Printing time with Kodak BW400CN

Vitoret · Nov 25, 2015

Hi all, yesterday i decided to print some photos from a Kodak BW400CN roll i shot in London..

The film was developed by a lab and it seems all ok. The only strangeness i found was when i tried to print using my default settings (enlarge lens @f8 and multigrade nr 3 for the first try) i discovered that the impression time was way beyond the double of usual time.

Usually i print in a range of 50-70 seconds but this time it took me over 200 seconds (!)

Is it normal for this type of film to have this much more time ?

is it due maybe by a less trasparent film base?

I normally use Ilford Fp4 (for 35mm) or Acros Neopan (for 120 mm)

TheFlyingCamera · Nov 25, 2015

Yes. Your exposure times with T400CN will be much longer due to the orange mask in the film base. It was designed to be printed by machine on RA-4 paper, which is much more light-sensitive than silver gelatin black and white papers. You may also find you need to add a little more contrast than you normally do due to the orange mask in the film base.

Vitoret · Nov 25, 2015

Thank you for the reply, all clear now!

Ricardo Miranda · Nov 25, 2015

Acros Neopan (for 120 mm)

Oh dear!
Now, go and find out why I said that!

Vitoret · Nov 25, 2015

Ricardo Miranda said:
Oh dear!
Now, go and find out why I said that!

Maybe Fujifilm Neopan 100 Acros is a more correct name?

Don't let me die to know what you mean

TheFlyingCamera · Nov 25, 2015

And as an FYI, it is NOT 120mm film!!!!!!!!

No such thing exists! 120 exists as a result of a weird naming convention Kodak came up with for its film sizes. 120mm would be roughly 4.5" in width, instead of 2.25". There's another very recent thread here on APUG about film size naming that explains the 120/620 size (the 1 vs 6 in the first digit of the film name had to do with the spool sizes - 120 and 620 FILM are exactly the same size, but the spool is different). To follow that logic of assuming the film number has to do with the size of the film would mean that 620 would have to be 25" in width!

ParkerSmithPhoto · Nov 25, 2015

Print times with BW400CN are YUUUGE. God, you could cook dinner during these exposures. Glad I never shot much of this. I cringe every time I have to print one.

Vitoret · Nov 25, 2015

TheFlyingCamera said:
And as an FYI, it is NOT 120mm film!!!!!!!!

Oh thank you you saved me from my newbie-ness

Yes fortunately i used this film just once.. i like the results but it's not possible to work with those times

Dodging and burning with it it's like some zen practice

Sirius Glass · Nov 25, 2015

Pay attention to what TheFlyingCamera said about 120mm film! oliceman: [I finally got to used that one]

MartinP · Nov 25, 2015

For information purposes, the Ilford C41 black-and-white film has a normal base colour and prints very nicely using a normal enlarger and paper. This is useful to know as the Kodak product is no longer made so if you want a C41 film (dye instead of grain looks different and can be useful, especially for scanning [boo, hiss etc.]) the Ilford XP2Super is a more versatile replacement.

Printing time with Kodak BW400CN

Vitoret

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Printing time with Kodak BW400CN

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