Photographer's Formulary 8x10 Contact Print Frame
Hello!
I'm looking to start doing some 8x10 and 4x5 contact prints, and was wondering if anyone has ever used the Photographer's Formulary 8x10 Contact Print Frame. Here's a link below:
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...int_Frame.html
If so, did you like it? Also, in the photograph on the website, it looks like the light side is frosted glass - is that the case? (If so it would make dodging and burning difficult if you can't see the negative). Also, would it work with 4x5 negatives, or just 8x10?
I'm looking to keep this process simple, so let me know what you recommend! Thank you!
Re: Photographer's Formulary 8x10 Contact Print Frame
Never used that particular frame, but I've been very happy with the 8x10 and 12x15 contact printing frames from Bostick & Sullivan.
Re: Photographer's Formulary 8x10 Contact Print Frame
Don’t do it. It’s a dog. Buy Bostic and Sullivan
Re: Photographer's Formulary 8x10 Contact Print Frame
The glass isn't frosted, you're just seeing through to the felt-lined back.
I have not used that model, I started with old nameless ones, found on the web.
As long as your glass is clean, and the springs keep everything tight, you're
good to go. It will work with any negative that fits into the frame.
The B&S are the best I've found, but cheaper models will get you started.
Dodging and burning can be very hard with contact printing.
Everything is smaller than an enlargement, so you have to
be very precise, and it's hard to see the image, especially if the
neg is dense.
Also, without instructions, I used it all wrong for a year before someone showed me how:
Place the felt-lined back felt up on the table, then place the paper, emulsion side up,
then then neg emulsion side down, then the glass, then the frame down over it all,
reach around and grab the back with both hands, and then flip it, set the springs into place.
A self-starter like me might try to do that all face down...
Good luck, and give it time, great prints are hard to make with any method :)
-Tim
Re: Photographer's Formulary 8x10 Contact Print Frame
I had one of those. It's good but I found it overkill for my needs as a contact printer--IIRC the clamps were so strong I darned near busted a fingernail on more than one occasion.
For POP, it, or something like it where you can inspect your print in progress while still keeping everything in register is what you need.
But for contact printing, a Print file Proofer
http://www.printfile.com/contact-proofer.aspx
is what I use now---a 100% improvement IMHO.
Re: Photographer's Formulary 8x10 Contact Print Frame
Quote:
Originally Posted by
John Kasaian
I had one of those. It's good but I found it overkill for my needs as a contact printer--IIRC the clamps were so strong I darned near busted a fingernail on more than one occasion.
For POP, it, or something like it where you can inspect your print in progress while still keeping everything in register is what you need.
But for contact printing, a Print file Proofer
http://www.printfile.com/contact-proofer.aspx
is what I use now---a 100% improvement IMHO.
Awesome! Thanks so much for the suggestion. I will give that a try first.
Thanks everyone for their input!
Re: Photographer's Formulary 8x10 Contact Print Frame
I have a Paterson proof printer of a similiar design and i've found it to work really well. glass isn't sharp and clamps down very solidly.
This one: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...Easel_for.html
Re: Photographer's Formulary 8x10 Contact Print Frame
If you want/need an inexpensive solution, then get a sheet of birch plywood cut to whatever size needed, glue a sheet of felt on one side of the plywood, add a sheet of plate glass, and some 99 cent clamps from Home Depot. It's not a fast way to work, but it will get the job done. And, if you don't want to go even that far I've heard of photographers that simply lay a sheet of paper on an enlarger baseboard and cover with glass. The downside to any contact printing solution is Newton Rings which are generally caused by uneven pressure which leads to gaps between the negative and the glass. Also, humidity can be an issue with Newton Rings. Many years ago when I lived in a more humid part of the USA, I had a real problem with these pesky rings which Ron Wisner solved by having a sheet of plate glass coated (think lens coatings) on one side. It wasn't a cheap solution, but it did eliminate the rings.
Re: Photographer's Formulary 8x10 Contact Print Frame
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Alan9940
And, if you don't want to go even that far I've heard of photographers that simply lay a sheet of paper on an enlarger baseboard and cover with glass.
That's more or less what I do. My stack, from the bottom, is baseboard-glass-paper-negative-glass. I have some very nice contact print frames, but...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Alan9940
The downside to any contact printing solution is Newton Rings...
...I don't use them because they generate ferocious Newton's rings. I've tried many different frames in my darkroom over the years, and I've yet to see one that can distribute the pressure from the clips across the paper with enough evenness to avoid the rings. The only way I've ever been able to more or less reliably avoid Newton's rings is the glass stack.
Caveat: I've not printed TXP, with its retouching surface. Possibly that would be different. But every sheet film with a smooth base that I've tried in my darkroom has been hopeless in a spring-back printing frame.
Re: Photographer's Formulary 8x10 Contact Print Frame
Quote:
Originally Posted by
dasBlute
Also, without instructions, I used it all wrong for a year before someone showed me how:
Place the felt-lined back felt up on the table, then place the paper, emulsion side up,
then then neg emulsion side down, then the glass, then the frame down over it all,
reach around and grab the back with both hands, and then flip it, set the springs into place.
A self-starter like me might try to do that all face down...
Good luck, and give it time, great prints are hard to make with any method :)
This seems completely backwards, but if it works for you, go for it.