Digital BW, The Print

Tony,
I haven't followed this thread so you may already have learned what I 
am about to offer but here is my 2 cents worth.

I do traditional silver prints up to 28x40 on a regular basis. I have 
a large sink, but I process anything larger than 20x24 in a tube. 
Actually it is a piece of 10" plastic sewer pipe. The tube needs to 
be at least 2" longer than the longest print size because fiber paper 
expands that much when it gets wet. The sink needs to be about 2 1/2 
times the length of the print. Mine is 10' long. I use 4x5 & 5x7 negs.

L.A. has to have a shop that can make a 4x5 or 8x10 neg. from your 
digital file. I have tried this and the main problem is that the neg. 
is on color film and the grain structure is not the same as silver 
neg. grain. My Zone VI enlarger takes up to 5x7. I have a neg. made 
on 8x10 film with a 5x7 image area that I have printed up to 24x30. 
To my eye it falls apart around 20x24. The original is 4x5 Tri-x and 
I can go up to 28x40 with no problem from the original but the 
color "grain" structure of the digital neg. is too pronounced beyond 
20x24.

If you would like to know more about any of this you may contact me 
off list at jerome@... 
Jerome

http://www.jeromehawkins.com/


--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Tony 
Caltabiano" <calpen1@d...> wrote:
> To Ken and everyone else who responded on and offlist - thank you 
for the input, the 
> leads and the links.  I still have found nobody who can print 30x40 
silver or platinum, 
> for hire, and after many talks with my client, using his resources, 
I am sort of excited 
> to try this myself.  It does seem like an opportunity of a lifetime 
to be funded to try to 
> do this.  I may succeed, or I may fail, but I am given the chance 
to give it a shot.  I will 
> keep the group posted on how it goes, for those who are interested.
> 
> Tony
> 
> Tony Caltabiano
> Higher Place Studio
> www.higherplacestudio.com
> 
> 
> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Ken Carney" 
> <kcarney1@c...> wrote:
> > Tony, presumably your client is getting the digital file for 
inkjet printing
> > by scanning the plate.  You may be able to have a scan output to 
a film neg
> > suitable for enlarging (not imagesetter) - say an 8x10" neg that 
could be
> > enlarged using conventional darkroom gear.  Writing to 4x5" negs 
is fairly
> > common, but don't know about larger.  Of course, you'll probably 
shoot
> > yourself after trying to handle heavy fiber paper that large in
> > chemistry...but it can be done.  However, turning to pt/pd you 
may have a
> > real challenge.  I personally have never seen a pt/pd print 
larger than
> > 20x24 image size, but they're probably out there.  If anyone 
would know how,
> > these are the people who would:
> > 
> > Dick Sullivan http://www.bostick-sullivan.com/
> > 
> > David Kennedy http://www.davidmichaelkennedy.com/
> > 
> > Tom Millea http://www.tommillea.com/
> > 
> > Sounds interesting.  Maybe you could let the group know where the 
prints
> > could be seen.
> > 
> > Regards,
> > 
> >   --Ken Carney
> >     www.kencarney.com
> > 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Tony Caltabiano [mailto:calpen1@d...]
> > Sent: Saturday, November 08, 2003 10:24 PM
> > To: DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com
> > Subject: [Digital BW] one of my customers wants silver and 
platinum -
> > big
> > 
> > 
> > Hello group,
> > I hope the collective wisdom here can help me out.  I have been 
doing
> > giclees for a
> > client for quite awhile now who does fine art wet plate collodion.
> > His smallest prints
> > are 16x20 - and are up to 30x40.  He has decided that although 
giclee
> > is his main
> > medium, he would also like to have the same images printed the 
same
> > sizes in silver
> > and platinum/paladium for the customers/galleries that would 
prefer
> > not to have
> > giclees.
> > On the digital end I know this would pretty much involve getting
> > imagesetter negs
> > made really big for contact printing/make negs myself on the Epson
> > 9600.  I have
> > Burkholder's book, and I am confident that I could get that whole
> > process nailed
> > down.  But I am seriously at a loss on how to handle this on the
> > darkroom side of
> > things.
> > He has already arranged to BUILD me a darkroom nearby.  While I 
am a
> > fine art
> > photog myself, I send everything through the epson 9600, not the
> > darkroom.  I am
> > not very skilled at printing the traditional way, and have never 
even
> > touched platinum.
> > 
> > I live just outside of Los Angeles, and I can't find a BW lab who 
can
> > do anything bigger
> > than 20x24.  Platinum printers are hard to find, period.  So I am
> > having trouble being
> > able to outsource it, and I am feeling like I am in way over my 
head
> > doing it myself.
> > 
> > Can anyone with experience with the larger side of printing offer 
me
> > any ideas of
> > where to turn, or what books to look at?  I would assume that
> > printing 24x30's and
> > larger to hang on gallery walls is not an easy undertaking?
> > 
> > Thanks in advance for guidance.
> > 
> > Tony
> > 
> > Tony Caltabiano
> > Higher Place Studio
> > www.higherplacestudio.com
> > 
> > 
> > 
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