Printing Huge from LF negs/slides?

[AutumnJazz]

Something that I have wanted to do for a long time is make some massive prints, either optical or digital or whatever. I'm thinking about wall-sized, ie. 6ft high (or more). With my LF camera on its way (<3 Ole), I figure that a 4x5" image has enough res so that a massive print will look...nice.

So, how would I go about doing this? Would an inexpensive (although any printing as large as this is going to be expensive...) path be a drum scan and some large inkjet print from a photo lab? Something else?

Thanks to all...

[Mike Boden]

I would definitely recommend drum scanning. If you want to print that big, I'd also recommend a 4x5" scan at 4000dpi. But if you have a lab do it, it won't be cheap, because they charge by the MB. So I suggest you find someone who prices their scans differently.

As for the printing, you'll need to find a lab or someone with a printer big enough. The new Epson 11880 can print up to 64" wide. Otherwise, a couple labs have a Lightjet that will print up to 72" wide.

[Bruce Watson]

Something that I have wanted to do for a long time is make some massive prints, either optical or digital or whatever. I'm thinking about wall-sized, ie. 6ft high (or more). With my LF camera on its way (<3 Ole), I figure that a 4x5" image has enough res so that a massive print will look...nice.

It's all in how you personally define "nice."

If you're talking about a landscape shot, you're talking about enlarging the 4" side of your film to 72 inches. That's about 18x enlargement. The resulting image will be grainy and soft from close up. Just like an 18 x 27 inch print from 35mm would be. And yes, if you back up from the print it will look just fine. But you have to know that people will walk right up to a print like that just to see how good it really is. And those people will see the graininess and softness.

IMHO, and it's just that -- my opinion, is that I like to keep enlargements at 12x or lower. That puts you around 125 x 100 cm (about 50 x40 inches) from 5x4 film. Which is a fine large print, and is pushing the limits of what the 44" printers can provide. Of course, if you make the print size you are talking about from 10x8 film, it's only a 9x enlargement.

Which brings us to another subject -- printers. There are grand format printers out there for sure. But the 70"+ printers from Roland, Mimaki, and Mutoh are very expensive and not vary common. Other manufacturers are more focused on other markets (as in, not the fine art market).

Lightjet and Chromira printers top out at around 50" wide IIRC.

Finally, how are you going to mount and display images this size?

So, how would I go about doing this? Would an inexpensive (although any printing as large as this is going to be expensive...) path be a drum scan and some large inkjet print from a photo lab? Something else?

That's what I do. Drum scan, print via inkjet. I print the big ones on canvas, use a protective overcoat, and stretch it over stretchers (like an oil painting) with a gallery wrap so I don't have to frame it at all. For something as big as you are talking about, you can still do it -- either from a grand format printer or print in sections.

[Rakesh Malik]

I have a few images from 4x5's printed and hanging right now (my first showing )... most of them are 24x30 inches, printed on Moab paper and mounted on plexiglass. One is a 40x50 printed on canvas and gallery-wrapped. Although sadly the framer that did the gallery wrap didn't do a great job (it's starting to show some wrinkles and such), it's still a surprisingly sharp print, even though we've been doing the scanning with a Microtek M-1.

The decision to make most of the prints at 24x30 had more to do with cost than anything else, we could have printed them at up to 40x50... there's an astonishing amount of detail in them.

A six foot print might be pushing it, and we'd prefer drum scans rather than flatbed, but for now it's the best thing we have, and so far the results have exceeded our expectations.

[sailbad]

I try to keep my print sizes limited to 8x10 for 35mm,
11x14 for 120 (except 6x9)
16 x 20 for 4x5 but I have done some 20 x 24


I can't imagine going to that extreme..........the quality will suffer.

[CG]

First things first. If you are new to LF, there's a real learning curve to getting work that will really shine at a mongous 20x+/- enlargement. I'd urge you to take your time and get really fluent in the use of 4x5 and work your way up to major enlargemens.

Best,

C