Sad but happy

[MattKing]

I have a bunch of friends who do use ink jet printers and get very nice results. But the process is neither simple or easy if high quality results are the goal.

Actually, the people who do high quality ink jet work are really good to talk to, because they are first and foremost printers. Their equipment and techniques may differ, but their appreciation of the subtlety of a fine print is similar. Many of them have extensive film and darkroom experience in their pasts, and a few of them still work in film as well.

Those inks are expensive though, and the maintenance requirements are real.

 

[calebarchie]

Can I have the print washer? Pretty please please please...!

 

[skorpiius]

Every ink jet printer I had got binned due to the print heads blocking up, and a new print head costing more than the printer. Presumably due to lack of use. I eventually gave up and got a laser printer to print my letters on which has lasted much longer, and used a mini lab for the odd photo.

Somehow my latest ink jet hasn't clogged up, but it's used so seldom that the ink used up to clean/prime before each printing session is probably more volume than used doing the actual prints, so I tend to send my photos to a local lab over the web and pick them up the next day.

 

[fdonadio]

Over the weekend, my wife and I were doing usual weekend thrifting. A stack of clean darkroom trays caught her eye and she told me to take a look. The stack was marked for a $100. So I had a "wait but there's more" moment. (...)

Nice find! Thank your wife for the heads up! I hope you got something for her.

I don't think I could get the trays alone for $100 here in Brazil, especially if they're 16x20" or larger.

Still dreaming of a 4x5 enlarger...


Cheers,
Flavio

 

[Michael Guzzi]

[...]
I don't think I could get the trays alone for $100 here in Brazil, especially if they're 16x20" or larger.

Still dreaming of a 4x5 enlarger...


Cheers,
Flavio

Yep. At least proper trays that is.

If I ever decide that I need a LF enlarger, I'll buy the lens and build the rest from scratch. There's no way I will ever afford to buy one. Just the shipping would bankrupt me for 3 lifetimes. Provided we could actually find them, that is.

 

[fdonadio]

If I ever decide that I need a LF enlarger, I'll buy the lens and build the rest from scratch.

Not a bad idea at all. I would feel more comfortable if I had something to base my design on. But it's doable...

There's no way I will ever afford to buy one. Just the shipping would bankrupt me for 3 lifetimes. Provided we could actually find them, that is.

It's out of question getting one from the US or Europe here, but the question that keeps echoing inside my head is: where are all those enlargers that were used in professional labs all over the country?


Cheers,
Flavio