Printing color negatives as B&W

[oldglass]

Anybody do this regularly?
Are you happy with the results?

 

[nicholai]

For this to work i guess you should have panchromatic paper. Does that even exist? You'll loose all red details otherwise.

 

[darkroom_rookie]

Ilford Galerie Digital Silver, panchromatic or very near-panchromatic FB and RC papers from Harman.

https://www.focusnordic.dk/Product/ILF-DIG-SILV

https://www.focusnordic.dk/Product/4421170960

 

[ann]

my students do it all the time, times will be longer and contrast needs to be in the grade 4 range

 

[BMbikerider]

You will find that the grain is MASSIVE. Even on fine grained colour 100iso film B&W film of the same sped will beat it hands down, I think it may be something to do with the red dyes not being recognised on B&W paqper

 

[edcculus]

My aunt is a professional portrait photographer. Toward the end of her film path, when digital was starting to pick up, she would use chromogenic C-41 film for some of her personal/family stuff she still wanted to print in the darkroom. I have her enlarger now, and she told me if I wanted to do it, the exposure time is almost doubled, and increase the contrast filter to around 3 or 4 on Ilford paper.

 

[Chan Tran]

Kodak used to make a paper for this purpose. It was supposed to be processed in EP-2 (or it's RA-4 now). They don't make it any more.

 

[Photo Engineer]

You should not use VC papers with color negatives as the contrast varies with the color and can give some odd results.

Kodak made a B&W panchromatic paper that was processed as a normal B&W paper in Dektol or something similar.

PE

 

[Prof_Pixel]

Kodak used to make a paper for this purpose. It was supposed to be processed in EP-2 (or it's RA-4 now). They don't make it any more.

If I remember correctly, Kodak made a B&W color dye paper in the '70s - it was a special purpose paper designed for things like ID cards (and such) that needed B&W images.

 

[pentaxuser]

Maybe I was lucky(in the sense of using VC paper and maybe having no reds in the neg) but I was very pleased with the results. They were 1970s colour negs and had suffered but the B&W prints were very good. Not what you'd get with a B&W neg of course and if B&W is your thing then go for B&W but if you want prints from old colour negs that may be fading or simply want to have the occasional B&W prints then the results in my experience aren't bad

pentaxuser

 

[darkroom_rookie]

Kodak made a B&W panchromatic paper that was processed as a normal B&W paper in Dektol or something similar.

Panalure, wonderful stuff. There was also Ektamax, RA-4 process monochromatic paper, but I always found it greenish and somewhat flat. Or perhaps it was just very short shelf life. Harman's "Digital silver" papers are probably as close to Panalure as possible, but really expensive and come only in rolls.

 

[DREW WILEY]

You can also go the double-negative route. Contact or enlarge onto an appropriate black and white film
to generate and interpositive (with appropriate filtration to null out the effect of the orange mask),
then onto a second sheet of black and white film to generate your actual printing neg. This route has
certain significant advantages in terms of tone or grain control, plus you can apply supplementary filtration to balance the scene just like in the field.

 

[bvy]

As an aside, I saw Panalure on the shelf of our photography store here just last week. No prices, but the boxes were very old. The Kodabrome II next to it, equally old, was $269 for 250 8x10 sheets.

 

[David Lyga]

Warning: Yes Panalure was truly a great paper. But...you cannot believe how short its life was. It did not age like other B&W papers. About 15 years ago I bought a box of 250 sheets (8X10) at a camera show and I immediately tested it. It was perfect with truly white whites. Then I put it away (at room temp) and only two years later I tested it again: almost total fog. This paper age-fogs rapidly so be warned about buying it now! - David Lyga

 

[MartinP]

As an aside, I saw Panalure on the shelf of our photography store here just last week. No prices, but the boxes were very old. The Kodabrome II next to it, equally old, was $269 for 250 8x10 sheets.

I am astonished!! Do they seriously expect to sell the stuff, except to a museum or someone looking for period film-props?! By now it will be almost certainly unusable yet that Kodabrom price is almost the same as fresh Ilford Galerie.

 

[bvy]

I am astonished!! Do they seriously expect to sell the stuff, except to a museum or someone looking for period film-props?! By now it will be almost certainly unusable yet that Kodabrom price is almost the same as fresh Ilford Galerie.

Astonishing, yes, but this shop has a reputation of sorts. On one occasion, I remember the price of a roll of Fuji Reala jumped two dollars between the time I called and the time I arrived (a couple hours). I only go there in a pinch.

 

[AgX]

You can also go the double-negative route. Contact or enlarge onto an appropriate black and white film
to generate and interpositive (with appropriate filtration to null out the effect of the orange mask),
then onto a second sheet of black and white film to generate your actual printing neg. This route has
certain significant advantages in terms of tone or grain control, plus you can apply supplementary filtration to balance the scene just like in the field.

Not quite as in the field: you have to do it complementary.

 

[cliveh]

Astonishing, yes, but this shop has a reputation of sorts. On one occasion, I remember the price of a roll of Fuji Reala jumped two dollars between the time I called and the time I arrived (a couple hours). I only go there in a pinch.

Perhaps it was because they knew you were on your way?

 

[DREW WILEY]

Agx: yes, and you have to make sure your copy film is pan. If it's ortho or blue-sensitive, it will be largely blind to selective filtration, and that orange mask will equate to neutral density. There are a
few tricks to this, but once learned, it's easy enough.