[pure-silver] Re: having digital negatives made

  • From: José Ramón <joseramon@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2009 20:48:55 -0200

Last week, wanting to experiment on contact printing I just made a 4A print 
with my amateur Epson R200 inject printer on transparency film and then contact 
printed on normal Ilford VC paper with poor results, then i tried a 
professional lab with both inject and laser prints on the same transparency 
film but the results were also less than mediocre. The problem is with the 
raster impression being too ovious.
The same digital archive (from a 35mm silver negative) made wonderfull 
professional prints on photo chemical (silver) paper with the normal lab 
process.
Maybe a better way should be to print chemically on some transparent film, but 
no Custom Lab is available locally on my city (Rosario, Argentina) for this 
process.
Disapointed Jose Ramon


From: mark@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
Sent: Saturday, January 24, 2009 6:33 PM
To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
Subject: [pure-silver] Re: having digital negatives made


I haven't tested it either, but mine are based on conversations with others 
that ran film recorders.  It isn't the upsizing of the negative that is the 
issue Eric.  It is when its projected.  Sharpening is important and so is grain 
emulation, and the best lab you can get is important too.  Yet you are creating 
something that will be projected and that is where you have the issue.

Think of it this way.  Are you going to get the same quality of print at the 
same size from a 35mm negative or a 4x5 with all other things being equal???  
You can make a 4x5 negative from a 35mm negative, but are you going to get 4x5 
quality?  No.  You might get better than the same size print done with 35mm, 
but you are not going to get the same quality as a 4x5 negative.  If we did, 
few would use large format and just make copy negatives of everything.  Yet it 
doesn't quite work that way.  A lot depends on how the lab Shannon uses works 
and what the final output Shannon has in mind.  Many may find taking the 
negative size up to the final print size and then contact printing it is a 
better method still.  I know some have done this with films and a normal inkjet 
printer, but I have never been successful at that method.

Quality is often subjective too.  So what looks good to one person, may look 
awful to another. Now Shannon is better off with a medium format negative in 
the first place.  Either one would likely work just fine, but I would suggest a 
few extra prints and an extra negative or two to see which method works best 
and report back.  When it comes up again in the future, you won't be guessing.


  -------- Original Message --------
  Subject: [pure-silver] Re: having digital negatives made
  From: "Eric Neilsen" <ej@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  Date: Sat, January 24, 2009 12:21 pm
  To: <pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>


  Mark, At the size we are talking and the fact that scanning is being done, I 
don’t think that holds much water. And that is my intuition talking and not 
based on tests. So much of the quality will depend on the scanner used and 
settings that going from 2 ¼ to 4x5, that I have a hard time seeing how the 4x5 
will lose quality. I’d be much more concerned about appropriate use of 
sharpening steps and grain emulation than a small amount of image size gain if 
I were Shannon.  
   
  Eric Neilsen
  4101 Commerce Street, Suite 9
  Dallas, TX 75226
  214-827-8301
   
  www.ericneilsenphotography.com
  SKYPE ejprinter
   
  From: pure-silver-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx 
[mailto:pure-silver-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of mark@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
  Sent: Saturday, January 24, 2009 1:02 PM
  To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  Subject: [pure-silver] Re: having digital negatives made
   
  Eric its for one reason only.  The original negative was a Medium Format 
negative.  By making the negative bigger you don't have more information to 
work with unless you add it.  Adding information may or may not be a good thing 
depending on the particular image.  Sort of like working with upsizing.  
Sometimes Geniune Fractals can do wonders, but it isn't the end all be all.  
Sometimes you are better off sticking with what you have.



  -------- Original Message --------
  Subject: [pure-silver] Re: having digital negatives made
  From: "Eric Neilsen Photography" <ej@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  Date: Sat, January 24, 2009 9:41 am
  To: <pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>

  Mark, Why do you think a medium format neg may be better? And Shannon, the
  advantage that jumps out at me with a neg for the enlarger is the ability to
  make prints of various sizes from the same output? If that is requirement at
  all and you can also have a positive made and make your own contact neg
  later. 

  Eric Neilsen Photography
  4101 Commerce Street, Suite 9
  Dallas, TX 75226
  214-827-8301
  www.ericneilsenphotography.com

  SKYPE ejprinter

  -----Original Message-----
  From: pure-silver-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  [mailto:pure-silver-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Mark Blackwell
  Sent: Saturday, January 24, 2009 10:12 AM
  To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  Subject: [pure-silver] Re: having digital negatives made

  First I think we need to get Shannon to clarify if a contact print is the
  goal, or a negative is needed to use in an enlarger. With a contact print
  there may be some other options, but frankly a digital negative with a a
  film recorder would be best. Unless advised otherwise by the lab, or the
  enlarger wouldn't accept a 4x5 or don't have something needed to print 4x5,
  I'd personally use this as a test.

  Id get a digital negative of the same file both as a Medium Format negative
  and a 4x5 negative and see first hand which project and printed better in my
  workflow and methods.


  --- On Sat, 1/24/09, Eric Neilsen Photography
  <ej@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

  > From: Eric Neilsen Photography <ej@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  > Subject: [pure-silver] Re: having digital negatives made
  > To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  > Date: Saturday, January 24, 2009, 10:04 AM
  > Better is such a loose term. The newer printers give you
  > better results with
  > the ABW setting than the 2200. However, if silver prints
  > are your goal you
  > may be better off going with a film negative made with an
  > LVT. Not all
  > providers of LVT will or can go up to anything bigger than
  > 8x10. Some of it
  > depends on the paper that you chose and whether a contact
  > neg is a good
  > choice. You also need to learn how much sharpening to add
  > to your film to
  > make it look right, etc. It is not just a slam dunk thing
  > where you provide
  > a file and it is perfect first time around. You may want to
  > create a file
  > with 4 4x5 on a single 8x10 layout and see what adjustments
  > work best. ONLY
  > deal with a lab that can tell you what your RGB # will
  > translate to in real
  > density to your negative. And just like with shooting and
  > exposing you can
  > get absolutely perfect target numbers but they will be
  > really close. 
  > 
  > 
  > 
  > Eric Neilsen Photography
  > 4101 Commerce Street, Suite 9
  > Dallas, TX 75226
  > 214-827-8301
  > www.ericneilsenphotography.com
  > 
  > SKYPE ejprinter
  > 
  > -----Original Message-----
  > From: pure-silver-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  > [mailto:pure-silver-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
  > Shannon Stoney
  > Sent: Saturday, January 24, 2009 8:42 AM
  > To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  > Subject: [pure-silver] Re: having digital negatives made
  > 
  > My enlarger can go up to 4x5. (the 8x10 enlarger is broken
  > right now.)
  > 
  > My ink jet printer is an Epson 2200, but I have access to a
  > 2400. In 
  > the past my efforts to make digital negatives didn't
  > work out very 
  > well, but maybe I can try again.
  > 
  > My process is silver. :-) (Although in the past I did do
  > those other 
  > processes you mention.) My paper scale is 1.2.
  > 
  > So, you are saying that it is better to make a negative for
  > enlarging 
  > than one for contact printing if possible?
  > 
  > --shannon
  > 
  > 
  > ere.
  > 
  >
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