Transparent film brand recommendations Europe

Hi there!

Can you guys recommend a brand other than Pictorico and Fixons for cyanotypes in Europe? These brands are excellent from what I've read about them, but here in Europe, the shipping and customs fees alone are still quite expensive. I'm wondering if there's anything else on Amazon or eBay where I can buy a similar quality film? I need something in roll format that is 24 inches or bigger. There are some transparent films for silk screen printing, but usually those materials are not completely clear, and based on what I've read, they're not suitable for photo quality. Any suggestions?

Agfa Copyjet is almost identical to pictorico, comes in various roll sizes and sheets.

turtleandrabbit said:

Hi there!

Can you guys recommend a brand other than Pictorico and Fixons for cyanotypes in Europe? These brands are excellent from what I've read about them, but here in Europe, the shipping and customs fees alone are still quite expensive. I'm wondering if there's anything else on Amazon or eBay where I can buy a similar quality film? I need something in roll format that is 24 inches or bigger. There are some transparent films for silk screen printing, but usually those materials are not completely clear, and based on what I've read, they're not suitable for photo quality. Any suggestions?

Click to expand...

Duplicate threads combined.
Welcome to Photrio - hope you find the information you seek.
Just a heads up - it isn't necessary or advisable to post the same question in multiple locations - most will see it wherever you post a new thread.

turtleandrabbit said:

There are some transparent films for silk screen printing, but usually those materials are not completely clear, and based on what I've read, they're not suitable for photo quality.

Click to expand...

I use a generic screen printing film that's indeed not entirely clear, but slightly milky white. In this, it looks identical to Fixxons, which also isn't crystal clear! I've tested this generic screen printing material side by side with Fixxons, and my experience is that the Fixxons will take a little more ink than the screen printing film before artifacts start to show. However, the screen printing film can easily take enough ink (while still yielding good quality prints) for very high contrast negatives such as ones intended for carbon transfer. I've got most of my Fixxons sitting here unused because I've pretty much only been using the screen printing film. It works great! Sorry, I can't give a brand, because it's the most generic type of film the cheapest screen printing supplies store retailed. It's generic, unmarked stuff and pretty cheap. I bought sheets (A3 size), but I imagine rolls are available too, somewhere.

turtleandrabbit said:

Any suggestions?

Click to expand...

Give the screen printing stuff a try before dismissing it

It was suggested to me by @Andrew O'Neill btw. All credit goes to him!

I have not yet had the chance to try them myself but I have seen recommendation for the screen printing films (siebdruckfilm) from lfp-store and printbox-online in Europe to be used for photographic use. They come in both sheets and rolls of the size requested.
Cyanotypes should also, correct me if I am wrong, be fairly forgiving compared to some other processes so it might be worth giving them a try.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I would assume that as long as the image bearing inked side of the film is in contact with your print material, having the film be translucent probably just increases the exposure time a bit, while adding a bit of extra diffusion.

Thank you all for the responses! It's very helpful. My thinking was that the silk screen material may not have a very smooth surface, which could result in less sharpness compared to something with a clear surface. After several of you recommended the stuff I'll probably give it a try.

Don't worry, the screen printing film won't be the limiting factor in the imaging chain. If your process is otherwise in order, you'll be able to see the individual inkjet dots in your final print (for better or worse!)

turtleandrabbit said:

Thank you all for the responses! It's very helpful. My thinking was that the silk screen material may not have a very smooth surface, which could result in less sharpness compared to something with a clear surface. After several of you recommended the stuff I'll probably give it a try.

Click to expand...

Clear film = less ink reception. The milkiness is created by the ink receptive coating that is put on a mylar or acetate film. So the fact that it is milky means opposite to what your perception is. As a matter of fact, comparing Fixxons to Pictorico Ultra Premium, the latter is downright white but boy, it can take ink. Using QTR, I recently checked how much extra ink these two can take without coming out wet from the printer. Fixxons - +20-30% while Pictorico was good even at +100%. So if you are really pushing the envelope to maximize UV density, Pictorico is the one.

As far as Fixxons, I suspect their basic offering - what they call "positive" film designed for silk screen printing may not be too different from the other similar products - who knows it may be the same Chinese manufacturer making for all of them. Fixxons does have a slightly more expensive "negative" film that is supposed to have better ink reception (and also more milky) to compete with Pictorico.

I would recommend, as suggested by others, getting samples and try out a few locally available candidates and go from there.

:Niranjan.

nmp said:

Fixxons does have a slightly more expensive "negative" film that is supposed to have better ink reception (and also more milky) to compete with Pictorico.

Click to expand...

That's the one I pitched against the generic/cheap screen printing film. As said, the Fixxons was superior, but the difference was irrelevant for my application.