Suggestions for 8x10 Contact Print Paper?

[r.e.]

It has been a long time since I've done contact prints, but I've acquired an 8x10 camera and I plan to start doing some. I don't have an enlarger; the plan is to use glass together with a bulb of not more than 15 watts.

What papers can people recommend? There are some posts, although not terribly recent, about Azo/Lodima and someone on APUG who is coating his own.

Suggestions?

[nolindan]

Enlarging paper with the enlarger as the light source. Using the enlarger as the printing lamp has the advantage of: small light source for sharper contacting and also for better controlled shadows when dodging and burning; ability to easily use VC filters; and the ability to vary the lamp brightness (via the aperture) in case one needs extra time for dodging and burning.

[csant]

I have been very happy with Fomatone MG 532 II - double weight, and (comparatively) low sensitivity, so works very well with a 15W bulb (I have been printing a lot like that, since I don't have an enlarger either). There are other Fomatone MG paper variants that have the same low sensitivity.

That being said, I have recently moved over to making albumen prints, I just love the tonal range and the simplicity of the process.

[phil sweeney]

here is the latest information on the Lodima paper:

http://www.michaelandpaula.com/mp/Az...D=12186&CID=13

[r.e.]

...I have recently moved over to making albumen prints, I just love the tonal range and the simplicity of the process.

I have some books on alternative processes and albumen is the one that most interests me. Maybe I'll buy a few dozen eggs tomorrow and start aging the whites.

Phil, thanks, I've sent them an e-mail to find out whether the current order is fully subscribed, although I'd prefer to do this with an off-the-shelf product unless Lodima has major advantages.

Nolinden, I currently send photographs that I want to print to a gentleman who takes care of the fine scanning and the printing. With the 8x10, I want to do some low-tech contact prints myself and send a few negatives to a particular traditional printer to see what he does with them. At that point, I'll decide whether to stick with digital or do some kind of hybrid. I know that an 8x10 enlarger might be better, but as explained in my first post, I don't have one; and I'm not planning on getting one, if only because I live on an island well off-shore from mainland North America, and it's an 18 hour journey by ferry and car to get from the mainland to where I live, after I somehow get this monster enlarger from someplace on the mainland to the ferry terminal. No, no, no

[r.e.]

I've just been advised that it is still possible to order this Lodima paper. Any comments about it would be appreciated. Given that they strongly recommend ordering three grades, it is a fairly substantial financial commitment.

[John Bowen]

First, Lodima is only available in two grades (2 & 3). I won't guarantee it will be the only paper you'll ever need, but anyone who is serious about LF contact prints owes it to themselves to order a couple boxes and see what all the fuss is about.

There is a wealth of information on the Azo forum and like most alternative processes you may have to adjust your negatives to fit the paper.

The new paper should be in users hands in the next two months and you can expect to read more about it then.

In the meantime, you can keep your eyes open for Azo. Some shows up on occasion.

Until I am fully retired and have the time to explore alternative processes, it will be Azo/Lodima for me.

Good Luck and welcome to the club!

[r.e.]

Thanks John, I stand corrected, two grades. The fact that I will have to start adjusting negatives to fit the paper is not for me a selling point. I'm not keen on locking my negatives into a paper that may or may not be available next year; and if this adjusting makes scanning fussy, it is for sure not an option.

[jp]

You can probably pick up a 35mm enlarger and lens for garage sale prices and use that as a light source for contact printing.

[Oren Grad]

FWIW: I use the same mix of variable contrast papers for contact printing as I do for enlarging. For both purposes, the most important factor is the match of characteristic curve between negative and paper to produce a pleasing tonal scale. So it's hard to recommend a specific paper - depends entirely on what your negatives look like and what sort of tonal scale you like.

I use an enlarger with a color head as my light source - being able to dial in VC filtration is extremely convenient. The nice thing is that if you want it only as a light source, you can get away with the smallest, cheapest 35mm or medium-format color enlarger that you can find on the used market.

Working with just a light bulb sounds simple. But if you don't want to adjust your negative exposure and processing to match specific graded papers, using variable contrast paper with a color or VC enlarger head as a light source is much more convenient in practice.