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r.e.
28-Feb-2010, 19:52
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
28-Feb-2010, 21:14
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
1-Mar-2010, 02:13
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
1-Mar-2010, 03:11
here is the latest information on the Lodima paper:

http://www.michaelandpaula.com/mp/AzoForum/one.asp?ID=12186&PgNo=&GID=12186&CID=13

r.e.
1-Mar-2010, 04:53
...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.
1-Mar-2010, 05:29
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
1-Mar-2010, 05:41
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.
1-Mar-2010, 05:46
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
1-Mar-2010, 06:05
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
1-Mar-2010, 08:23
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.

Chauncey Walden
1-Mar-2010, 09:26
Try this: http://www.freestylephoto.biz/428282-Foma-Fomalux-312-Resin-Coated-Grade-2-Contact-Speed-8x10-25-sheets?cat_id=505

Brian Ellis
1-Mar-2010, 09:29
I used Azo for quite a while to make 8x10 contact prints, then switched to Kodak Polymax Fine Art and finally to Ilford MG IV. I developed Azo in Amidol, the others in an Ilford developer the exact name of which I don't remember. I exposed Azo under a light bulb, the other two under an enlarger with an Aristo variable contrast head. I didn't think any one paper was "better" than the other, it was just a question of what look one preferred, though I never cared for the single weight of Azo or the relative difficulty of processing between grades when 2 was too flat and 3 had too much contrast.

Ralph Miyashiro
1-Mar-2010, 14:52
Try Fomalux 312 as previously mentioned. It's RC with a mat finish. It's inexpensive. It's easy to use, it's RC, fixes and washes quickly. I use it on 5x7. Very slow, with a 15 watt bulb I have exposure times of about 30sec. to sometimes over a minute and a half. I know RC is shunned but I'm a beginner and don't know any better and it has enabled me to print without an enlarger. I just wish it came in glossy.

Ralph

John Bowen
1-Mar-2010, 15:31
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.

I'm sorry if I misled you, but I have always adjusted my negatives to "fit the paper." I guess that comes from almost always using fixed grade papers. We really won't know for sure until the paper arrives.

As far as a paper "that may not be available next year" given the state of analog photography can you name a paper that WILL be available next year? :eek: We all face that potential dilemna.

I've never scanned a negative, so I can't comment on that.

I'm sure you'll find a paper that fits your needs. Have fun!

nolindan
1-Mar-2010, 22:28
I know that an 8x10 enlarger might be better...

You don't need an 8x10 enlarger for contacting - any old enlarger will work - 35mm, 2 1/4, whatever. Don't need much of a lens either. An enlarger just makes for a convenient, even, light source.

A hanging light bulb doesn't produce very even illumination because of light bouncing off the ceiling and walls.

JR Steel
1-Mar-2010, 23:44
A hanging light bulb doesn't produce very even illumination because of light bouncing off the ceiling and walls.

I just put my light bulb in a coffee can and drill a 1/2 inch hole in the bottom and you have a point light source.

r.e.
2-Mar-2010, 05:40
Thanks for all the responses.

When I did contact prints in the past, it was just for proofing. I used a low wattage bulb (8w or 15w, can't recall which now), in a reflector precisely to get broad illumination, with the bulb placed far enough from the glass to slow things down. I didn't have a lot of trouble dodging, etc. with this setup, but I wasn't trying to do anything fancy.

The coffee can with a hole or a 35mm enlarger are interesting ideas.

As for paper, I think that I'll start something readily available and uncomplicated.

John O'Connell
2-Mar-2010, 07:44
If you're just starting up with 8x10 contact printing, I'd order some small packs of fiber-based enlarging paper to try---Ilford Multigrade & Multigrade Warmtone, certainly, and a sampling of whatever else trips your trigger.

I really liked Azo, and still have some American stuff in grades 2 and 3. But it was a bear to process because of the single-weight base. I wouldn't bother with it now for two reasons: dwindling supply and increasing cost.

I tried the Lodima practice run, and it didn't replace Azo for my process or tastes. It might be worth trying, however, because you can order a bunch of fresh paper to play with now.

Donald Miller
2-Mar-2010, 07:58
It all depends on what you want. For those that aspire to the finest in prints, then contact printing with Azo (I assume Lodima as well) is probably the finest in silver based prints that I have seen from currently available materials. I am judging this from actual prints that Michael and Paula have produced and that I have seen first hand up close and personal, so to speak.

If all you want is to proof images then I would probably buy the cheapest RC paper I could get.

While a camera negative density range should match the paper, no matter the paper used, Azo (I assume Lodima as well) DR closely approximates Pt/Pd process.

With water bath and Amidol you can fine tune the paper's characteristics over a fairly substantial range.

I don't use this paper any longer since I primarily digitially print now.

Donald Miller

nolindan
2-Mar-2010, 21:48
I just put my light bulb in a coffee can and drill a 1/2 inch hole in the bottom and you have a point light source.

Not a bad idea. Paint the inside of the can flat black - the 1/2 hole will work as a 'pin hole' and image the lamp onto the contacting frame. You may need to sort through light bulbs to find one that has even illumination.

Another alternative is to paint the inside of the can or box white and arrange it so the light bulb can't be 'seen' by the exit hole. You are then making a mixing chamber - a light source that can produce very even illumination