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#1
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Color printing paper
I'm very much interested in color printing with enlarger and I would
like to ask some questions to experts of this group 1- Which 4x5" films are actually available for color printing? 2- Which color paper is available for color printing using conventional darkroom enlargers? According my search through US distributors I only find Fujicolor Cristal and Kodak Supra Endura and I understand kodak will finish production of it very soon. Is there any other option? 3- I pretend to buy a reasonable quantity of color paper boxes and stock it into my fridge but how much time can survive color paper without degradation into a fridge? What temperature should be the most adequate? 4- Is there any real risk during air transport to my country due to possible x-ray inspection? Greetings -Francesc |
#3
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Color printing paper
" wrote:
4- Is there any real risk during air transport to my country due to possible x-ray inspection? Since you did not say from where you are buying the paper and where it is going, it is not possible to say. However, if you are ordering from the U.S., then it is likely that the U.S.P.S. will do some sort of inspection, such as X-Ray's or the new gamma ray scanners which let them look at an entire cargo container at once. Obviously, I can't even guess what will happen while it is traveling, or when it arrives. FedEx, UPS, and DHL claim they never X-Ray packages, but to be honest, I would not trust them 100%. It's always better to ask them about shipments from a particular place to you to make sure and buy the extra insurance, if it is offered. Here packages sent via the postal system arrive without import duty if they are relatively cheap. Anything sent by courier (such as FedEx, etc) is taxed at the highest rate they can get away with, which includes the cost of the item, shipping, clearing fees, etc. YMMV. Geoff. -- Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM IL Voice: (07)-7424-1667 U.S. Voice: 1-215-821-1838 Visit my 'blog at http://geoffstechno.livejournal.com/ |
#4
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Color printing paper
In article . com,
says... I'm very much interested in color printing with enlarger and I would like to ask some questions to experts of this group 1- Which 4x5" films are actually available for color printing? 2- Which color paper is available for color printing using conventional darkroom enlargers? According my search through US distributors I only find Fujicolor Cristal and Kodak Supra Endura and I understand kodak will finish production of it very soon. Is there any other option? 3- I pretend to buy a reasonable quantity of color paper boxes and stock it into my fridge but how much time can survive color paper without degradation into a fridge? What temperature should be the most adequate? 4- Is there any real risk during air transport to my country due to possible x-ray inspection? Why order from the US when you will have to pay duty and shipments are more likely to be scanned? There can't be many suppplies you can get from the US that aren't available in the EU. |
#5
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Color printing paper
On Oct 26, 5:35 am, (Thor Lancelot Simon) wrote: In article . com, wrote: I'm very much interested in color printing with enlarger and I would like to ask some questions to experts of this group Good god, why? I still do wet darkroom work in black and white, but color printing with an enlarger offers basically no advantages over digital printing, requires annoying work with smelly chemicals at high temperatures, gives inferior sharpness and image permanence, and has a host of other drawbacks. I would certainly not start doing it now. Thank you very much for your advice. After thinking about it I realize you are right and i will go to digital. I repeat many thanks¡¡ -Francesc |
#6
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Color printing paper
" wrote in message oups.com... On Oct 26, 5:35 am, (Thor Lancelot Simon) wrote: In article . com, wrote: I'm very much interested in color printing with enlarger and I would like to ask some questions to experts of this group Good god, why? I still do wet darkroom work in black and white, but color printing with an enlarger offers basically no advantages over digital printing, requires annoying work with smelly chemicals at high temperatures, gives inferior sharpness and image permanence, and has a host of other drawbacks. I would certainly not start doing it now. Thank you very much for your advice. After thinking about it I realize you are right and i will go to digital. I repeat many thanks¡¡ -Francesc Sorry, but I respectfully disagree. I enjoy 'wet' darkroom work in color. But then I have a roller transport processing system that maintains chemical temperature and replenishment. Such machines are available in all sizes and configurations, from tabletop to full-fledged minilabs (mine is an old Hope built in 1984). As for sharpness, that's a function of the lenses used (camera and enlarger); and for image permanence, Kodak rate their Endura line of papers at 200 years in the dark or 100 years in the light. The first thing to remember in color printing is get the density (light/dark) right, then adjust the color. Never try to make a color judgement on a priont that is too light or too dark. The second thing to remember is to write stuff down. Use a "sharpie" brand marker (or similar waterproof/permanent marker) to write your color filter settings on the test print. If the second test print looks worse, then you can easily go back to the earlier settings. For me, the cost of making one 16"x20" print is about $2.00 (2- 1/4 sheet test prints and 1 full sheet, plus chems) and the time is about a half hour (dry-to-dry time is ten minutes, times three prints). |
#7
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Color printing paper
Ken,
I can tell you I also enjoyed in the past darkroom color printing but today its like trying to swim in a river against the main stream¡¡ I can tell you some of inmediate problems I would have. -My enlarger is a 6x6 cm but now I want to use 4x5" film This means I have to buy a second hand enlarger Although I can find very cheap ones in USA I have to pay more than $350 for transport to my country Spain + $500 for enlarger -In my country it is only available Endura color paper with 85m rolls. No boxes of Kodak cut papers available nor Fuji. I talked with Kodak branch in my country and they suggested their color paper will not be available very soon¡¡ In front of these difficulties comon sense tells me I must go to digital in spite of my natural tendency¡¡¡ Greetings -Francesc Sorry, but I respectfully disagree. I enjoy 'wet' darkroom work in color. But then I have a roller transport processing system that maintains chemical temperature and replenishment. Such machines are available in all sizes and configurations, from tabletop to full-fledged minilabs (mine is an old Hope built in 1984). As for sharpness, that's a function of the lenses used (camera and enlarger); and for image permanence, Kodak rate their Endura line of papers at 200 years in the dark or 100 years in the light. The first thing to remember in color printing is get the density (light/dark) right, then adjust the color. Never try to make a color judgement on a priont that is too light or too dark. The second thing to remember is to write stuff down. Use a "sharpie" brand marker (or similar waterproof/permanent marker) to write your color filter settings on the test print. If the second test print looks worse, then you can easily go back to the earlier settings. For me, the cost of making one 16"x20" print is about $2.00 (2- 1/4 sheet test prints and 1 full sheet, plus chems) and the time is about a half hour (dry-to-dry time is ten minutes, times three prints). |
#8
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Color printing paper
In article .com,
wrote: In my country it is only available Endura color paper with 85m rolls. No boxes of Kodak cut papers available nor Fuji. I talked with Kodak branch in my country and they suggested their color paper will not be available very soon I find this very hard to believe. Many digital printing machines including those used for high-volume prints from digital originals by large photofinishers use RA4 color paper as their output medium. I disagree with Ken about the relative permanence of RA4 versus inkjet prints (I think I'm hardly the only one skeptical of Kodak's permanence claims for color materials; Wilhelm became famous for his 1,000 page book on the subject) but these machines make beautiful prints from both analog and digital originals, much sharper than can be made by optical enlargement. I think RA4 paper will be one of the very last silver process photographic products to disappear. Single sheets of color paper in boxes, sure. I'm somewhat surprised it's possible to buy those even now. But you may have been misinformed by whomever at Kodak you spoke with. -- Thor Lancelot Simon "The inconsistency is startling, though admittedly, if consistency is to be abandoned or transcended, there is no problem." - Noam Chomsky |
#9
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Color printing paper
Thor Lancelot Simon wrote:
Single sheets of color paper in boxes, sure. I'm somewhat surprised it's possible to buy those even now. But you may have been misinformed by whomever at Kodak you spoke with. I doubt it. Kodak is not big outside of the U.S. and in Spain their sales may be low enough not to bother. Almost all of the photofinishers here used Agfa paper, and I'm sure they have not switched to Kodak. Geoff. -- Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM IL Voice: (07)-7424-1667 U.S. Voice: 1-215-821-1838 Visit my 'blog at http://geoffstechno.livejournal.com/ |
#10
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Color printing paper
use a heat seal bag if heat, use a cold seal bag if cold, etc.
" wrote in message ups.com... I'm very much interested in color printing with enlarger and I would like to ask some questions to experts of this group 1- Which 4x5" films are actually available for color printing? 2- Which color paper is available for color printing using conventional darkroom enlargers? According my search through US distributors I only find Fujicolor Cristal and Kodak Supra Endura and I understand kodak will finish production of it very soon. Is there any other option? 3- I pretend to buy a reasonable quantity of color paper boxes and stock it into my fridge but how much time can survive color paper without degradation into a fridge? What temperature should be the most adequate? 4- Is there any real risk during air transport to my country due to possible x-ray inspection? Greetings -Francesc |
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