how to expose the film negative planned for hybrid use

[MVNelson]

I am sure this has been asked and answered some where here before but I can't find it... I have a 4x5 camera. I want to make larger pt/pd prints. I plan to scan and output to pictorico OHP film. Should I still expose and process the original 4x5 negative to the higher contrast needed for contact pt/pd printing or is there another exposure/process combination that works better for scanned negatives that will ultimately be inkjet printed on OHP film and subsequently pt/pd printed ? Lastly, can software get a 4x5 negative exposed for silver printing DR (0.95-1.05) via inkjet printed OHP film to DRs needed for pt/pd printing? Thanks for any help on this.

Miles

 

[mkochsch]

I am sure this has been asked and answered some where here before but I can't find it... I have a 4x5 camera. I want to make larger pt/pd prints. I plan to scan and output to pictorico OHP film. Should I still expose and process the original 4x5 negative to the higher contrast needed for contact pt/pd printing or is there another exposure/process combination that works better for scanned negatives that will ultimately be inkjet printed on OHP film and subsequently pt/pd printed ? Lastly, can software get a 4x5 negative exposed for silver printing DR (0.95-1.05) via inkjet printed OHP film to DRs needed for pt/pd printing? Thanks for any help on this.

Miles

Since you're relying on a scanner to translate the negative I think you might want to know what your scanner is capable of capturing with respect to range. The manufacturers' ratings are usually a little optimistic to say the least. That said most decent scanners (even pro-sumer Epson flatbeds) will easily be able to hit 2.5 logD without seeing appreciable falloff because of noise. A dedicated film scanner will be able to go much higher. So, in theory you could make a negative with a really wide range, but does this give you a leg up as far as the final product is concerned? Good question. I suppose the answer lies in where one can't perceive a difference in tonality. Can someone actually see a difference between a negative developed at 1.1, 1.55 or 1.8? Where's the cut-off with respects to a negative-too-thin and the process it's being printed to when easily pushed and pulled inbinary? The other question would be do you ever intend to print this negative to silver paper. Over developing could make this uncomfortable for you. If you develop for a target density best for silver, say for a grade 2 paper, your photo editing application will fix the slack on the white/black points ends. When you colour fit the image to paper's target density range your digital negative will take care of stretching the tonality back out so you don't lose details in the highlight or shadows, right?! Am I right here folks?!
~m

 

[sanking]

I am sure this has been asked and answered some where here before but I can't find it... I have a 4x5 camera. I want to make larger pt/pd prints. I plan to scan and output to pictorico OHP film. Should I still expose and process the original 4x5 negative to the higher contrast needed for contact pt/pd printing or is there another exposure/process combination that works better for scanned negatives that will ultimately be inkjet printed on OHP film and subsequently pt/pd printed ? Lastly, can software get a 4x5 negative exposed for silver printing DR (0.95-1.05) via inkjet printed OHP film to DRs needed for pt/pd printing? Thanks for any help on this.

Miles

If you never plan to make a direct print from the negative in pt/pd most people would recommend that you develop the negative to a fairly low DR, say a CI that would print well on a Silver #2 paper. This pretty much assures that you will be able to capture all of the highlight detail in the negative, even if you were to overexpose or overdevelop slightly. However, you can certainly expand the DR of the negative on OHP to what is needed to print in pt./pd.

In my own work I like to retain the possibility of printing the negative directly in one of the alternative processes I use so I develop to the CI needed by the process. This works well for me, but there is some risk in that slight overexposure or overdevelopment may push the density beyond the range of your scanner.

Sandy

 

[MVNelson]

If you never plan to make a direct print from the negative in pt/pd most people would recommend that you develop the negative to a fairly low DR, say a CI that would print well on a Silver #2 paper. This pretty much assures that you will be able to capture all of the highlight detail in the negative, even if you were to overexpose or overdevelop slightly. However, you can certainly expand the DR of the negative on OHP to what is needed to print in pt./pd.

In my own work I like to retain the possibility of printing the negative directly in one of the alternative processes I use so I develop to the CI needed by the process. This works well for me, but there is some risk in that slight overexposure or overdevelopment may push the density beyond the range of your scanner.

Sandy

Thanks for your responce Sandy, being a bit new to alt and only having a 4x5 camera I thought I might hedge a little and shoot for a DR of about 1.35 to 1.55 and work to get the most out of both worlds... The scanner can handle that and the pyrocat stain negative I'm hoping will still behave well on VC paper. At least I am in the proces of testing this...

Miles

 

[sanking]

Thanks for your responce Sandy, being a bit new to alt and only having a 4x5 camera I thought I might hedge a little and shoot for a DR of about 1.35 to 1.55 and work to get the most out of both worlds... The scanner can handle that and the pyrocat stain negative I'm hoping will still behave well on VC paper. At least I am in the proces of testing this...

Miles

Your scanner will certainly be able to handle a DR of 1.35 - 1.55, assuming you don't over-expose. I develop for a DR of about 1.8 and can capture the full range of tones on the negative with the 4870, *unless* I make a mistake in exposure and the total density gets over about 2.5.

Sandy

 

[MVNelson]

In that case I'll stick to the approx 1.6 DR that I set in the palm. The first 6 negs contact printed very well on cot 320 gtts(drops=12,12,1(NA2 10%). They printed amazingly well on Strathmore bristol vellum on my canon image prograf printer too...

Miles

 

[Anonymous]

In that case I'll stick to the approx 1.6 DR that I set in the palm. The first 6 negs contact printed very well on cot 320 gtts(drops=12,12,1(NA2 10%). They printed amazingly well on Strathmore bristol vellum on my canon image prograf printer too...

Miles

Hello Miles,

I have considered the Canon printer that you own. One of the complaints that I have encountered is a supposed problem with the ink cartridges giving erroneous indications sofar as capacity remaining. Have you encountered this problem at any time? Are you still working with the cartridges shipped with the printer or have you switched them out yet?

Sorry to have hijacked this thread, but I saw that you had mentioned the printer.

Donald Miller

 

[MVNelson]

Donald, I have read that also. I am still using the original cartridges. I have seen no indication of faulty pigment supply readings. In fact the few quirks I've read or heard about seemed to have originated with user error. Here's what i can say about the printer 1) big and heavy(98lbs) 2) very fast 3) must have the roll feeder (not really ...but it sure is great )4) I have with others compared several 4x5 scanned color negatives output on this printer, and the current 3 equal level competitors and I am glad as I can be that I chose this one. 5) the included 16 bit photoshop cs driver(rip) is sweet! 6)The black white output on art papers is kinda scary(very good). 7) the documentation is...tedious. 8)in a week of use you will not need the documentation and you can use all those little pamphlets as lighter for the BBQ grill. The correct moves become quite intuitive quickly. 9)all black pigment cartridge use (matt, light ,dark,etc) is automatic and waste between matt and regular is minescule. 10)very frugal ink use, one commercial guy who prints a lot of full color prints daily for 6 months still is working on his original cartridges. 11) did I say it is big and you need (want) the roll feed holder? I'm awaiting OHP delivery to get started with digital negatives ...
The other same level printers are all good , this one really demands a good looking at...

Miles