Anginapectoris
Hello to all you photography pros,
I’d like to produce prints from digital images (photos) in my own home darkroom, for example from digitally edited images (colour separation). Are there any options for this? I find the standard method of colour separation using negatives very time-consuming and it requires a lot of experience.
Best regards to all,
Detlef
bernhardmangelsgmxde
Hi Detlef,
I don’t really see myself as a ‘pro photographer’… but I’ll have my say anyway:
To make a print in a home darkroom, you normally need a negative.
An alternative would be an enlarger that can project digital files (I think they exist… but they’re not really suitable for a home darkroom)
Or: (simple solution) use a screen as an enlarger. Take your laptop into the darkroom, display the image to be enlarged (mirrored) on the screen. Screen black, photo paper on top, screen on... (work out the time)... switch off again. Develop the photo as normal, done. I once read about someone who thought they’d achieved quite respectable results with this method. The maximum resolution is limited by the screen, so you end up with a 24x30 print with a quality of 1 MP... so not the ideal solution either. Let’s get back to the negative:
Either: make a negative in the format of the desired image (inkjet printer on film) or have one made, and then a contact print, or: invert the file, and have a slide made from it...
I don’t know what the results would look like in each case, nor how good slides from digital files are.
Or just have it done for you. Of course you want to be involved yourself, but once you’ve crossed that first threshold of convenience (“analogue colour separation is too much hassle for me”)... you might as well go one step further... if I remember correctly, there are providers who make genuine baryta prints from digital images.
And why not stay entirely digital and print on baryta paper with pigmented ink...
(Why does the final step have to be analogue when everything before that has already been digitised? It doesn’t make it truly analogue anymore...)
So: The technical possibility exists, but my first thought was: Do it analogue or just go digital straight away...
Regards
Bernhard
uworischki
Hi Detlef,
The cheapest and easiest way:
Have high-quality 24x30 cm prints made from your photos (or print them yourself) and then have them reproduced as analogue prints – if you can perform the processing in your darkroom, ideally in medium format.
If you have any further questions, feel free to ask.
Best regards, Uwe
