Paper Size for 35mm

MrFatPooh · Apr 30, 2010

whats the best paper sizes for 35mm, i have some 8 x 10 but you have to crop the shot to make use of all the paper.

epig · Apr 30, 2010

I let the image dictate the crop if any, not the paper size. For instance, I'll print 10x10 images off center vertically on 11x14 paper. For 35mm, I print the whole image and leave the wider borders.

Eric

tkamiya · Apr 30, 2010

If you use 4x6, there will be very little cropping. If you use 5x7, there will be some cropping but not as much as 8x10.

What do you mean by "best" paper size? You can always adjust your easle and print full frame on 8x10 leaving some space on the long side. Many people shoot 35mm with target print size and aspect ratio in mind. It's just part of image making.

pentaxuser · Apr 30, 2010

Very few paper sizes exactly match the 1:1.5 ratio of 35mm. 6x4 matches of course and 7x5 comes close. The rest don't. Given different formats(35mm 645, 6x6 6x7 etc) you can't expect matches although given the popularity of 5x7 prints, you'd think that someone would have launched 5x7.5 paper but there seems no great groundswell of opinion to make that happen.

pentaxuser

Tim Gray · Apr 30, 2010

I just print with borders and don't let this bother me. In fact, I think prints with borders are a lot better. Easy to handle and hang up with out frames, and when I do frame, makes it much easier to mount to the matte board.

Thomas Bertilsson · Apr 30, 2010

I agree wholeheartedly with 'epig'. Let the picture itself, and its content and composition, to dictate the crop. There are very few negatives that I don't crop, because I just don't believe that everything fits magically into a 2:3 ratio of my 35mm camera system.

Most of the time my 4x5, 120, and 35mm gets printed either square or with a 3:4 ratio. So I would print 6x8 on 8x10 paper, or 9x12 on 11x14 paper, etc. Nice for portraits, but with some individual variation of course. I basically crop until I'm happy with the picture, and then I worry about fitting it onto the paper.

- Thomas

MrFatPooh · Apr 30, 2010

thanks for your input, I think I need a better easil I am limited to a fixed 8 x 10 at the moment.

I am a begiiner at this which is probably pretty obvious.

Fotoguy20d · Apr 30, 2010

MrFatPooh said:
thanks for your input, I think I need a better easil I am limited to a fixed 8 x 10 at the moment.

Look for a 4 blade easel for maximum adjustments. I use an old Saunders that I bought used 15 years ago.

tkamiya · Apr 30, 2010

I have a fixed crop easle as well. I rarely use adjustable blade kind. All you need is a black cardboard paper taped to the underside to use different cropping. If you use masking tapes to attach the paper, you can easily reposition them and make adjustment.

Rick A · Apr 30, 2010

I almost always print full frame for whatever format I'm using. I trim my paper accordingly, and use the off-fall for test strips.

Anscojohn · Apr 30, 2010

MrFatPooh said:
whats the best paper sizes for 35mm, i have some 8 x 10 but you have to crop the shot to make use of all the paper.

*****************
I very often cut a sheet of 11x14 into two 7x11s. Gets pretty close.

Mainecoonmaniac · Apr 30, 2010

What you chop off just use as test strips. Do it before you process your print of course. A good cook knows how to make use of scraps

R gould · Apr 30, 2010

I print on 9.5x12, and for full frame 35mm I tend to leave wide margins at the top and bottom, same for 6x6 Richard

Jeff Kubach · Apr 30, 2010

ralnphot said:
I almost always print full frame for whatever format I'm using. I trim my paper accordingly, and use the off-fall for test strips.

I do the same myself.

Jeff

fschifano · Apr 30, 2010

Do yourself a big favor. Get a 4 bladed easel, the best you can afford. Set the margins to crop the image to the aspect ratio that fits the image. Don't look back. You won't be sorry.

hoffy · Apr 30, 2010

I tend to think 8x10 when I shoot an image. But then again, I always generally crop anyway OR will leave a wider boarder if I think the image needs it......so I suppose I judge each photo on their own merit!

2F/2F · Apr 30, 2010

MrFatPooh said:
whats the best paper sizes for 35mm, i have some 8 x 10 but you have to crop the shot to make use of all the paper.

Why do you think that you have to make use of all the paper? You can print 6x9 (a moderate 6x linear enlargement) on that paper, and have nice borders for tongs and fingers and notes that can be left in place and matted over, or trimmed off when you dry mount. You can even cut off a one-inch strip from the eight-inch width first, and use it for tests.

5x7 paper is a closer fit, but still not exact. I print 4x6 on 5x7 paper, and have a nice 1/2 inch border all the way around.

Chop 8x10 in half, and you have two 5x8s that are a very-close-to-exact fit.

Ilford 4x6 postcard paper is an exact fit out of the box. You get nice sharp prints from almost any film at only 4x linear enlargement. This is double weight RC, so it lies flat very flatly without an easel. I print it full bleed without an easel, using layers of masking tape as a guide, and a few spots of double-sided tape on the baseboard.

12x16 paper is great for 10x15 prints (10x linear enlargement), probably my favorite size after stepping up from 8x12 (8x linear enlargement). Not many companies make it, though. You can cut down one sheet of 16x20 paper into one 12x16 and one 8x16, then cut an 8x12 and some test strips from the remainder.

Krzys · Apr 30, 2010

Anscojohn said:
*****************
I very often cut a sheet of 11x14 into two 7x11s. Gets pretty close.

This is a very good idea

cmacd123 · May 1, 2010

wonder if the european sizes are any better.

pentaxuser said:
... although given the popularity of 5x7 prints, you'd think that someone would have launched 5x7.5 paper but there seems no great groundswell of opinion to make that happen.

Freestyle still has some forte in 13X18 CM (5.11 X7.08 Inch) (1.38ratio) and 18X24 CM (7.08X9.44 Inch) 1.27 ratio) so those must be European sizes.

Paper Size for 35mm

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