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> Toying With The Idea Of Colour Printing Again. |
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Toying With The Idea Of Colour Printing Again.
In the eighties I eventually got the hang of colour printing.
I managed to get good results with PhotocolourII chemicals and Ektacolor 78 paper. I even managed to twist my head around and conquered the reversed filtering and colour casts of Cibachrome. I had a few charts in books suggesting which direction to go and suggestions of filter values. The instruction leaflets with the chemistry kits were excellent. I wonder if they are so detailed today? Sadly I gave away virtually all of my photography books to friends and the local library. I have found a few references recommending a book called "Exploring Color Photography." by Robert J Hirsch. I believe the 5th edition has been revamped for digital photographers. "Digital" sorry, I shall wash my mouth out with soap and water. Can anyone recommend an edition that is purely for film users? And how about the chemistry kits, are they as well documented as they were in the eighties. Cheers all and A HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE. |
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Nat, I think the kits are all reasonably well documented in terms of how you make them up and use them but what's changed a lot is the paper in terms of what filtration is required.
It might help us if you were to say what equipment you possess for C41 film and RA4 paper processing and what you are prepared to spend on getting the right equipment if you haven't already got it all While C41 is relatively straightforward, the key to RA4 is getting the filtration correct where it is largely a matter of "cut and try " until you get it correct There are a number of aides you can use such as ringarounds and analysers etc but I am getting ahead of myself and it might be better if you were to say what you have first. As far as books are concerned Michael Freeman's The Complete Guide to Photography Techniques and Materials has sections on C41 and RA4 as does Jack Schofield's The Darkroom Book Mike |
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Hello Mike, Thanks for answering.
I have a Durst M605 enlarger. Colour Head. Paterson Thermo-drum. It takes 2 8x10 inch or 1 12x16 inch print. The bottles and measures sit in a water bath, print goes in a light tight tube sitting on the water surface, and you wind the handle like a barrel organ until all printing processes are complete. This sits on top of an electric dish heater. Thermostatically controlled. I also bought a Paterson PCA 2060 Colour Analyser, System 2000. I never really got to grips with it and preferred to use my own experimental notes and test prints to give me an idea of filtration and time. I doubt that after all these years the sensors in it would be much use. I could always put it to the test once I am back into printing colour. At the moment I am only musing about getting colour going again. Black and white is enough at the moment, but one thing leads to another. You have probably been there yourself Mike. Before you know it you have bought most of the shop. Cheers to you Mike. |
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Nat you seem to have most of the equipment needed. I got on quite well with my PCA 2060. The key to that analyser is to make the perfect print as it is called from a negative that has a good range of colours including a neutral grey and flesh tones. Then calibrate the Y and M dials on the PCA from that. Like most analysers with the exception of the very expensive Lici Colourstar is that it is fooled by any neg with a predominance of one colour such as a waist up portrait of a person in a red jumper but surprisingly most negatives of most things have a big enough range of colours for the diffusion to grey filter under the lens to get you very close to the right filtration first time once the PCA is calibrated
Mike |
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Colour Printing
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I started colour printing around 1991 and started using Kodak Ektacolour developer which is still available, but is now quite expensive. Mind you the quantities are sold I think are designed for small mini-labs at quantities for 20 litres. The cheapest 20 litre amount is around £130 for the developer, bleach/fix and developer starter. There is a cheaper kit made by Tetenal around £75 for enough Developer and Bleach/fix for 5 litres. Dish processing is possible but not practical having to keep the temperatures stable at 38c. Some use a JOBO processor and a plastic drum. These apparently are good, but will have to be rinsed and dried out after each print or you may get cross contamination. For a little more money and a greater chance of success is to use a NOVA deep tank. These are EXPENSIVE new but they do crop up 2nd hand from time to time. They are usually 10x8 or 12x16 and only occasionally 20x16. The latter cost the same as the GNP as a small 3rd world country. The tank water jacket is filled with water and heated with an electrical element the developer, stop bath and bleach fix are in separate slots an are warmed up by the water jacket. Temperature accuracy is very good. Mine sits at 38c +/-.5 of a degree. The only cleaning between prints are clips that suspend the print in the chemicals. All developing and paper handling as you will know has to be done in complete darkness - but there is a safelight, sadly now only available (although quite common) 2nd hand, called a DUKA. Made by Kaiser they are very good and even by the dim light given out, after a couple of minutes even my cranky eyes can see enough to work comfortably. The light comes from a special sodium vapour bulb, which like the light are not available new. Colour paper is almost blind to low intensity sodium vapour light. To judge the filtration needed to alter the colour of prints, Kodak produced a wallet with colour filters in red, yellow, blue, green, cyan and magenta. No longer made but are once again readily available 2nd hand for around £10. They are a good guide and also show combinations of filtration needed to adjust to get the right tone. There is also a quite accurate scale of exposure compensation factors when increasing or decreasing exposure when you change the filtration. The more people who use colour means more reason for the likes of Kodak, Tetenal and Fuji to keep producing the goods. Have a go. Last edited by John King; 1st January 2020 at 10:52 PM. |
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