This is similar to an Ektacolour printing guide tool that I have from the mid 80's, and it is potentially very useful if you print RA-4.
I use my rig when old papers have drifted beyond the range of my anaylser to recommend the filtration solution.
You hold the diffuser under the lens as you make the exposure. It works on the theory that shots taken in nature (i.e. not a picture of an all red painted room) integrate to a neutral grey.
You put the transparency on the colour paper as you make the diffused enposure, and process. Once the test print is dry you use the hex tool of various grey denisties to pick out which part of the cube image is closet to neutral grey of varied density.
Then you compare the 'right' density to the series of dots along the bottom of the transparency. The dot text tells you the corected exposure time/aperture adjustment, and the cube showing NG shows the corrected filter pack. Changing the filter pack may change the tiem/aperture as well. You have to do some calculations.
The second print should come out very close to the centre of the cube for nutral grey, and may need a 5 or 10cc correction, and a small aperture correction. After that, any picture taken on the same film, with the same lighting characteristics will use the test print determined filtration and aperture/time. You make aperture/time adjustments as you change the image size only, and these can be calcualted so as to do a blow up with no need to test print.
thanks! I just wish I could print color at home, but I have to do it at school. They have a colex processor, makes it much easier .
and with optical printing papers phasing out, I still have some in-date crystal archive and a few 12" rolls of Supra Endura, which should last me quite a while. I have them frozen .
I recently purchased the same unicolor duocube at a salvage yard, that came with everything but the instructions. I am just starting to acquire supplies to start color printing for the first time ( I have been printing black and white for a few years).
I was wondering if whoever currently owns the duocube wouldn't mind photocopying the instructions, and/or explaining how it works? I can compensate for copying and mailing if you don't have a scanner. I would appreciate it a ton, I can't find any information about them so far, besides what's in this thread.
I found wilde's descreption very informative, but still left me with some questions. I don't see any text along the bottom dots of the duocube, and so I don't understand how to find exposure times
Here are the instructions for color negatives and slides.
This came with a used Unidrum and Uniroller and I haven't used it (yet). I just developed my first color negative film and plan to do my first color prints in the next week or so.
Hi:
I used to have one of these "duo-cube", but lost it on one of overseas moves. It used to come with a gray chart, a color chart, the duo-cube itself, a "gray" diffuser filter and the instructions. Let me know if you have at least, the duo-cube, the diffuser and the instructions. If you do, I'am willing to buy it from you.
I have one, and used to use it when I printed color and will again.
It's handy. It's far from perfect and once you have a starting filter pack for "normal" exposures you won't need it, but it is very handy when you start with a brand new paper, or have shots taken under radically different light. It won't get you a perfect filter pack first time, but it will get you in the ballpark. I agree they're handy for color printers.
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