colour printing for dummies

[cs_foto]

Hi all, I'm learning to colour print and I have a question/issue:

I think I'm doing well with the colour balance but I'm finding I want to add more contrast to the print, the prints are coming out quite flat.

I'm doing 24"x20" on kodak supra endura out of a 35mm negative (fuji 400H)

It might be that the negs are a bit thin (underexposed) so any help or tips will be appreciated.

Im balancing the colour leaving the cyan channel on ZERO and adjusting Magenta and Yellow accordingly...

Cheers

[tiberiustibz]

If the negative's thin you're stuck. I believe you can add hydrogen peroxide to the developer to increase contrast, but the developer expires quickly.

[cs_foto]

Thanks,

now I read that the cyan channel adds neutral density to the print. I do understand that the light source gets dimmer, hence longer exposure times.

So what effect does that have on the contrast of the final print?

[Jedidiah Smith]

Hi CS foto,
I haven't done any color printing (just scanning) but a couple things I'm thinking right off - I don't think Fuji Pro 400H is really that contrasty of a neg to begin with, and also you are making a very large enlargement off of a 35mm neg. I believe the greater enlargement you go, the less contrast is in the print. I read something galen Rowell wrote about that once, and he was always making huge enlargements off his 35mm slides. That is apparently one of the reasons he switched over to drum scanning them and printing off digital RA4 process.
How is something like an 8x10 from that same negative? If there is better contrast there, then that makes sense.
Good luck, I hope someone can help!
Jed

[cs_foto]

Hi, thanks for the comment,

I am used to scan (imacon) and digitally print (C-type and Inkjet) my negs and slides and yes it is easier and the results are not bad, in fact they are good, easy to dodge and burn, easy to give contrast, etc. NOT so easy to colour balance thou!

Im experimenting with analog printing as I feel there is something to it that digital prints lack... extremely noticeable with inkjets and in a very discreet way in digital C-types.

Thanks again

[Sparky]

Well- actually one thing you CAN do to increase contrast - if you want to try - is to exploit reciprocity law failure in the endura you're using by stopping WAY down (f/32 or beyond) and once you get beyond a certain exposure time, you'll find that your shadows will fill up more efficiently than your highlights (hence increased contrast) - expect your color balance to shift though. Some layers will be more sensitive than others. You MAY have problems balancing the color of the print exactly - but you'll probably be okay. It'll probably take some time anyway to get your 'sea legs' and learn to recognize a really well-balanced color print - it took me a few years of constant printing to get the hang of really good color balance... just stick with it.

[Sparky]

The other thing you can do - if you're subject's amenable is the old dodge and burn selectively... but it takes a special kind of image to do that... you're the best judge of that though.

[Jedidiah Smith]

That's awesome, I think there is something special about optical color prints as well. Maybe they just aren't as technically perfect as the digital prints or something...unique, anyway. Some day I hope to do color prints as well. Hopefully there will still be materials left by the time I'm ready!
Jed

[hrst]

The problem with digital prints is that they are usually too far from technically perfect. That's why many people here choose optical workflow.

On the other hand, if you want some retrovintagelomographyshit, it's easier to do in Photoshop.

[tiberiustibz]

Nothing quite like getting out the dyes to do some spotting