Replicating prints / quality control

[Jarvman]

A question to those who print a large number, I'm thinking here editions of the same print. What considerations do you take into account as far as quality control? What are the factors you try to control to make the same print replicable time and time again. I'm guessing here it needs to be pretty much everything, but do you have any specific advice? I'm trying to discipline my workflow somewhat after working in chaos for years. Cheers

 

[pentaxuser]

I take it that you are talking about the same print but at different sizes and with other changes such as dev, paper type etc. From my limited attempts at replicating the same print, I simply did the obvious of noting the column height, lens aperture and grade on paper and kept "the original" print to get the cropping details right. You need to maintain the same developer, dev time and paper type as well. These details need to be recorded

My prints were indistinguishable from each other as far as I could tell but I suspect that as this method is so obvious that you will have reached the same conclusion then you are thinking of ways of ensuring exact copies when some of these factors change. In which case I pass on providing an answer but suspect that other than changes to size of print which can be compensated for with exposure, any other changes might result in different prints which cannot then be corrected for to get the exact copy.

pentaxuser

 

[removed account4]

hi jarvman

i used to make large numbers of prints of the same negative quite often - anywhere from 7 to 100 prints.
sometimes i was asked to reprint after the fact - 5x7s, 8x10s, 11x14s and 16x20s ... different papers, different developers too ..
the first thing to do is make as many in one printing session as you can, the same size.
save one out of the bunch and stash the rest away ..

use the 1 as the one to match .. put it in a water bath and when you begin to make your test prints try to match them tonally to the control print ( the one you got wet ) ..
after a while you will have no trouble. put one print through the chemistry and when it is fixed, look at it side by side to the control print.
when they look "close" get a blow dryer out and blow dry both prints to see if the papers dry down the same and take it from there.

one thing you can do, if you want to print a bunch at a time is to put exposed paper between your fingers back to back. dunk your hand and prints in the developer at once
and alternate side to side until you have released all the prints.
( it is best to have 1 wet hand and 1 dry hand ... )
they will have all been in the developer at the same time .. then shuffle them a few times
and rock the trays ( tray rockers make it easier if you can find them ) ... then pull the stack UP and drain them and then in the stop or water and then in the fix.
i used to print this way all day long, and it works very well.

good luck!
john

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

When printing in quantity, the thing that has made the most difference in my experience is a Metrolux timer (or other compensating timer).

 

[Photo Engineer]

If you are developing large batches of prints, make sure that the developer does not season in appreciably or fade away appreciably during your printing session(s). A changing developer will cause more problems than most anything else if you want to make a lot of identical prints.

PE

 

[RalphLambrecht]

A question to those who print a large number, I'm thinking here editions of the same print. What considerations do you take into account as far as quality control? What are the factors you try to control to make the same print replicable time and time again. I'm guessing here it needs to be pretty much everything, but do you have any specific advice? I'm trying to discipline my workflow somewhat after working in chaos for years. Cheers

I add just one variable (there are many) from my experience, and it's called 'latent image stability'. Don't expect that you can expose 100 prints one-by-one and then develop them in any order. Keep the time from exposure to development for each print roughly consistent. Among quality management and manufacturing professionals, this is called FIFO (first in - first out).

Latent images have the peculiar attribute to first gain and then lose density potential, compared to an immediately developed print. Many darkroom worker have been caught out by this, when they expose a series of test strips and develop them together (later) for consistency. They get more consistency from directly developing the prints after exposure.

One trick to get around this is to expose all prints one evening and develop them the next evening. This way, all latent images are roughly of the same age (1 day, give or take an hour or two). However, you must first conduct a test to verify that the delay produces the desired image tonality.

 

[dancqu]

I've batch processed as many as a half dozen 8x10s at once
when producing prints for college Greeks. As many as 40
prints in one short session. Dan

 

[Mick Fagan]

There are a zillion variables, but developer replenishment and temperature, are two that I have found to make considerable and/or interesting differences.

Mick.