If you know me, you know I am a black & white photographer. I started with digital 4 years ago, but soon switched to film. Over the years, I've tried basically every type of camera - 35mm SLR/rangefinder, medium format SLR/rangefinder and large format. I also tried all the different types of medium - b&w negatives, color negatives and positives. Of course I tried all kinds of printing - b&w printing, ilfochrome, ra-4, digital scanning and printing.
Now, my favorite combination is medium format SLR/Large format View Camera + B&W film + Darkroom printing. However, last year, I sold some of my unused gears and bought a Canon EOS 5D, which is a 12.8 megapixel full-frame digital camera. I love the wide angle, high resolution images that it produces. I've been thinking how I can use this digital camera while printing with the analog method - the darkroom.
How can I print digital files in the darkroom?
One way to do this is to create a negative that you can enlarge in the darkroom. Unfortunately, the equipment for this is very expensive so you'll have to use a professional service. I am known to be impatient and I never tried this method.
Another way to do this is to use a digital enlarger. There are equipments that you can put in the negative carrier of the enlarger, but this is also a very expensive solution. Obviously, I never tried this method either.
Finally, there is a now widely used method, which is to create digital negatives for contact printing. The digital negatives can be created by service bureaus, but it can also be printed at home using an inkjet printer. The resulting negative can be printed in any darkroom and any alternative printing methods can be used as well.
Digital Negatives for Contact Printing - First attempt
I first tried this method about 2 years ago. Dan Burkholder is a pioneer in this field. I bought his book, "Making Digital Negatives for Contact Printing" and then also bought his "Inkject Negative Companion". After trying several ohp films, I finally bought Pictorico's OHP Transparency Film and PGHG White Film.
When I tried 2 years ago, the OHP Transparency Film produced decent results. Well, at least in terms of contrast and gradation. I tried Dan's curve for silver printing, and in fact, I got better results without it. The problem with the OHP film was that it got scratched easily, and sometimes I could see some nozzle patterns and they would show up in the print. The PGHG White Film didn't have much of those issues, but the base was so thick that it required long exposure and I couldn't get good contrast at all. What's strange is that Dan's curve actually reduces the contrast, so it only made matters worse.
The whole experiment was a big failure. The only positive outcome of it was that I found that the Pictorico's Film products are much better than any other regular OHP films for negative printing.
The Second Attempt - In progress
Last week or so, I ran across some forum postings talking about a new reference for creating digital negatives using an inkjet printer. The book (actually a CD-ROM) is called, "Precision Digital Negatives", and is written by Mark I. Nelson. This approach is different from Dan Burkholder's in that he doesn't believe in a universal curve for different processes. So, the book is about how to create the 'curve' with your own printing process.
I liked his theory and it sounded very logical. I ordered the CD-ROM and it finally arrived the day before yesterday. The process takes time, thus I don't have any results yet. I'm in the process of callibrating the standard printing time and I hope I'll be able to make my first print this weekend.
I am using my old Pictorico OHP Films that I bought two years ago, and it was only after I made several prints that I remembered the scratch issues. I'll probably try the PGHG White Film this weekend as well.
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