Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/10/16
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]The disparity between negative formats and paper sizes has been a strangely held relationship. The original papers were made the sizes of the films that were contemporaneously manufactured for their contact printing, so 12x15, 10x12, 10x8, whole plate (8 1/2 x 6 1/2), half and quarter plate etc., all came to be standardised sizes and have remained so with the exception of 12x15 which has turned to 12x16 in England (and something else in the USA?). There were no square papers introduced (to the best of my knowledge) when 120 film's 6x6 format came along. Presumably most then current thinking was that people would still enlarge a picture to a more aesthetically pleasing rectangle. But 35mm has to have been the most strangely ignored format ever! Since 1926 the 2:3 format has had only one real paper size introduced to very little commercial success, that of A4. Perhaps now, with computer printing geared up to A sizes (at least in Europe) there will exist a better compatibility between formats of negative and positive. Jem P.S. Where does the 'legal' come from in the US 'legal' paper size? Marc? - -----Original Message----- From: Kotsinadelis, Peter (Peter) [SMTP:peterk@lucent.com] They could fit 40 exposures on a roll and have nearly no cropping for an 8x10. > ----------