Neg from digital for contact printing...best method???

[bobbysandstrom]

I have a neg that I scratched. Of course, it's one of my favorite from my last photo trip. I need to fix it in Photoshop and output it to a neg for contact printing. What's the best (highest quality) way to do this? I want to print on silver gelatin 11x14 or larger if possible. Keep in mind I don't like the PDN or Burkholder route as they are lacking sharpness to my eye. (at least with silver printing). Thanks for your help!

Bob

[jd callow]

Bob,
i have moved this thread to the grey area. You will get excellent information here.

[Jeremy]

Bobby,

I would look towards having the image output on traditional film using a laser. This would probably be the best way where sharpness is concerned. The other option would be printing it straight onto B&W fiber paper digitally with a laser.

[sanking]

I have a neg that I scratched. Of course, it's one of my favorite from my last photo trip. I need to fix it in Photoshop and output it to a neg for contact printing. What's the best (highest quality) way to do this? I want to print on silver gelatin 11x14 or larger if possible. Keep in mind I don't like the PDN or Burkholder route as they are lacking sharpness to my eye. (at least with silver printing). Thanks for your help!

Bob

What size negative are you starting with? If there will be any magnification involved to get to the final size desired you need to take this into consideration in scanning the negative. If you are going to do output of the negative with a laser printer for printing on silver gelatin paper bear in mind that for maximum sharpness you need to scan so as to have something on the order of 20 lpm on the negative at the size of the final output. This is something on the order of 500 lpi. A 2 1/4 X 2 1/4 negative that will be printed at 16X20" will require about a 9X magnification so your scan should be at about 4500 dpi if you want maximum quality. You could probably get away scanning at about 3000 dpi if you were making digital negatives on an inkjet.

I am talking about scanning with scanners that will deliver true 4500 dpi or 3000 dpi, such as drum scanners or dedicated film scanners. Flatbed scanners typically are capable of only 60-80% of stated dpi.

Sandy

[bobbysandstrom]

Sandy, It's a 4x5 neg. I am willing to get a drum scan made to whatever size necessary. I want to go to 11x14 and if possible 16x20. My main concern is quality. What's the best way to produce a neg that big for contact printing? I'm not happy with negs from a 7600 with calibrated PDN system using the Pictorico high gloss white film. Rather than compromising image quality with silver gelatin, I'd just as soon print the image with an inkjet on matte paper. I'd prefer the silver gelatin method if at all possible.

thanks
bob

[sanking]

Sandy, It's a 4x5 neg. I am willing to get a drum scan made to whatever size necessary. I want to go to 11x14 and if possible 16x20. My main concern is quality. What's the best way to produce a neg that big for contact printing? I'm not happy with negs from a 7600 with calibrated PDN system using the Pictorico high gloss white film. Rather than compromising image quality with silver gelatin, I'd just as soon print the image with an inkjet on matte paper. I'd prefer the silver gelatin method if at all possible.

thanks
bob

For a 4X magnification I am inclined to believe that you would be able to get enough quality from one of the prosumer flatbed scanners suchas the Epson 4990 or Microtek of similar quality. Some may disagree with me on this but personally I don't think you need a rotary scan if you won't be going any larger than 16X20.

The best way to print negative would be with a Laser or LED printer on continuous tone film. Second best would be to have it done on an Imagesetter. There is someone on this list who has a laser printer who can print up to 11X14" on continuous tone film (FP4+ as I recall) and he might be interested in doing this for you, though I don't know for sure and have no idea as to what he might charge. I won't mention his name but he posts here from time to time and may join the discusson. For output on an Imagesetter Peter in Santa Fe (mentioned in Burkholder's book) would be a good contact.

Sandy

[bobbysandstrom]

Sandy, would it be possible for you to forward him the message? (the laser guy that is) I'd love to try it.

Thanks
Bob

[sanking]

Sandy, would it be possible for you to forward him the message? (the laser guy that is) I'd love to try it.

Thanks
Bob

Bob,

OK, if he does not pop in here in a day or so, which I expect, I will alert him of your interest in a personal message.

Sandy

[philsweeney]

Bob,

I can give you a curve for grade 3 AZO, for an imagesetter negative. If you would calibrate your exposure time for the highlights I think the curve should work right out of the box. I use copygraphics. The curve is tailored for using rastus (vs icefields or diffusion dither). I found rastus to make the sharpest negative. Email if you need info.

[jd callow]

L Gebhardt is the man with a light jet 2080. I can vouch for the fact that this is one of the finest film burners ever made -- at least it is better than a Rhino LVT or solitaire 16 which I have also used.

Larry also has a drum scanner and may be able to do the whole thing for you.