Contact printing frame for 5x7?

[Scott --]

Ok, since my new lens won't be here until Monday, I figure I'll piddle with the idea of making a contact printing frame for 5x7 this weekend. Don't know as I'll actually get to it , but I'd sure like this project done.

Anyway, I've never contact printed. I did, however, find this DIY description (http://www.alternativephotography.com/articles/art017.html). Is this a good starting point? Anything missing from this 'design'?

Tips and suggestions appreciated.

Scott

[Brian Ellis]

I don't think you really need a frame as such. A piece of plate glass, heavy enough to keep the paper flat and to maintain even contact with the negative, placed on a flat surace, is all I'd think you need for a 5x7 print. Larger prints may require frames with clamps on the back to keep the paper and negative in perfect contact and for some alt processes a split back is nice. But for 5x7 I don't think you should need either of those things.

[Nick_3536]

If it was me I'd make it big enough to take larger sheet paper. With a border. Unless you're into showing the negative edge. But other then that from first glance the link looks fine.

I agree you could get by with a sheet of glass. Even using a piece of black matt board to create the border if you want one.

[Scott --]

Ok, Nick - remembering that I have no experience with contact printing (yet - guess I should find a book...), how would you establish a border on larger paper? Mat board?

I might could get away with the sheet of glass, but I'm having a lot of fun woodworking photo stuff lately. Think it'd be a fun little project, though in all likelihood, a completely spurious one. :rolleyes:

[Nick_3536]

All a white border needs is for you to block the light hitting the paper. So anything that is light proof will give you a border.

[Jan Pedersen]

Scott, i use Ruby Lith tape directly on the contact printing glass. You can tape it on the inside so the tape make a boarder for your negative. Very easy and effective.

You can get Ruby Lith tape at Freestyle and i'm sure in many other places.

[Louie Powell]

Scott -

I made my own contact printing frame last year. I had read the web page you referenced to get some background before I started, but then went beyond that. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures.

I used ordinary poplar from Home Despot. The top has a bevel on the inside of the frame, with a rabbet on the bottom for the back to fit into. Rather that machine the cross section from one piece of wood, I glued it up using two pieces per the attached sketch. The corners are mitered, and I added a spline for strength.

The hinged back is ordinary 1/2" cabinet-grade plywood. I found some sheets of both plastic foam and black felt in the craft section of a "dollar store" - I glued the plastic foam on the back, and then applied a layer of felt over that.

I used standard 1/4" glass in the frame, so the thickness of the back plus the glass equals the depth of the rabbet. The back is held on using small blocks cut from 1/4" thick oak, each attached to the frame with one screw (so that they swivel). Therefore, the additional thickness of the compressible plastic foam and felt provides the force needed to hold the negative tightly against the material I am printing on, and eliminates the need for metal springs. That was a good move since it wasn't obvious to me how I could fabricate workable springs!

[Michael Alpert]

Scott,

I agree with Brian. All you need is a piece of 1/4" plate glass. With glass about 8.5"x 10.5", you can print on either 5x7 or 8x10 paper. Optical grade is best, but hard to find (try a Google search). It is important that the edges are rounded, so you won't cut yourself in the dark. I have found that the glass works better than a printing frame, which tends to create uneven pressure (the thinner glass in the frame bends slightly when under pressure) which leads to Newton Rings where the back of the negative and the glass are unevenly touching. You will experience these rings sooner or later. They are caused by light bouncing back and forth between the negative and glass. High humidity can also be factor in this problem. I also have a piece of plate glass underneath the paper so that all surfaces are as flat as possible. 5x7 is a great format. Good luck.

[Scott --]

Two questions, Louie:

Why'd you put a chamfer on the edge of the frame?
What'd you use to "hinge" the back?


This seems like such a straight-forward project, and such a good use of scrap lumber, that it'd be a shame not to make several. Thanks for the details.

[Louie Powell]

Scott:

1. Three reasons. First, I wanted to make sure that there was no shadow from the edge of the opening cast onto the printing area. Second, the chamfer made for a neater project, and some of the older printing frames that I had picked up at flea markets had them. Third, I had a router that I wanted to use on the project and a chamfer was the ideal application.

2. I used an ordinary piano hinge from Home Despot. I had originally purchased a long hinge that had to be cut down for another project , and had enough left over for this project.

[Oren Grad]

What Michael said. I've never been able to use a contact printing frame without running into problems with Newton's rings. But a plain glass sandwich usually works fine for me even under environmental conditions where a print frame generates florid Newton's rings.

If you have your heart set on a woodworking project that's fine. Just don't assume that a printing frame is necessarily going to get you a superior result - your prints might end up looking worse, not better.

Anyway, have fun - contact prints are a blast...

[Darren Kruger]

how would you establish a border on larger paper? Mat board?

For a mask, try using a black envelope from a photo paper box (once you used up all the paper that is.) You would want something really thin or else there wouldn't be any pressure from the glass holding the negative to the paper.

Darren

[Denis Pleic]

I wonder why no one mentioned the easiest, the quickest (and probably the cheapest, if you value your time) solution - a picture/photo frame. The cheap plastic one from a discount store / Walmart /whathaveyou will do just fine, as long as it has spring clips on the back.

That's what I use. I did get a traditional Kodak printing frame from ebay, but the picture frame I use is a lot more easier and practical... So I more or less ditched the original Kodak one.

I use one size larger (i.e. 7x10 picture frame for 5x7 negatives), and use black paper "frame" for a white border on the final print... Total cost: about $3 and about half an our to cut the black paper "frame" precisely. I use two layers of black paper - one a bit smaller (which covers the negative border/rebate and goes on the glass), and one a bit larger - exactly the size of the negative, which goes on the first one - so when I put the negative in the frame, it slips ito place/opening of the larger paper "frame", and the smaller paper "frame" keeps it from slipping/moving around when I attach the back.

I also added a thin foam on the back, to keep the negative pressed to the glass.

I use the same system for both 4x5 and 5x7 negatives - never had any problems....
I did get Newton rings on the original Paterson contact printing frame, though - the one I use for contact printing strips of 120 film.... :) I think it's because it presses the negs to the glass with a lot more pressure than my DIY system does - I know I can hardly close the "latch" of the Paterson frame....

I can provide a photo, if anyone's interested.

Denis

[Jim Noel]

To be useful it is necessary that the back be hinged so that one side can be opened for inspection while the other holds the negative/print sandwich in position.

[Michael Alpert]

Jim,

While a hinged back is useful for POP (Printing Out Paper) and other "alternative" processes, for more typical silver printing a hinged back is not needed.