B&W Contrast Control

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T.Hanly
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B&W Contrast Control

Post by T.Hanly »

We are installing Color heads in our B&W Darkroom, has anyone come across good color pack to match Ilford Contrast filters?
Thanks,
Tom

Ornello
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Re: B&W Contrast Control

Post by Ornello »

T.Hanly wrote:We are installing Color heads in our B&W Darkroom, has anyone come across good color pack to match Ilford Contrast filters?
Thanks,
Tom
Why are you doing this?

T.Hanly
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Post by T.Hanly »

Teach students that there is more than one way to control contrast.
utalize color enlargers from a now closed color printing lab...
So did you have any information on color packs?

Ornello
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Post by Ornello »

T.Hanly wrote:Teach students that there is more than one way to control contrast.
utalize color enlargers from a now closed color printing lab...
So did you have any information on color packs?
Ilford publishes this information on their web site.

http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/200 ... 152306.pdf

B&W should be done on condenser enlargers, in case anybody cares....the quality is better. Because the condenser gives higher contrast, negatives can be developed less...which means less grain and better sharpness...

T.Hanly
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Post by T.Hanly »

And know our students will see the results for themselves.
Thanks for the direction to Ilford.
Tom

Ornello
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Post by Ornello »

T.Hanly wrote:And know our students will see the results for themselves.
Thanks for the direction to Ilford.
Tom
The difference between diffusion and condenser is roughly one grade of paper. The difference in development is roughly 20%. Give your negatives 20% less development, and I'm sure you'll see a difference. Also, 35mm film should be developed to print normally on grade 3, not grade 2. The reason is the same: less development gives finer grain, better sharpness.

Quote from Kodak:

“The graininess of both negatives and prints increases with increasing gradient of the material on which they are made. When the gradient of the negative material is low, prints are normally made on a paper which has a high gradient and vice versa, so what may be gained by holding one gradient down would be largely lost by the high gradient of the other. It is usually true, however, that a low gradient in the negative material and a correspondingly high gradient in the paper is more favorable than the alternative combination.”

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