test strip methods

[jnantz]

And some people still like to harp on the evils of developing tubes. Guess some do it because they dont understand they are only for developing, and all the fun stuff with the enlarger is already done by the time a person grabs the print tube

I don't think anyone said develping tubes are evil, but for someone learning how to print they are unhelpful at best

)added after I thought about it(

the best photography how to book I have ever read was zen and the art of archery, so maybe developing blindly in ilford developing tubes might not be such a bad idea.
I hope you find success with it.

[Todd Barlow]

I made a Fixed Image Test Strip printer. Just another tool in the tool box to choose from depending on the negative I am working with.

[Pieter]

I made a Fixed Image Test Strip printer. Just another tool in the tool box to choose from depending on the negative I am working with.

There are plans and instructions for one of those in Way Beyond Monochrome.

[Drew Wiley]

There's nothing primitive about simple test strips. Evaluating them is another matter, and will improve with experience. I don't state this as a default method. I do have very sophisticated options, including a very precise easel densitometer, full feedback colorhead circuitry, and tons of experience doing densitometer plots and even inventing special math formulas related to all this. These did have a purpose with respect to sophisticated color printing strategies using multiple precisely matched steps. But for simple silver gelatin printing, or even basic RA4 color neg printing, test strips are the straightest route from Point A to Point B. And I'm about as nitpicky as they get when it comes to print quality. Why make it harder than it needs to be?

I just slice off a strip of the printing paper two or three inches wide, place it in an appropriate position in the easel, and then section off the increments using a big sheet of cardboard. A typical example might be 9 / 12 / 15 / 18 seconds at f/11 - all depending of course on the specific paper, enlarger lens choice, degree of enlargement, and particular light source I'm using. Then after development, I squeegee off the strip, and dry it for about 20 second in a little nearby toaster oven, and examine it in what is equivalent to display lighting. And I factor in the supplemental contrast deepening due to post-toning. But due to sheer experience working with particular papers, often I bypass the dryer step. The real litmus test is the following day, seeing with fresh eyes the full air-dried print itself, toned n' all.

[Tin Can]

Many use tubes for FILM


I tested film in tubes, OK! Not for me

Prints must be damn perfect for tube


and would be fine if every neg was perfect...possible for a series

I prefer the 'Laying of Hands' dodging as it were on flat paper

as posted yesterday I sometimes make up to 25 identical PRINT s

I know I torqued you off!

calm down

not many of us left or right

And some people still like to harp on the evils of developing tubes. Guess some do it because they dont understand they are only for developing, and all the fun stuff with the enlarger is already done by the time a person grabs the print tube

[MartinP]

I use standardised contacts as a 'sort of' metering, then a partial print at the estimated values, then adjust from there. Approaching every negative as though you have never printed before, as per a lot of tutorials, seems like something which should be very quickly forgotten.

[paulbarden]

There's nothing primitive about simple test strips.

You could have just left it at that! LOL

[Vaughn]

Drew mentioned RA4...I was taught that its color balance shifts with length of exposure, so for test strips, pick a time and change the aperture. I never made enough prints to get good at it, but a lot of fun...120 film only. Many 10"x10" prints of my boys. I used the 8x10 for the B&Ws.

A friend on a photo trip up the Oregon Coast...this is on 8x10 paper...maybe 30 years ago, give or take 5 yrs. He is wondering why I am tilting the Rollei.

[Torquemada]

There's nothing primitive about simple test strips. Evaluating them is another matter, and will improve with experience. I don't state this as a default method. I do have very sophisticated options, including a very precise easel densitometer, full feedback colorhead circuitry, and tons of experience doing densitometer plots and even inventing special math formulas related to all this. These did have a purpose with respect to sophisticated color printing strategies using multiple precisely matched steps. But for simple silver gelatin printing, or even basic RA4 color neg printing, test strips are the straightest route from Point A to Point B. And I'm about as nitpicky as they get when it comes to print quality. Why make it harder than it needs to be?

I just slice off a strip of the printing paper two or three inches wide, place it in an appropriate position in the easel, and then section off the increments using a big sheet of cardboard. A typical example might be 9 / 12 / 15 / 18 seconds at f/11 - all depending of course on the specific paper, enlarger lens choice, degree of enlargement, and particular light source I'm using. Then after development, I squeegee off the strip, and dry it for about 20 second in a little nearby toaster oven, and examine it in what is equivalent to display lighting. And I factor in the supplemental contrast deepening due to post-toning. But due to sheer experience working with particular papers, often I bypass the dryer step. The real litmus test is the following day, seeing with fresh eyes the full air-dried print itself, toned n' all.

Have a shot of one of these simple test strips on the finished print? Id really like to see how they compare from test to final print for you.

[Michael R]

It might be worth highlighting something Vaughn said earlier which I think is an important part of making test strips/prints and work prints, which is not to rush in evaluating them. Particularly if you aren’t experienced or are out of practice (but even if you’re a pro), it can really help to slow down a little, let your eyes adjust, look carefully, watch out for snap judgements based on bright/dim lighting etc.