimes I'll do some obvious dodging/burning just to streamline the whole process).

If the contrast is way off, I'll change settings/grades and make another test strip. Usually, I just need to tweak a bit, so I do so, estimating the exposure changes based on how much I change the contrast setting.

Then, it's all making prints, evaluating, trying again, until I've got a result I'm pleased with.

Best,

Doremus