Optimum combination for scanning or hybrid operation

cmox · 2008-01-10T14:38:49+00:00

Ein Haus ohne Dunkelkammer ist bekanntlich ein Rohbau - leider habe ich nur ein Gästeklo zur Verfügung, das nur als Negativlabor geeignet ist, weil sehr, seh...

cmox

As we all know, a house without a darkroom is just a shell – unfortunately, I only have a guest toilet at my disposal, which is only suitable as a negative lab because it’s very, very small. After the film has dried, I work in a hybrid process: the films are scanned on a high-quality Imacon scanner, digitally edited and printed on an A2 Epson printer, predominantly large-format landscapes in the maximum size. I shoot in 35mm up to 6x7cm, 99% of the time in black and white At the moment I mainly use Tmax 100 and Tri-X, with XTol 1:1 as the developer – certainly not a bad combination, but perhaps not yet the be-all and end-all for hybrid processing. The slight problem: The Imacon scanner is well suited to traditional black-and-white films in itself, as it handles the high dynamic range better than any other scanner, has good sharpness right into the corners – and 6300 true DPI isn’t bad either. Unfortunately, however, it also acts like a condenser enlarger and emphasises the grain quite strongly. When I increase detail contrast and achieve proper sharpness in post-processing, it stands out a bit too strongly to me, certainly more so than with an analogue print from the same negative with identical contrast. So I end up being more cautious with sharpening than I’d like, but I do like images that look really sharp. Could this little problem be resolved with a different film developer combination? Could stain developers be the solution, as they deposit colorants and might therefore suppress the grain more effectively? I don’t really want to switch to C41 films, and documentary films aren’t really my thing either, as they’re hardly available as 120 roll films and 100 ASA is quite nice. Does anyone have any experience with this issue?

UlfSpuhl

Hello, As for your question about the developer, I can’t really say anything; unfortunately, I don’t have the slightest bit of experience with darkrooms, and I say ‘unfortunately’ because I really do miss it. I mainly focus on image composition, including in black-and-white medium format. But I find the hybrid technique you mentioned quite exciting – a very unusual way of producing large-format images. First taking analogue photos, developing them, digitising the negatives and then printing them with an ink jet printer. It’s certainly one way to produce images without using a lab service provider. Doing it all yourself using analogue and digital technology – hats off to you. What happens to the printed photos then? Regards, fluuu

cmox

It’s certainly one way of getting hold of images without using a lab service provider. You’ve done it all yourself using analogue and digital technology – hats off to you.

The lab service providers were the reason for taking this approach. For a single print – just that one – in A2 size, I pay 19 euros at a local service after some haggling; the results are passable, but not exactly brilliant. For my own print, I pay less than 3 euros for a print like that, using long-lasting Epson ink on good-quality Tecco paper.

So what happens to the printed photos?

Last year they were displayed in nine exhibitions; this year, two dates have already been confirmed.