test strip methods

[Torquemada]

Why does the majority of people still use the test strip method that is the negative projected onto a sheet of paper, and the card sheet used to block it into sections?

Just looking at videos, its the most commonly done and most commonly abuse method in that people will overlook how critical detail in the boat house on the lake is perfect and crip and visible, in order to use a different time section that shows the lake slightly better, but leaves the detail a solid black..

Lambrecht with way beyond monochrome, i have seen bits and pieces of pdf files hes loaded to photrio, went with a localized test strip. Featured on the most critical component of the print. In the book he used a photo of a woman in a shaft of light inside a barn. did a test strip sheet just on the woman, found the bestest time for her, did a work print, it was almost there, made an adjustment and voila, third sheet was a good final print.

I dont understand the reasoning behind the whole image chopped into portions as a means.

[Tin Can]

I dare you to read the entire Beyond tome

You cannot dodge and burn in tubes

[Michael R]

There are good/useful test strips/prints and useless ones (often the ones that prioritize minimal paper use). It depends on the image, obviously. You do what you need to do.

John Sexton has an interesting test strip method for images with many different exposure areas. He likes to do various exposures and arrange them like puzzle pieces, so that he has the whole image to look at but can swap the various pieces of the "puzzle" with darker or lighter versions. Everyone has their own preference but in the end it's all by eye.

Why does the majority of people still use the test strip method that is the negative projected onto a sheet of paper, and the card sheet used to block it into sections?

Just looking at videos, its the most commonly done and most commonly abuse method in that people will overlook how critical detail in the boat house on the lake is perfect and crip and visible, in order to use a different time section that shows the lake slightly better, but leaves the detail a solid black..

Lambrecht with way beyond monochrome, i have seen bits and pieces of pdf files hes loaded to photrio, went with a localized test strip. Featured on the most critical component of the print. In the book he used a photo of a woman in a shaft of light inside a barn. did a test strip sheet just on the woman, found the bestest time for her, did a work print, it was almost there, made an adjustment and voila, third sheet was a good final print.

I dont understand the reasoning behind the whole image chopped into portions as a means.

[jnantz]

There are good/useful test strips/prints and useless ones (often the ones that prioritize minimal paper use). It depends on the image, obviously. You do what you need to do.

John Sexton has an interesting test strip method for images with many different exposure areas. He likes to do various exposures and arrange them like puzzle pieces, so that he has the whole image to look at but can swap the various pieces of the "puzzle" with darker or lighter versions. Everyone has their own preference but in the end it's all by eye.

and if the final print isn't flipped and submerged and agitated developed the same as the test strip the test strip is useless ..

[Chuck Pere]

I use a home-built test strip maker that slides a 4x8 piece of paper under a one-inch slit. Let's me see that same point in the image with various exposures. Downside is it takes more time because you do a full exposure for each one. Works for me but everyone has their way to do it. You just have to find yours.

[ic-racer]

I do one little piece at a time. I don't know the next one to try until the first is processed and dry. I have a little frame that I put on the baseboard so the little test prints all come from the same place.

What "test print" gives 1/4 stop resolution? I guess if one has never been in a darkroom you can do that 'whole sheet test print', otherwise, after a few decades printing with the same materials, the first guess is within a stop or half of the final.

[Michael R]

and if the final print isn't flipped and submerged and agitated developed the same as the test strip the test strip is useless ..

Yes and particularly with FB prints don't neglect dry-down especially when evaluating highlights and upper midtones. All my test strips and test prints go into the microwave for a quick dry for that purpose.

[neil poulsen]

Test strips are just a beginning to homing in on paper contrast and exposure. Once I have a beginning exposure and contrast grade that seems appropriate, I jump to whole sheets of paper, and optimize exposure/contrast, and dodge/burn.

E v e n t u a l l y, I end up with the print that I like.

[Torquemada]

I dare you to read the entire Beyond tome

You cannot dodge and burn in tubes

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

[Vaughn]

Test strips are just a beginning to homing in on paper contrast and exposure. Once I have a beginning exposure and contrast grade that seems appropriate, I jump to whole sheets of paper, and optimize exposure/contrast, and dodge/burn.

E v e n t u a l l y, I end up with the print that I like.

Pretty much what I did back in the silver gelatin days. One can learn to judge a test strip pretty easily...and to determine the range of exposures to use for one's negatives for the paper type and amount of enlargement. Placement is important -- capturing a representational 'slice' of the image.

One small source of error (that can get confused with dry-down) is looking at one's test strip (or full prints) with a bright light straight from the darkness of the darkroom. Eyes dialated, one can get a false first-impression of the light values of the print. And by viewing tests and prints under too bright of a light.