Anyone contact printing 4x5?

[Bruce Barlow]

I'm working on a portrait project right now that is shot all in 5x7. I am contact printing with a frame I made in the mid-90's. I just yesterday in fact scraped off all the original duct tape and replaced it with Tyvek. It's 3/16th tempered plate glass top and botton with a Tyvek hinge, the top has a 1/4 inch lip so I can lift it up easily when changing paper.

All of these prints are contact printed on AZO ranging from grades 1-5. I inherited a huge stash of 8x10 AZO and it's all still good...some of it is over 50 years old. I wasn't a fan of single-weight paper, but after printing over 100 prints so far...maybe pushing 150 on this project I've really come to like it.

5x7 contact prints are rather lovely. 4x5's are also. I have an entire portfolio of 4x10 pt/pd contact prints and I rather like that size too. I like that there are many printers who are enjoying the smaller medium-format contact prints as well. I have taught alt. processes and we used the Holga camera entirely one semester. Those prints had a look and a feel when viewing that was very interesting. One other person here used the word 'intimate'. I would agree completely.

5x7 portrait contacts! Go ahead, make me drool.

[Howard Tanger]

...All of these prints are contact printed on AZO...

Which developer do you use for your Azo prints? Howard Tanger

[Kimberly Anderson]

D-72 (Dektol) 1:3

[Kimberly Anderson]

5x7 portrait contacts! Go ahead, make me drool.

Ok.

[RodinalDuchamp]

Ok.

Fantastic! I am a father of twin girls, I love this kind of content.

[DannL]

If you don't have this book, you might try this link.

Page 67 onward explains what would take me an hour to type.

Probably not in the book, Polycontrast filters can be used when contact printing. I print on VC papers for the most part, so I've been working with an old Kodak safelight housing and 15 watt bulb as the light source. It's cheap, I know. With the OC safelight filter removed, I've taken a set of 6"x6" Polycontrast filters and cut them (round) to fit the housing. The Polycontrast filters can be swapped when needed. It is connected to a timer. This has worked fine for my purposes, but I am curious how different bulb types would effect the contrast. Before this, I was using an enlarger as the light source. In either case, Polycontrast filters can be used when printing from film, paper negatives and plates.

[Bruce Barlow]

Kimberly,

Success. Drool all over the front of my shirt. Well done, you!

[Rick Olson]

Ok.

Beautiful!!