Yup.
Not really possible from an inkjet printer. Wrong tool for the job. The problem is, it's not really possible to print inkjet dots small enough to print at photographic negative resolutions. Say, in the neighborhood of 4000 ppi. When you print at 360 dpi, there's nothing there to enlarge. Said another way, when you enlarge the 360 ppi negative, you just make the inkjet dots bigger, big enough to see with the naked eye if you enlarge very much.
And if you could inkjet print at 4000 dpi, it would take hours of printing to make your new negative.
OTOH, there's always an imagesettter, like an Agfa Avantra 44, or Accuset, or something. These things can give you film output (you'll have to send them a negative image file if you want an negative film output) at up to around 3600 ppi. It should be enough for mild enlargement. You'd have to try it and see if it will do what you want.
There are places online that do this kind of work. One I found is
FilmOutput.com. There are undoubtedly others. I've never used this kind of service so I have no idea what level of quality anyone provides. I'm just listing it here to give you a starting point if you choose to investigate. You could call them and pick their brains, see what they think, or where they might send you. What can it hurt?
Not going to happen with an inkjet printer. And you probably don't want to splash out for your very own image setter. Although really -- who doesn't need an imagesetter in the basement?
So, it comes down to a choice. You can inkjet print a contact printing negative the size of your final print. Or perhaps you'll use a service to print you a film negative you can enlarge, at least somewhat. I don't see any other viable options. If someone else does, hopefully they will append what they know to this thread and enlighten us all. I for one could certainly use some more enlightening. Just sayin'.
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