Contact prints from LF

[DrTang]

Does anyone use those contact printing box things? the kind with the built in light that goes on when you close the lid?


I got one because I don't have a darkroom ..but I haven't tried it yet. It seems like it would be handy if it works though..plus it looks cool

[Jim Noel]

I don't use a spring-back printing frame, because every one I've tried generates Newton's rings in my prints. Instead, I use a glass sandwich, with heavy glass on top, edges chamfered for safety in handling.

I use my enlarger with dichroic color head as a variable contrast light source, and standard variable contrast enlarging paper. Once in a very great while I'll do some modest dodging on a negative; that's as far as I ever go with manipulation in printing.

Contact printing doesn't need exotic technique and doesn't need to be fancy. Start simple and see how it goes; add refinements if and as needed.

Anti-glare framing glass will take care of the Newton's rings. absolute dryness of the glass and film also help prevent the rings.

[Jim Noel]

Does anyone use those contact printing box things? the kind with the built in light that goes on when you close the lid?


I got one because I don't have a darkroom ..but I haven't tried it yet. It seems like it would be handy if it works though..plus it looks cool

You will need to use silver chloride papers with it. Enlarging papers are far too fast. I still use one on occasion for printing Azo or Velox.

[Thom Bennett]

My suggestion would be to look at the silver chloride papers (Lodima, Fomalux) and avoid using enlarging papers. http://www.michaelandpaula.com/mp/azoamidol.html. The difference in making a fine print will be noticeable. Amidol is the ideal developer but you can use others (Dektol, etc.). The range of tones you will get with this paper is phenomenal. A simple proof printer, a bulb above and metronome timer is all you need to get started. Good luck!

[plaubel]

It seems like it would be handy if it works though..plus it looks cool

I have had a wooden box, 13x18cm.
Yes, it worked not so bad, and it looked cool, but in my opinion, you can't do anything with it - except contacting.
No dodging/burning/splitgrade...

Thistime I have no acces to my enlarger as a contactprint lightsource,so I like to use a normal bulb and thick glass.
Works fine.
I can use filters in this way, and I can vary the time .

""Amidol is the ideal developer""

Thom, this sounds great - but can you tell why, please?

Thanks,
Ritchie

[Thom Bennett]

"Thom, this sounds great - but can you tell why, please?"

Amidol...the stuff of legend and myth. It is said to be the most active of developers and works well with a water bath to control contrast. I did a side-by-side comparison of Amidol and Dektol and the Amidol prints showed slightly more detail in the shadows and the blacks were richer. Also, the Dektol did not respond as well to the water bath control. I learned to appreciate Amidol and Lodima via Michael and Paula and, as Michael has stated, he started using Amidol because of Edward Weston. Rich history there. I used to use enlarging paper for my contact prints until I used the above combination. Huge difference.

[plaubel]

Thank you, Tom.
Seems to me, that is worth a try.

Cheers,
Ritchie

[Oren Grad]

Anti-glare framing glass will take care of the Newton's rings. absolute dryness of the glass and film also help prevent the rings.

My glass and film are always dry. But the humidity in my darkroom varies substantially with seasonal conditions and with the number and size of open trays in a printing session. It's not something I can practically control.

Other than AR coated glass, which I've experimented with extensively and which has its own issues, I have yet to find an "anti-glare" glass that doesn't either generate Newton's rings in my darkroom or impart its own texture to smooth-toned areas in the print. If you can recommend a specific brand I'll be happy to try it to see whether it's any different.

[kleinbatavia]

I use a little printfile folding contact printer. Cheap and effective, (though the glass on some of them has defects even new!) Any good glass will do. I've been tempted to buy a replacement glass for a scanner off ebay. Very good glass I expect. You can just use a loose piece of window glass on the enlarger base, (Weston did), but the printfile is very handy and the rubber feet built into the base keep it in the same place. Window glass usually slightly green but doesn't seem to matter.

If you use a loose piece of window glass, tape the edges with black tape for handling and mark your contact printing area on the enlarger base with a couple of pieces of masking tape so you can see it in the safelights. Loose glass needs to be slightly bigger than the paper. 8X10 paper under a piece about 12X10. Give yourself a little rattle space.

My advice is to use a print file proofer. Skip the loose glass.

The enlarger, with the biggest negative carrier inserted, ought to be checked for an even illumination field. Put in a piece of paper and expose it at about Zone VI. Look for even-ness of exposure.

You want the light field to generously cover the contact printer glass, but not spill all over the enlarging table.

I stop down a few stops to get the exposure time in the 15-30 second range so that there will be plenty of time to dodge and burn. You'll need a tape dot on a piece of coathanger wire (about 3 inches in diameter with a 1 inch on the other end) for a dodging tool and a BLACK card about 11X7 for contacting on 8X10 paper. For the dodging tool, just twist a coathanger apart and cut out a couple sections with the wirecutter built into most pliers. Curl both ends with pliers and use some kind of dark tape to make a dot. Dress it up with scissors. I like a big oval on one end and a little circle on the other. Don't make the handle too long. (They look cheap but last for about 30 years.) There will be dodging and burning just like an enlargement.

I'm using Ilford Multigrade Warmtone, though I hear talk about other papers and you ought to pay attention to it. I like the response and color of multigrade. I'm using a modern enlarger lamp LED head that Cemil worked up and filters under the lens. Ilford MGWT very responsive to that enlarger head.

I've got another enlarger with a 4X5 aristo head. Useless for MG. I can't contact or enlarge with that cool light head. Too contrasty. I do have ANOTHER enlarger within reach that has a tungsten bulb. It would work. I use it for pre-fogging when I need to bring highlights down and keep it set to do just that.

I'd like to leave one enlarger set up to contact all the time in these enlarger-rich days. Might move off the Modern Enlarger Lamp set-up to the tungsten and try it. I have to use the MEL head to enlarge so that means moving the contact set-up out of the way.

Got a Zone VI with Aristo variable contrast head but it is for the most part, a disaster. I keep poking at it but it's over-complicated and just not very good. Next incarnation is with the original head back on, but with the tubes out and LEDs in. We'll see.

Canned air and photowipes on hand, of course.

Now you know everything I know, plus more, I'm sure!

Attachment 131862

Thanks a lot for this! Will have a go at doing some contacts shortly... Shall let you know how I get along.

[kleinbatavia]

My suggestion would be to look at the silver chloride papers (Lodima, Fomalux) and avoid using enlarging papers. http://www.michaelandpaula.com/mp/azoamidol.html. The difference in making a fine print will be noticeable. Amidol is the ideal developer but you can use others (Dektol, etc.). The range of tones you will get with this paper is phenomenal. A simple proof printer, a bulb above and metronome timer is all you need to get started. Good luck!

Very useful suggestion, will certainly keep this one in mind. Seems possible to get a contact without too much trouble this way. I can always try fancier and more complicated methods after...