Re: Family snaps to gum bichromate
Title: Re: Family snaps to gum bichromate
Hi Don,
Generally speaking, I would tend to agree with Mark. You’ll get the best detail out of the original negatives. However, as Judy noted, gum is not the most detail-oriented process out there. So it may not matter in the long run how you go about making your color separations. I would say try each of your 3 methods and choose the best (quality/price/ease) one and go from there.
I’ll also confirm what Katherine said about printing resolutions. Since you’re looking at making gum prints roughly the same size as the original 4x6 prints, 360dpi is really the highest you’ll need (if you’re looking to print bigger you’ll need to scan at a higher resolution). I’ve even made gum prints at 300dpi and I couldn’t tell the difference next to a print made at 360dpi. I wouldn’t recommend going down to 240dpi though.
Camden Hardy
camden[at]hardyphotography[dot]net
http://www.hardyphotography.net
On 4/12/07 6:48 PM, "Ender100@aol.com" <Ender100@aol.com> wrote:
Scan the negatives and then use Photoshop for the seperations.
In a message dated 4/12/07 6:02:20 PM, don@sweetlegal.co.nz writes:
I would be grateful for guidance on this topic (details of which are covered in the archives I know).
Among my 30+ years of family snaps are some that I see as potential 3-colour gum pictures, about A4 size or maybe slightly bigger. Many of the surviving 6 x 4 prints are tatty and faded (and some have been re-worked in what appears to be an expressionist manner with felt pens, scissors, etc). Most of the 35mm negatives are pretty good.
Would anyone in the group like to recommend whether I should produce the necessary negatives:
1. Taking the best negatives to be scanned by a photo processor - I have been quoted a resolution of 1200 dpi - and use Photoshop to make colour separations, or
2. Get some more 6 x 4 prints made by a photo processor and scan them myself at something like 400 dpi, and then use Photoshop, or
3. Make colour separations myself on document film using a slide copier and filters, and enlarge them on to lith film.
Thanks
Don Sweet
Best Wishes,
Mark Nelson
Precision Digital Negatives - The System <http://www.precisiondigitalnegatives.com/>
PDNPrint Forum at Yahoo Groups <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PDNPrint/>
www.MarkINelsonPhoto.com <http://www.markinelsonphoto.com/>
**************************************
See what's free at http://www.aol.com.
|