Determining test prints

[coops]

I am having a little success using split grade printing, but having difficulty determing exposures for test prints from one negative to another. I have a color head and keep the entire process as consistent as possible, but when one negaive requires say 6 secs exposure another requires 12 and another 18, say. I am wasting more paper than I think I should doing test prints. Can you look at a neg and roughly determine printing exposure, or is this something you figure out when you expose the film?
I realize this takes a lot of practice and skill, but anything that might save me a little time and paper, I appreciate it.
Cheers

[Mark Woods]

Get the Stoffer wedges and a densitometer and print the wedges after reading the densities. You then can read your negs with the densitometer and determine your approach.

Good luck.

MW

[jeroldharter]

That sounds like a wide range. I suspect that your exposure and development have room for testing. Read the Phil Davis Beyond the Zone System book which is daunting but in the end not so bad.

You should be able to tell from looking at one negative to the next which is more dense and contrastier to get a sense of where to start with test strip exposures. Also, you might want to do your test strip exposures in f-stop equivalent times rather than linear seconds. So for your range, set up a test strip exposure sequence of 4, 5.5, 8, 11, 16, 22 seconds. You should be able to zero in quickly. Once you find the starting point, i.e. between 11-16 then you can do a finer test sequence. Doing the coarser sequence can be helpful for determining dodges and burns. An f-stop timer is invaluable for this.

[David de Gruyl]

Or you could skip the printing and use a meter, such as the Darkroom Automation enlarging meter.

It conveniently works in f-stop (well, log time, anyway). There is a whole method to the system and it works well with their timer, but you can use it on its own.

[D. Bryant]

I am having a little success using split grade printing, but having difficulty determing exposures for test prints from one negative to another. I have a color head and keep the entire process as consistent as possible, but when one negaive requires say 6 secs exposure another requires 12 and another 18, say. I am wasting more paper than I think I should doing test prints. Can you look at a neg and roughly determine printing exposure, or is this something you figure out when you expose the film?
I realize this takes a lot of practice and skill, but anything that might save me a little time and paper, I appreciate it.
Cheers

Although this article isn't strictly about split grade printing you may wish to read this article by Michael A. Smith on printing:

http://www.michaelandpaula.com/mp/onprinting.html

Don Bryant

[ic-racer]

If you have a color head then using the mixed Y/M values will be a lot easier. If your printing paper does not have a chart to use, try the Ilford chart here: http://www.fotoweb.ru/exusr/pdf/ilford/mgivfb.pdf


Otherwise if you are determined to do two exposures minimum for each print, you can make a chart like this to get your 'constant contrast' at different printing times:

[nolindan]

I am having a little success using split grade printing, but having difficulty determing exposures...

I believe you already have the Darkroom Automation meter.

There is an application note on the web site on metering for split-grade printing:
http://www.darkroomautomation.com/support/appnotesgmeasured.pdf

[coops]

IThere is an application note on the web site on metering for split-grade printing:
http://www.darkroomautomation.com/support/appnotesgmeasured.pdf

Thanks, I will read this tonight.