Support our Sponsors, they keep FADU free:   AG Photographic   The Imaging Warehouse   Process Supplies   RH Designs   Second-hand Darkroom Supplies  

Notices

Go Back   Film and Darkroom User > Colour Work > Colour printing techniques

  ***   Click here for the FADU 2015/2014 Yearbooks   ***

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1  
Old 21st May 2017, 10:14 PM
EdmundH EdmundH is offline
Friend
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: North Norfolk
Posts: 394
Default First colour prints!

For some time I've been gathering equipment together for colour printing. I certainly shan't be giving up monochrome, but to my mind there are times where colour is called for.

It's quite a squeeze to house both colour and B&W equipment in my tiny darkroom, but it does just about work out!. I swapped the Durst enlarger for an LPL7700, and refurbished a Nova vertical print processor which now sits alongside the enlarger.

So finally this weekend I filled the Nova tank with Tetenal RA-4 chemicals, and set to with a box of Fuji Crystal archive paper and a set of Kodak viewing filters. To my surprise it all went well, the first test print had a visible but deep blue image, and three prints later I had a fairly good result. Today I was able to use almost the same filtration with other negatives, and with the benefit of daylight, could more easily refine the colour - see below printed from Fuji Pro400h film.

There are a few practical details to sort out; too much light from the enlarger dials, plus some very bright luminous markers stuck to the nova tank. I don't have a safelight yet, but I think a small LED unit would be more than adequate, and a great help in finding the processing slots!
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	img020.jpg
Views:	558
Size:	194.1 KB
ID:	2746  
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 21st May 2017, 10:35 PM
alexmuir alexmuir is offline
Friend
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Glasgow, Scotland.
Posts: 2,668
Default

Your print looks great!
Alex


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 21st May 2017, 11:06 PM
big paul big paul is offline
Friend
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: benfleet essex
Posts: 2,284
Default

nice one that's a great print ,and you will have to post some more
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 21st May 2017, 11:28 PM
Mike O'Pray Mike O'Pray is offline
Friend
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Daventry, Northants
Posts: 8,968
Default

The print looks very good. If you think you may do a lot of RA4 stuff I'd consider a DUKA lamp. This will give an amazing amount of safelight which should light the Nova sufficiently and allow you to remove the luminous markers. These may be OK if the exposed print simply passes over them quickly but I had one near my easel in the early days of RA4 and got a small magenta square where the paper had been.

Mike
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 22nd May 2017, 06:54 AM
John King John King is offline
Friend
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: County Durham
Posts: 3,318
Default

That is very good. Better than my 1st attempts some 27 years ago. no sign of colour imbalance and just the right depth of tons as well (The composition ain't bad either)

I have mentioned a DUKA to you as well - they are for me absolutely essential. If you do go down that route be aware they are quite powerful and in a small darkroom like yours they need to be turned down on the scale to around 10. The scale is a sliding adjuster on the upper edge close to the filter cover. If too much light gets out you will get an impossible to remove cyan cast.,

Last edited by John King; 22nd May 2017 at 06:59 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 22nd May 2017, 08:14 AM
GoodOldNorm's Avatar
GoodOldNorm GoodOldNorm is offline
Friend
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Lincolnshire UK
Posts: 1,227
Default

Well done, I had a dabble with colour printing a couple of years ago, I enjoyed it and I will do it again. I marked my slot processor with dots of glow in the dark nail varnish that I purchased when it was halloween. I also clipped two square plastic clothes pegs on to the outside of the first slot so I could find it easily.
__________________
"Tea is surely the king of all drinks. It helps against the cold, it helps against the heat,against discomfort and sickness, against weariness and weakness". Heinrich Harrer.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 22nd May 2017, 09:48 AM
photomi7ch's Avatar
photomi7ch photomi7ch is offline
Friend
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: East Midlands
Posts: 2,516
Default

That is a wonderful looking print. Good for you
__________________
Mitch

http://photomi7ch.blogspot.com/

If you eliminate the impossible whatever remains no matter how improbable must be the truth.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 22nd May 2017, 03:46 PM
MartyNL's Avatar
MartyNL MartyNL is offline
Friend
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: based in The Netherlands
Posts: 3,341
Default

Nice one, Edmund!
__________________
MartyNL

“Reaching a creative state of mind thru positive action
is considered preferable to waiting for inspiration.”
- Minor White, 1950
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 22nd May 2017, 06:29 PM
JimW JimW is offline
Friend
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Worcestershire
Posts: 844
Default

Impressive. Nice shot, well worked.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 22nd May 2017, 11:16 PM
EdmundH EdmundH is offline
Friend
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: North Norfolk
Posts: 394
Default

Thanks for all your encouraging replies, I'll post more scans when I get a moment. It was all a lot more straightforward than I expected, I was mystified by written descriptions about colour correction until I actually tried it. One point I am not clear about though, is how to determine the likely change in exposure time due to changes in filtration.

How large are the DUKA lamps? - I don't have much space left!
Reply With Quote
Reply
Support our Sponsors, they keep FADU free:   AG Photographic   The Imaging Warehouse   Process Supplies   RH Designs   Second-hand Darkroom Supplies  

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
First Prints done Eriktheviking Members Announcements 11 27th September 2014 09:16 AM
Do digital, colour or black and white, prints sell better than darkroom prints. Mark Burley Business Matters 51 20th September 2013 02:47 PM
Viewing colour prints John King Darkroom 4 19th March 2013 10:43 PM
What do you do with your prints? Ian Marsh Photography in general 13 16th January 2011 08:55 PM
So, what do you do with your prints? wiesmier Photography in general 26 20th September 2009 06:55 AM


All times are GMT. The time now is 11:16 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.