Which photographic paper has highest resolution, and what is it? I can not find information anywhere...
For technical reasons I need to do contact printing on paper while preserving as much as possible of the detail from the film. Considering both black and white and color. Currently using 8X10 color negative Portra 160VC on which I really have detail close to 100 double lines per mm resolution (more than what a normal lens would produce)...
Thanks!
Todor
Look up Photo Techniques magazine, vol. 23, no. 2, 2002, for an article by Ctein titled "Is Your Print Paper Sharp Enough?" If you don't have a library handy, this back issue is still available from Preston Publications.
The type of surface is what determines how sharp the image will be. Papers that have a mirror glass like finish such as polyester papers produce incredible sharp images. Papers with courser surfaces such as resin coated papers will produce less sharp images. The difference is very noticeable to the human eye. Unfortunately, polyester based papers are very expensive. For example, a roll of 40"x120' Fuji polyester paper is close to $900. A roll of 40"x100' Fuji resin coated paper is $175.00.
I used to use polyester base papers, but have switched to resin coated papers because Fuji no longer offers polyester papers in standard sizes. It is only available in rolls.
That was very helpful. However do you have more precise data?Originally Posted by Stephen Willard
In practical terms: What I'm looking for is detail that can only be seen with a good magnifying glass. To the naked eye both good and bad image might look very sharp. I am talking about sharpness similar to that of high quality negative. This may not be possible on paper, or there might be only few types of paper like that.
I have no ides. I've never seen no numerical data on paper resolution, but I need cloase to 50 line pairs per mm or more.
The other option I am considering is slide film, but how can I make it reflective?...
Todor
Ctein's article has numerical data on paper resolution.
You could do it with transparency films, or reversal processing of some B/W films. I would suggest Fuji Astia 100F, Kodak E100G, or Kodak TMX100 (B/W), all of which when used carefully with very good lenses should get you the results you want. Then you can backlight those to display/inspect them.
If you are considering things for surveillance usage, or larger film sizes than commercially available, contact Kodak directly to inquire about their aerial film stocks. They might be able to line you up with something better, though a dedicated camera system may be required to get the best out of those.
If you are looking into doing something similar to the GigaPXL Project, which used very large films and a custom made camera system, then copying what they did might get you into the realm you desire. Honestly, after seeing the ultra huge prints at MOPA, in which they had magnifying glasses available to any museum goers who wanted a closer look, I was completely unimpressed by the technology. There was detail beyond what the human eye could see unaided, though I found it quite boring either with or without a magnifying glass; apparently many other museum goers came to a similar conclusion.
Ciao!
Gordon Moat Photography
I've found data about paper resolution. Too high to believe:
http://www.jensen-optical.us/world_i..._troccolo2.htm
It's not specific about exact types of papers...
Probably that Ctein article is good, but I don't have it right now.
Todor
For about $200 +/- you can measure the actual resolution of any paper which is preferred to theoretical estimates. If you Google "1951 USAF resolution" you will find a number of places that sell these charts. They come with chrome on glass or on paper. They measure around 2"x2" and are not cheap. I have thought about buying a complete set. The ones on glass act like a negative. You can place them on any photographic paper and contact print them and then use a powerful magnifying glass to determine the resolution of the paper (or film). I suspect any paper that is polyester based will win hands down. Unfortunately, I know of no b&w papers that are polyester based.
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