Split filter printing question

Hey all, I'm new to APUG. A few months ago I decided to take a photo class and fell in love. Over the summer I've had access to a darkroom, so I have been able to continue shooting and printing. I've really enjoyed the printing process and love spending time in the darkroom! It is very calming.

My question came up when I tried to print a few negatives that were overexposed. The test strips kept coming back too gray so I thought about printing using split filters. I have been using Ilford multigrade RC paper and was told that split filter printing is more useful for FB paper than RC paper. What do you all think?

Also, if anyone has any tips for printing overexposed negatives, I'd love to read them!

Thanks,
Santi

Split filter printing is just as effective with RC as fiber.

Agreed.Use the #0 filter first, and then the #5 to get shadow density.

I'd work on getting a straight print before complicating things with split filtered.

I use split filtered approaches when only some parts of the image need more/less contrast than others.

Find the exposure that makes the upper tones correct/good, then use contrast to set the darks.

Split filtering is a useful tool, but it won't get you more contrast than using a single filter setting. If your test strips are too "gray," then you simply need to make a new one at a higher contrast. Very overexposed film will lose contrast due to the highlights blocking up on the shoulder of the film. Try a test strip with a #5 filter (or max. magenta filtration) and see what you get.

Best,

Doremus

I agree, split grade printing has uses, but making a correctly exposed print from an overexposed neg is not one of them. I urge to learn to walk before you run. Overall grey may mean neg contrast is lower than normal which requires a harder paper (higher filter number). Or it might mean the incorrect paper filter has been used in error. Or it might be caused by a paper processing mistake. Or it could be simply that the paper exposure time is too long and the highlights have printed down to grey.

tedr1 said:

split grade printing has uses, but making a correctly exposed print from an overexposed neg is not one of them.

Click to expand...

Actually.....
Split grade can be great for over-exposed negatives, because it allows you to use different contrast for different parts of the scene.
The darker, shadow parts of the scene may very well have normal contrast, so can be printed normally.
The over-exposed highlights may need additional contrast to print well.
The temptation is to use lower contrast to burn in those highlights - resist the temptation!