Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2009/10/18
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Richard, Just a few thoughts. I have found RC papers of any type inferior. Though I would never use RC paper for anything "archival", they can be further compromised by fixing too long and washing too long. For fiber papers, I am a fan of the Ilford "60-second fix" instead of two fixing trays, although with the RC papers the wash time should be just about 10 minutes or so, compared to the time fiber paper is in the print washer (about an hour). One issue with inkjet I have noticed is that the inkjet has more resolving ability than traditional darkroom papers, so imperfections, grain etc. will be more obvious. Yes, a print behind regular picture glass will mask a lot of sins, good plexi less so. It is easy to see what is going on by laying the glass or plexi on one-half of the print. With the MG papers, I got the best results from split filtering - one exposure for the highlights, one for the darks. It is an easy technique once you get the drift of it. I always started with a full sheet test strip at grade 1, so you can see what the highlights are doing. I was never a fan of cutting paper into strips, a false economy imho. Regarding flattening the FB print, you can buy a weight made for that. I used a Seal 16x20 dry mount press, since I thought all the darkroom prints looked better dry mounted on museum board. I traded my Seal press to an artist for two of his platinum prints and for once came out on top of a trade. Lastly, any of the darkroom prints should be treated to a selenium solution and then washed again. I just sent two gallons of Kodak selenium toner to our hazmat site. You probably know all this, but I hope some helps. Good luck with your printing. Ken > -----Original Message----- > From: lug-bounces+kcarney1=cox.net at leica-users.org [mailto:lug- > bounces+kcarney1=cox.net at leica-users.org] On Behalf Of Richard Man > Sent: Sunday, October 18, 2009 6:02 PM > To: Leica Users Group > Subject: Re: [Leica] Success!! (partial anyway) > > OK, I made 3 prints: > > - One on a RC Ilford Multigrade > - One on a gloss Fiber Ilford Multigrade > > - One from a scanned image (LS-8000, glass carrier 4000 DPI) printed > on Baryta Gold Fiber > > 8x10 is only 3x+ or so enlargement (each dimension) from the 6x7 so > not a stretch at all. Anycase, observations: > > RC print is definitely the weakest. A good inkjet print trumps it > easily. It is the same grade paper and get the same amount of light as > the FB but it just lacks the punch and contrast. > > My wife thinks the traditional FB looks "cheap," mainly because of the > gloss. but I think it's because she's used to seeing them in a > gallery, behind glass. > > The subjective quality of the Baryta print and the FB are different. > The FB has much better shadow separation and purer highlight, but with > the inkjet, I am almost certain that it can be tweaked. The Baryta > print is very good. The grain is more apparent under a loupe and looks > like scanned and inkjet grain, whereas the grain on the FB is very > smooth. As it is, the FB looks better, but ultmiately inconclusive as > I have not try to coerce better tweaks on the Baryta print yet. > > While the computer file can be tweaked indefinitely, it's actually > easier and faster to tweak a wet darkroom exposure and see the result > in a few minutes rather than making another (costly) printout. > > The FB paper of course needs to be pressed straight somehow... > > > -- > // richard m: richard @imagecraft.com > // w: http://www.imagecraft.com/pub/Portfolio09/ blog: > http://rfman.wordpress.com > // book: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/745963 > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information