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Steve M Hostetter
24-Apr-2009, 15:59
Hello,, can you give me your method ... Thank you

John Bowen
24-Apr-2009, 16:12
Will you be contact printing on enlarging paper? Use the enlarger. Will you be contacting on Azo/Lodima? With Lodima, you may be able to use the enlarger, just remove the lens and lower the head. Will you be contact printing Platinum? The sun works well or you could find a UV source like a Nuarc.

I contact on Azo/Lodima and use a "Cold One" cold light designed for Azo. Expensive and not readily available, but a wonderul light source. Michael A. Smith and most other Azo printers use a bare bulb. The exact bulb can be found on the Azo Forum.

Good luck and "welcome to the club"

scott_6029
24-Apr-2009, 16:20
Yes, a simple flood bulb r 60 or r 120 in a simple aluminum flood hood. Not sure you even need the cheap aluminum hood. All told < $5 in a hardware store....hang 3-5 feet from frame /easel. I use an inexpensive garden plant hangar attached to the wall about 5 feet from the table where I place the contact printing frame. You can raise or lower the light with the extension cord. I then plug the light into an inexpensive extension cord with a foot switch (think christmas lights) to control on / off when timing exposure.

I use AZO / Lodima with Amidol (and really Amidol is cheap based on how much you use for each printing session). Order Lodima from Michael and Paula.

You can check my website www.scottpetersphotography.com to see 7 x17 and 8x10 contact prints.

Very easy to use and inexpensive and can yield nice results.

Brian Ellis
24-Apr-2009, 16:38
Assuming you're talking about normal printing (i.e. not alt processes such as gum or platinum), you can use any light source you like, it won't affect the look of the print. I used a standard household bulb. An aluminum flood lamp arrangement helps spread the light evenly. If you have a spot meter or can meter a small area with another kind of reflective light meter, put any light source you like in the socket and hood, raise the hood maybe 2-3 feet above the paper, then check the center and corners with your meter. Adjust the height of the light source until you get the same reading in the corners and the center of the paper.

Oren Grad
24-Apr-2009, 16:57
For contact printing on ordinary variable-contrast silver papers, I use my LPL 4500II enlarger with dichroic color head.

Steve M Hostetter
24-Apr-2009, 18:57
Yes, a simple flood bulb r 60 or r 120 in a simple aluminum flood hood. Not sure you even need the cheap aluminum hood. All told < $5 in a hardware store....hang 3-5 feet from frame /easel. I use an inexpensive garden plant hangar attached to the wall about 5 feet from the table where I place the contact printing frame. You can raise or lower the light with the extension cord. I then plug the light into an inexpensive extension cord with a foot switch (think christmas lights) to control on / off when timing exposure.

I use AZO / Lodima with Amidol (and really Amidol is cheap based on how much you use for each printing session). Order Lodima from Michael and Paula.

You can check my website www.scottpetersphotography.com to see 7 x17 and 8x10 contact prints.

Very easy to use and inexpensive and can yield nice results. Scott,, I got the flood light and foot switch at walmart,, $5.44-clamp light, $1.66- soft white 90 w bulb -4 , $6.47-foot switch, $1.18- king size M&M's :D

I like the foot switch ,,, allows turning on without moving the light head which is a must have... Now where do I start where exposure is concerned?:)

Jan Pedersen
24-Apr-2009, 19:23
Steve, that again depends on your paper, if you are using enlarging paper a few hundred milli seconds or if you are using Lodima, a good starting point with a 90w bulb 3 feet above your frame 8-12 seconds.
To many variables, your negative density and developer type (Staining/non staining) will have a big influence on the time to.

John Bowen
25-Apr-2009, 02:21
Now where do I start where exposure is concerned?:)

I would imagine it wouldn't take you more than 5 minutes and two test strips to nail that down...

Have Fun!

Steve M Hostetter
25-Apr-2009, 04:42
I would imagine it wouldn't take you more than 5 minutes and two test strips to nail that down...

Have Fun!

a test strip will have to be at least an 8x10 cause I'm using a Jobo 2840 drum to process... Two test 8x10's would take one hour to develop.. :) unless there is an easier way:o

Matt Miller
25-Apr-2009, 04:55
There is a much easier way. Use trays instead of that drum.

John Bowen
25-Apr-2009, 05:58
Yes, definitely trays. If you have enough room to expose the paper, you should have enough room for two trays. For proofing you won't need a stop/waterbath tray. Just take the print from the developer straight to the fix. If you are using Azo/Lodima with Amidol, you will want 3 trays to take advantage of the contrast control gained with a waterbath.

If you are using Azo/Lodima, get yourself a Thomas safelight. It's like printing in daylight and does wonders for judging when to pull the print from the developer and place it in the waterbath. They can be had on Ebay for less than $100. I purchased mine new and think it along with my Zone VI compensating developing timer are the best purchases I ever made to maximize the efficiency of my darkroom...

Personally, it sounds to me like the Jobo to develop prints is close to Chinese Water Torture. I'd probably NEVER get a fine print prior to running out of patience.

Best,

Phil
25-Apr-2009, 06:51
<clip>... Two test 8x10's would take one hour to develop.. :) unless there is an easier way:o

Now I see why you need the large bag of M&M's...

Steve M Hostetter
25-Apr-2009, 09:33
:d
:d

Steve M Hostetter
25-Apr-2009, 09:41
Yes, definitely trays. If you have enough room to expose the paper, you should have enough room for two trays. For proofing you won't need a stop/waterbath tray. Just take the print from the developer straight to the fix. If you are using Azo/Lodima with Amidol, you will want 3 trays to take advantage of the contrast control gained with a waterbath.

If you are using Azo/Lodima, get yourself a Thomas safelight. It's like printing in daylight and does wonders for judging when to pull the print from the developer and place it in the waterbath. They can be had on Ebay for less than $100. I purchased mine new and think it along with my Zone VI compensating developing timer are the best purchases I ever made to maximize the efficiency of my darkroom...

Personally, it sounds to me like the Jobo to develop prints is close to Chinese Water Torture. I'd probably NEVER get a fine print prior to running out of patience.

Best,


John,, yeah I'm not hooked on the Jobo idea but it's worked till now but, I haven't started printing .. I did get my masks cut in the construction paper, 1-for 11x14"-14x17" and then used the 11x14 cut-out and used that for a mask for 8x10"-11x14".. I suppose that cut-out would work for 5x7"-8x10"

tgtaylor
25-Apr-2009, 12:04
It's far easier (and quicker) printing B&W in trays than using the Jobo. Get the Thomas safelight mentioned above and you can watch as your image appears and pull it when you think its ready. I use the Jobo only for color printing and developing which it excells in. Recently, through, I've also started developing 4x5 sheets with the expert drum with excellent results.

I contact print, color and B&W, with a color head on a Beseler enlarger. Once you have determined the correct height and exposure for a particular film, it's mechanical.

Thomas

Steve M Hostetter
28-Apr-2009, 17:50
I assume emultion side of film down..?
Also, do you pre-soak your prints like you would with film?
Do you hang your prints like your film when drying..?
Do you use photo-flo after washing?

John Bowen
28-Apr-2009, 18:18
Yes, emulsion to emulsion.
No pre-soak with paper.

Steve M Hostetter
28-Apr-2009, 19:41
Ok,, I have decided to just start off with trays because I tried one with the Jobo and it came out black...
I removed the paper in the dark then used a cheap safelight to position the paper and neg under the glass then exposed the paper for 10 sec. w/ a 90w bulb 3' up.. The paper is Fomatone MG RC based. I pre-soaked for 4:00 min. Dektol for 3 min. stop was vinegar water 30 sec. and fix was Kodak for 3:00 min, wash for 10:00 min. photo-flo for 2:00 min. anyway,, the image is totally black

OK,, I have the trays I need for 8x10 and 11x14 but before I use them I need to know some things..
How deep do you fill each tray..?
How long do should I expect to use the chems in each tray.?
How do I transfer the paper from chem to chem without contamination of each.?
should the trays have lids to keep unused chems in dark..?
how do you position the test strips and what size do you make them.?
thx

Steve M Hostetter
28-Apr-2009, 20:08
update: when I hold the print directly over a light I see a very faint image so it must be extremely underexposed.. ?

Brian Ellis
28-Apr-2009, 20:36
Ok,, I have decided to just start off with trays because I tried one with the Jobo and it came out black...
I removed the paper in the dark then used a cheap safelight to position the paper and neg under the glass then exposed the paper for 10 sec. w/ a 90w bulb 3' up.. The paper is Fomatone MG RC based. I pre-soaked for 4:00 min. Dektol for 3 min. stop was vinegar water 30 sec. and fix was Kodak for 3:00 min, wash for 10:00 min. photo-flo for 2:00 min. anyway,, the image is totally black

OK,, I have the trays I need for 8x10 and 11x14 but before I use them I need to know some things..
How deep do you fill each tray..?
How long do should I expect to use the chems in each tray.?
How do I transfer the paper from chem to chem without contamination of each.?
should the trays have lids to keep unused chems in dark..?
how do you position the test strips and what size do you make them.?
thx

An inch or so. Enough so that the paper is well-covered with chemicals at all times but not so much that the chemicals slop out of the trays when you jiggle them.

I always discarded developer after each printing session. Stop bath will last a long time and can be reused over and over, discard it when it starts looking different than it did when you started out (though I never used vinegar and water so I'm not sure about it, if you're using only a little vinegar maybe you should just discard it after each session). Fix can be reused but you should look at the label on the package and see what the capacity is, then keep track of how many prints you run through it. At least that's what I did.

You don't. There will be some contamination, that's inherent in the process. Hold the print by a corner over the tray it came from with your thumb and forefinger and let most of the solution drain off but don't worry about trying to get it to a point where every last drop of solution is gone from the print. When going from developer to stop bath, it's more important to move fairly quickly than to worry about contaminating the stop bath.

No

Where you put the test strip isn't critical but ideally you'd put it over a representative area of the negative, i.e. an area that has some shadows, midtones, and highlights. But don't go crazy trying to find an area like that, you'll get good enough information from almost any area of the negative. Strips can be any width you like but the wider they are the more information you'll have. With experience you'll be able to get a good idea of your initial exposure time just by looking at the negative, without the need for test strips.

You don't presoak paper.
You don't need to remove the paper from the box or paper safe in the dark.
You don't use Photo-Flo on paper, it's for film.

I think it would be very beneficial if you checked out a book on basic darkroom work from your local library or bought one on Amazon. There's nothing wrong with asking the questions you're asking, nobody is born knowing this stuff. But I think in the long run a few hours of reading to gain a general understanding of what's going on and what you're doing in the darkroom will be more helpful than asking a series of scatter-shot questions here. Just my opinion of course.

aduncanson
28-Apr-2009, 21:27
To reveal ones sources is to open oneself to derision and ridicule, but I will go out on a limb and suggest David Vestal's "The Craft of Photography" as a good source on basic darkroom techniques. Vestal seems pretty conservative about achieving permanence and accordingly I think that your developer time is a little long (but no matter) and that your Fix and wash times are too short.

John Kasaian
28-Apr-2009, 21:47
Lately it has been a Meopta 4x4 enlarger (why? I got it for enlarging 127 negatives. It was cheaper than buying a set of condensers for the D-II and it is usually the first one I reach for) and a printfile contact proofer. An old timer (the sticker with the name fell off) a mongrel assortment of trays, a blotter book and that luxury or luxuries---a Versalab print washer! :) I cook the good prints in a neat old Seal Jumbo 150 dry mount press to get any wrinkles out. Materials are Ansco 130, Kodak stop and fixer and Emaks, Gallerie, Kentmere Bromide, Slavich, new Foma 111 or the last of the AZO stash, depending on...well, just depending...
The important thing : HAVE FUN! :)

John Berry
29-Apr-2009, 00:05
I have tried many different bulbs. I am using a 120 watt plant bulb. I didn't tell the lodima paper about the weird color and it happily did it's thing as normal. Get one with no writing on it as with any enlarger bulb. I took it out of the reflector and put it in a beehive safelight housing to reduce backscatter. My 508 indicated hot spots at near distances. That is why mine is mounted from the ceiling. Element position in these bulbs is very loose. If you can, try the bulb before purchasing. Out of the seven I tried 4 were unusable on element placing alone. Unless you are burning through heavy FB+F you don't need a 300 watt bulb.

John Bowen
29-Apr-2009, 04:17
update: when I hold the print directly over a light I see a very faint image so it must be extremely underexposed.. ?

If the image was "totally black", but you could see a very faint image....the PAPER was OVERexposed.

I would start with 2 minutes in Dektol (unless the paper manufacturer recommends a different time with Dektol)

The NEGATIVE may have been UNDERexposed and/or UNDERdeveloped

Steve M Hostetter
29-Apr-2009, 18:12
Hello guys,,

I'm using manufacturer's recommendations on times...Oh wait,, Kodak says 3/4-3:00 min. The neg seems to be full of detail..

Steve M Hostetter
29-Apr-2009, 18:17
PS.. I mixed one bag of Dektol powder with one gallon of water ..

Steve M Hostetter
29-Apr-2009, 19:44
If the image was "totally black", but you could see a very faint image....the PAPER was OVERexposed.

I would start with 2 minutes in Dektol (unless the paper manufacturer recommends a different time with Dektol)

The NEGATIVE may have been UNDERexposed and/or UNDERdeveloped So under is over and over is under?:eek:

John Bowen
30-Apr-2009, 04:25
Yeah Steve, go ahead and give your "totally black," "underexposed" print some additional exposure....that ought to lighten up the print.....he said with rich sarcasm!

aduncanson
30-Apr-2009, 06:18
Steve, I did not notice that you were using RC paper and hence your short fix and wash times could well be sufficient.

In my darkroom I am using a 50 Watt halogen flood from about 5 feet for contact printing on Lodima. Recently I was getting exposures on the order of 23 seconds with a somewhat thin negative. I mistakenly pulled out some Oriental enlarging paper (which is much more sensitive than Lodima) and made black prints.

Your 90 Watt source from 3 feet probably requires much shorter exposure times on your enlarging paper. If making contacts on enlarging paper, I use my enlarger as the light source, leaving the lens in place.

Good Luck

steve barry
30-Apr-2009, 07:03
i use enlarging paper, with a 60 watt clear bulb on a dimmer, dimed at least in half. bulb about 3.5 feet from paper, and my exposure time is 2 seconds. i run the bulb through my enlarger timer.

Steve M Hostetter
30-Apr-2009, 16:01
you guys are awesome,,, I love it when you tell me all your secrets.. :D you just can't find this in a book:)

PS.... I am using cheaper RC paper to contact print with till I get the hang of it then I'm going to be using the better stuff