Please recommend a minimal 8x10 contact printing setup

[tokyo_blues]

Dear all

I'm mostly a B&W medium format photographer. I develop my rolls at home: my 'darkroom' is limited to a dark bag in which I load film into my tanks. I also have all the chemicals needed. My negatives get scanned and archived.

I am fascinated by 8x10 contact printing but it all seems daunting. What would I need to put together a basic setup to do a) 8x10 sheet film processing and b) contact printing.

My -perhaps- limited current understanding:

-an 8x10 camera - eg Intrepid? What else? I'd like to do outdoor scenes (woodland, etc). So something light and compact which might go onto my current Manfrotto 190 tripod perhaps.
-a lens holder
-a lens
-8x10 film - I like Foma, I might get some Foma 200 or 400 in 8x10. I already have chemistry to process that
-Photographic paper - which one for contact printing?
-an 8x10 film dev tank - which? I use Paterson and Keiser tanks and plastic reels for MF
-paper chemistry - I am happy to experiment here, but I welcome any suggestions
-a darkroom - will refit a small bathroom
-a darkroom timer
-some sort of light source
-some frame/glass to keep the developed negative flat onto the photo paper

The biggest hurdle for me seems to be the light source. I don't want to enlarge. I don't want to dodge, burn, or do anything fancy. I want to simply transpose whatever is on the negative onto a positive without using scanners and computers. Will I need an enlarger to do this?

Any recommendations welcome.

[Kino]

A simple light bulb above a flat surface with a sheet of clean, clear glass will work fine for contact printing with some testing.

The classic example is Edward Weston's darkroom. He used a printing frame, but a sheet of glass will work also.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/whitespiderphoto/2904265036/

[John Kasaian]

For developing, If you don't want to use trays, try a Unicolor paper drum.

I use an enlarger---any format--with its lens--any lens---for my light source. This is minimal for me since I didn't have to buy anything.
I even use my old timer.

For holding the film/paper I use one of these:
https://www.printfile.com/product/cp-1_proofer/

I've used a thick sheet of glass, old contact frames, and new contact frames and the Printfile proofer seems to work best for me---the glass is heavy enough to provide contact and the hinge keeps fingerprints on the glass from causing problems. YMMV of course.

You can find orphaned photo enlargers dirt cheap, btw.
I tried the Weston recommendation---it works of course, but I found the enlarger/Printfile proofer a welcomed improvement

For a safelight I use a short string of red led Christmas lights I got on post-season clearance sale at a CVS.
Cheers!

[Alan9940]

As already said above, the simplest method of contact printing is a bare bulb, sheet of glass, and some smooth surface to lay the "sandwich" down on. Any of the standard B&W papers used for enlarging will work fine. If you decide to go with a contact printing paper (Azo, Adox Lupex, etc), you'll need a more powerful bulb. Given your film development limitations, you may want to look at the Stearman Press SP-8x10 processing tray. Other options for daylight processing of 8x10 film are out there--like Jobo Expert Drums, for example--but those are expensive solutions.

[esearing]

You will also need some blue and green gel filters/sheets if using variable contrast paper. So even a small or medium format enlarger as a light source would come in handy for using smaller filters.
You will need to experiment with different papers at some point to determine if you like Satin, Mat or Glossy finishes, cool/neutral/warm tone papers, RC vs Fiber, & paper whiteness.
Developer choices & toners will entertain you for a while to get different looks.
Then at some point if you decide to go with coating your own papers you will need to build/buy a UV light source.
The photography world awaits you...

[interneg]

Any recommendations welcome.

You're in Edinburgh, you have one of the best open access darkroom facilities in the UK on your doorstep (https://stills.org/) - join them, use the resources and courses.


I am fascinated by 8x10 contact printing but it all seems daunting.

It's incredibly, almost stupidly easy. You'll learn that the main downside is the need to keep your holders clean and dust free & that spotting negs and prints goes with the territory. Outside of dust issues, if you can't make a really nice contact print using almost any film/ paper choice (and mainstream chemistry) that are currently manufactured, you are doing something spectacularly wrong at a baseline technical level.


-an 8x10 camera - eg Intrepid? What else? I'd like to do outdoor scenes (woodland, etc). So something light and compact which might go onto my current Manfrotto 190 tripod perhaps.

The 8x10 Black Edition is good - Stills also have 4x5 Intrepids available to rent if you want to see how you get on with the Intrepid design concept. A 240 G-Claron or a Fuji 250/6.7 would be sane lens choices for the 8x10 Intrepid - and the Manfrotto 190 (whenever I've encountered it) has never been convincing in terms of stability compared to an equivalent old Gitzo or the 055 Manfrotto. No matter the weight of the camera, 8x10 tends to be happier on a chunkier tripod than you might try to get away with.


I don't want to dodge, burn, or do anything fancy. I want to simply transpose whatever is on the negative onto a positive

There are inherent contradictions in this statement that make it explicitly clear that you have never printed in the darkroom, nor explored the creative possibilities of the process. Using a bare bulb, a light panel or an enlarger as your light source all have advantages and disadvantages, but none are limiting in the ways you seem to be conceiving. Scanning isn't inferior, just somewhat different in terms of what it can give you to work with (and a different set of mild frustrations about 1990s hardware).

[Alan9940]

...and the Manfrotto 190 (whenever I've encountered it) has never been convincing in terms of stability compared to an equivalent old Gitzo or the 055 Manfrotto. No matter the weight of the camera, 8x10 tends to be happier on a chunkier tripod than you might try to get away with.


I wholeheartedly agree with this statement. I began using my Intrepid 8x10 v2 on a fairly lightweight carbon fiber tripod with a RRS BH-55 ballhead. Sure, it held the camera but I didn't realize how much more rigid a lightweight 8x10 could be until I switched to an old (read heavy, here) Gitzo aluminum tripod with a Gitzo G1570m head and its massive top plate. It does seems a bit silly to lug a heavy tripod into the field when striving for a lightweight carry kit, but...trust me...in the wind, you'll thank me.

[Michael Kadillak]

I have been primarily contact printing 8x10, 8x20 and 11x14 for 30 years starting with fixed paper grade Azo under a 300 watt bulb and more recently using an enlarging light source with variable contrast Ilford papers. One can get an inexpensive light source with a cheap lens and I feel it is preferred over a straight bulb for a couple of reasons. First and foremost you have the ability to use the f stop run on the lens to have some control over the intensity of the paper exposure. Secondly, you have the ability to use contrast filters under the lens or in the enlarger head. I like a contact printing head because the negative / printing paper sandwich can be managed away from the light source. 8x10 is the perfect format to work with. I use an IR monocle to develop by inspection in trays and as long as you prevent the film from running away from the limited tonality range of the printing paper (the goal is to printing the negative straight) you can steer clear of any masking iterations. I like the Ilford classic glossy paper because it is cheaper than the Ilford warm tone (which is a fantastic paper but pricey).

[Steven Ferson]

Consider a stearman press sp810 daylight development tank and a very stable tripod ( I got an old gitzo studex).
I would try to learn enlarging 35 mm film to 8x10 first, before you decide to invest in 8x10 large format and are limited to contact printing.

I went from medium format to 8x10, but am considering 4x5 as a more rational solution for enlarging, camera scanning, availability of film, lens choices etc.

[Vaughan]

If you've got access to a darkroom that can be fully blacked out (not full of safelight) then tray processing sheet film is very good and cheap. If it's full of safelight then not all is lost, you could process orthochromatic film.

[Cor]

I was surprised that it is quite hard to dodge or burn during contact printing 8*10, especially if you have a dense negative, I find it hard to see where I should exactly burn or dodge. Cutting out paper masks helps though.

good luck,

Cor

[esearing]

I was surprised that it is quite hard to dodge or burn during contact printing 8*10, especially if you have a dense negative, I find it hard to see where I should exactly burn or dodge. Cutting out paper masks helps though.

good luck,

Cor

Sexton used to teach a method of using pencil smudges to dodge or control contrast on a sheet of paper/mylar between light source and negative. It also works to add texture to white water that is completely devoid of details if one is artistically capable.

[Tin Can]

Sexton used to teach a method of using pencil smudges to dodge or control contrast on a sheet of paper/mylar between light source and negative. It also works to add texture to white water that is completely devoid of details if one is artistically capable.


Thank you