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Thread: 80" Durst Lambda printing

  1. #21
    bob carnie's Avatar
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    Re: 80" Durst Lambda printing

    Quote Originally Posted by Drew Wiley View Post
    Lightjet does not use LED's. Think more of an inverted RGB laser scanner, projecting the laser beam outwards - a crude analogy, but the best I can think of. The Durst Lambda is similar. Contact printing with a giant RGB platen is the ZBE Chromira method - some of these are still in use, but I think 60" is their widest capacity. All of these devices can be used for chromogenic RA4 papers. There are undoubtedly some 72" printers here on the West Coast too, where
    most of the technology was invented to begin with.
    Yes you right it is a laser device, the company is no longer. the lasers travel along the paper vs the Lambda where the paper moves down from a turret above. Both machines provide excellent quality. Chromira is LED device and is much smaller in size than the other two.
    Any thing that is light sensitive can be used in these devices, the Chromira cannot expose fibre base paper but the Lightjet and Lambda can I suspect due to the higher laser output.
    I am looking for contone BW film from the printing industry to put in my machine, once I have some various rolls of product I will have Durst come up to my shop and help balance out the laser powers to match the sensitivity of the films. It is a bit of a dance and I am very hopeful as even though I can use Ortho 25 in my machine to make negs , the film is $1500 for a 20inch x 50ft roll - as a comparison a 20 inch x 100 ft roll of Inkpress for my epson is $220... so $3000 vs $220 to make the same type of neg, it is crazy..
    The printing industry contone film is more towards the inkpress price , but I am not personally experienced with it so its a bit of a trial and error, I am hoping I meet someone here or online with pre press negative making experience to pick their brain.

  2. #22
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: 80" Durst Lambda printing

    Chromiras were strong enough to expose Ciba. I could have had one in excellent working condition at about 5% its original price, including the scanner, paper roll cutter, and big RA4 developer; but as you already know, I prefer optical enlargement. Visually, Chromira gave slightly sharper results than the competing options, but also a grittiness or salt n' pepper effect I found visually distracting, but less obnoxious than the streaking so common to other devices in the hands of undertrained operators. What you are planning with film is being successfully done elsewhere, including with a Chromira system. Too bad the old Agfa line of big commercial film is gone, and that the handful of equivalents that remain are so expensive. But you'll land on your feet!

  3. #23
    bob carnie's Avatar
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    Re: 80" Durst Lambda printing

    Quote Originally Posted by Drew Wiley View Post
    Chromiras were strong enough to expose Ciba. I could have had one in excellent working condition at about 5% its original price, including the scanner, paper roll cutter, and big RA4 developer; but as you already know, I prefer optical enlargement. Visually, Chromira gave slightly sharper results than the competing options, but also a grittiness or salt n' pepper effect I found visually distracting, but less obnoxious than the streaking so common to other devices in the hands of undertrained operators. What you are planning with film is being successfully done elsewhere, including with a Chromira system. Too bad the old Agfa line of big commercial film is gone, and that the handful of equivalents that remain are so expensive. But you'll land on your feet!
    If you could lead me to others doing contone via my typical devices I would appreciate it.

  4. #24

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    Re: 80" Durst Lambda printing

    Has anyone used Metro UK to make fiber BW prints from either digitized negatives or converted BW digital files? What's the quality like? I'm more and more disliking inkjet for BW, even using the new Epson SC P-10000 and high-end papers like Canson Platine. I'm considering sending off a test print to see what they look like, but even for that with shipping to New Zealand I'd want to be sure it's a method I'd want to push forward with for a select lot of work that I can't print optically, or to get digital images to better match the look of my optical fiber prints.

  5. #25

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    Re: 80" Durst Lambda printing

    Quote Originally Posted by Tim V View Post
    Has anyone used Metro UK to make fiber BW prints from either digitized negatives or converted BW digital files? What's the quality like? I'm more and more disliking inkjet for BW, even using the new Epson SC P-10000 and high-end papers like Canson Platine. I'm considering sending off a test print to see what they look like, but even for that with shipping to New Zealand I'd want to be sure it's a method I'd want to push forward with for a select lot of work that I can't print optically, or to get digital images to better match the look of my optical fiber prints.
    It is very good (especially if extensive retouching is necessary on a negative & a silver gelatin print is desired as the output) - and unless you can make giant optical enlargements with the right sort of kit, you'll struggle to better it.

    Also, whatever you do, don't send a cheap flatbed scan - it needs the best possible input you can afford.

    Possibly also worth contacting Bob Carnie too - he runs the same paper on a 30" Lambda - what sort of size are you aiming at ending up with?

  6. #26
    bob carnie's Avatar
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    Re: 80" Durst Lambda printing

    We did extensive tests to evaluate bayrta ink print, silver enlarged MG4 and Lambda Galerie G 4 prints. We made 30 x 40 murals from the same negative, we made the silver print enlarged print and then matched the inkjet and digital silver to the enlarger print.

    I showed these prints to over 300 photographers, over a period of 6 months and the question who could tell the inkjet print, or who could tell which print was which.. To my amazement the majority of photographers could not precisely tell which print was which. Four different cities and events where I was doing lectures.


    It was an eyeopening experiment for me.

  7. #27

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    Re: 80" Durst Lambda printing

    That's an interesting conclusion, Bob, especially considering you were showing the results to photographers who are interested in such things, not just anyone who wants to offer an opinion.

    Do you mind if I PM you and ask about your digital printing onto silver fibre paper? I wouldn't mind running a few tests.

    Quote Originally Posted by bob carnie View Post
    To my amazement the majority of photographers could not precisely tell which print was which. Four different cities and events where I was doing lectures.


    It was an eyeopening experiment for me.

  8. #28

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    Re: 80" Durst Lambda printing

    Quote Originally Posted by bob carnie View Post
    We did extensive tests to evaluate bayrta ink print, silver enlarged MG4 and Lambda Galerie G 4 prints. We made 30 x 40 murals from the same negative, we made the silver print enlarged print and then matched the inkjet and digital silver to the enlarger print.

    I showed these prints to over 300 photographers, over a period of 6 months and the question who could tell the inkjet print, or who could tell which print was which.. To my amazement the majority of photographers could not precisely tell which print was which. Four different cities and events where I was doing lectures.


    It was an eyeopening experiment for me.
    Interesting - earlier this year I printed a show from 35mm negs where the digital fibre was hung between two optical prints, all at the same size, (42" across) all from the same film & all tonally matched - I took the opportunity to do some blind tests too & bizarrely the responses I got were to the effect that the digital fibre had to be the optical print & the optical prints were the digital! At 2m you'd have a hard time telling them apart, at 1.2-1.5m you can tell that there are differences, & at 15cm you can tell which one is definitely the digital print & which were enlarger prints. It certainly made me a believer in the Rodagon-G! I think the continuity in the sharp resolution of grain that an optimised lens offers does have benefits especially when even the best scanners are starting to run out of resolution. That being said, digital fibre has huge benefits in terms of speed & efficiency of throughput compared to traditional mural printing.

    The biggest thing I took away from it is that a lot more people view prints quite a bit closer than traditional opinions of viewing distances would suggest, but not extremely closely, thus what a big print looks like at even 1-1.2m does matter quite a lot. And that's where a lot of the current 40-50mp 24x36 sensors really start to come apart quite badly in big prints.

  9. #29
    bob carnie's Avatar
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    Re: 80" Durst Lambda printing

    Quote Originally Posted by Tim V View Post
    That's an interesting conclusion, Bob, especially considering you were showing the results to photographers who are interested in such things, not just anyone who wants to offer an opinion.

    Do you mind if I PM you and ask about your digital printing onto silver fibre paper? I wouldn't mind running a few tests.
    No by all means, I run in spurts so its not a day to day service. you can see my propaganda www.alternativephotoservices.com

  10. #30

    Re: 80" Durst Lambda printing

    OHHHH MY YEEEESSSSS This post has bloomed like nothing I've ever gotten to read!!!!!!! Alright!
    MY BRAINS GOT QUESTIONS NOW! OOO THESE MEN HAVE THE KNOWLEDGE! MASSIVE RESPECT TO BOB AND DREW!

    BOB YOUR PRINTING TO FILM!!!!!!! EEEEEEE!! THATS WHATS UP!


    So lemme get into a new question whats up with this Aztec 16 bit drum scanner anyone test with that? I want know what those scans can look like when you use one of these machines to print all of these 32,000 colors. I have some slides that have about every tone of color possible and want see the potential.

    How does Duratrans work? is that printed light sensitive? or is it like an inkjet on transparency?

    Whats going on with Duggal saying they are printing at 6100 PPI. - I know I could prob just call about the last one but since your teaching them lemme just talk with the #1 main mind

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