Does emulsion side matter?

[redshift]

If I want to make a B&W print in reverse will there be any negative effects of having the negatives emulsion side up?

[vinny]

The print will be backwards

[diversey]

Emulsion side up when scanning and down when printing. I want to know the answer too.

[Doremus Scudder]

If I want to make a B&W print in reverse will there be any negative effects of having the negatives emulsion side up?

I take it you want to make a traditional print that is reversed left to right. Putting the negative in the enlarger emulsion-side-up is the way to go.

Of course, if you scan, just flip it in post-processing.

Best,

Doremus

[smithdoor]

Some film may have a lower ASA
Just check the film data sheet.

Dave

[Bob Salomon]

If you have an AN glass carrier then the AN glass may be on the wrong side and you may then see Newton Rings. Also the film culrs towards the emulsion so you may have a sharpness problem without aglass carrier.

[Andrew O'Neill]

Scratches on the base side may show up if contact printing. Are you contact printing or enlarging? I have often printed negatives emulsion side up when making a carbon transfer print. Never had a problem.

[Lachlan 717]

Emulsion side up when scanning

Not necessarily. If you're placing the film directly on the scanner's glass (e.g. 8x10 on the Epson V700/750), you'll likely introduce Newton Rings if you place it emulsion up.

[Heroique]

If I want to make a B&W print in reverse will there be any negative effects of having the negatives emulsion side up?

This sounds like a question about traditional printing to me too...

But just in case we're talking about scanning w/ a variable height mounting station:

Around here, emulsion side Up vs. Down – that is, on a scanner's variable height mounting-station glass – has, roughly, the name number of partisans on each side of the issue. As a dry mounter, I'm an "emulsion side down" person (down, that is, on the etched surface of the glass). However, this is more out of habit, not due to better results.

If you're always careful to put the film on the etched side of the mounting glass, I'm tempted to say there are no "negative effects" either way.

[redshift]

Thanks everyone!

I am printing with an enlarger, not scanning. I wanted to flip the negative because the composition reads better that way.