When printing up my negs, they often appear quite flat and do not have the 3 dimensional quality. My negs do appear to have a "wide range of tones" however. I have hidden this lack of 3D with diminishing perspective but that is obviously not ideal with all situations. Is it my printing skills, paper or some other problem ? I use Multigrade IV RC and normally Ilford HP5 or FP4. Any response would be most appreciated.

-- benjamin langley (benjaminlangley73@yahoo.com), August 22, 2000

Answers

Benjamin, are you using multigrade filters or a color head on your enlarger? I recently discovered that filters do fade - it was news to me - and struggled for quite a while with 'flat prints' before I realized what the problem was. So, if your filters are more than two or three years old, you might need a new set.

If your negatives are ok, you should be able to get great prints on Multigrade IV RC. I assume you are using fresh paper developer when you print.

chris

-- Christian Harkness (chris.harkness@eudoramail.com), August 22, 2000.

Benjamin,

Are you exposeing the film at the manufacturer's rated ASA under all conditions and developing the film at the suggested time and temperature? Are you using a spot meter? What size format do you use, 4x5?, 8x10? Do you use filters on your camera lens?

Ansewring these questions will aid in the solution of your problem.

Regards.

Jason.

-- Jason Kefover (jkefover@york.tec.sc.us), August 22, 2000.

Hi Ben,

When most people talk about "flat" prints, they usually mean the print is lacking contrast. That means the print would have a wide range of tones and very little/no black or white. If your negs have a nice tonal range, then you probably need to increase the contrast on your paper.

A 3D quality is an entirely different matter and more a function of the negative's exposure and paper used. Some papers, particularly fiber based, give the illusion of dimensionality much more readily than others. If your prints are lacking white, your paper may be getting fogged by a safelight or something. I hope this helps.

Regards,

-- Pete Caluori (pcaluori@hotmail.com), August 22, 2000.

Also check your paper development times -- too much or too little can affect contrast.

-- Christopher Hargens (ldmr@cruzio.com), August 22, 2000.

THank you all for your responses. They were most helpful. Christian, I did ask about the filters and they are really old, about 4-5 years. I have changed to a color enlarger head using magenta and yellow and that has helped. Thank you all again, and any other ideas please contribute.. Ta, Ben.

-- ben (benjaminlangley73@yahoo.com.au), August 25, 2000.

Ben, I take it you are working in a community or school darkroom. I think you might want to think about just getting your own filters, you might get even better contrast with them.

Anyhow, glad you are making progress!

chris

-- Christian Harkness (chris.harkness@eudoramail.com), August 25, 2000.