Re: registering paper negatives

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From: Judy Seigel (jseigel@panix.com)
Date: 02/02/01-01:21:55 AM Z


On Thu, 1 Feb 2001 FotoDave@aol.com wrote:
> << I tried many times, didn't work. The negative and the paper seem to go out
> of sync from just the one end -- whether neg is film or paper. Which is to
> say, even as small as 8x10 inches two register marks were NOT ENOUGH!
>
> Hi Judy,
>
> Use 2 sides then. There is another way that I sometimes use on negative with
> clear border. It occurrred to me that you could use it on paper negative too.
> You don't even need to tape the paper negative to acetate or whatever. You
> simply tape a few small pieces on black electrical tape around the border of
> the print (I use 4), then use a hole punch to punch the tape. When you make
> the print, these will come out as clear area with black (or whatever color)
> dots, and you can use these holes for registration.

With a negative 12 by 18 inches or so, stuff taped around the edge is A
MESS, electrical tape seems to ooze stickum, gets all over everything, AND
in my experience stuff like that spoils contact. You may have a contact
frame exerts such pressure it doesn't matter but I've found anything taped
over negative is risk, & certainly more pressure makes more goo ooze out
of the tape....gets all over the glass, etc. Very unhygienic. Unless you
take it off the neg after each print, another fulltime job.

> The paper negative itself doesn't change size that much, so it should work.

But it wiggles & the bigger the wigglier.

> I am not if you meant the paper for the paper negative or the paper for the
> final print. If the paper for the final print shrink or change size, then
> there is nothing we can do even if the paper negative has proper registration
> mark. Isn't it so? Then we are back to register-from-center or try-our-best
> approach. In that case both the acetate method or the hole-punch method above
> should work, but since we cannot be perfect in this case, it seems like
> almost any method (like a few drawing pencil lines from the paper negative to
> the printing paper) will work too. :-)

In my experience a print made over a period of time (as most of mine are)
meaning changes in the weather, humidity, sunspots, life pattern, etc.
will ALWAYS change shape -- the heaviest Fabriano relatively little, but
others more. For me, register blind in any size doesn't seem to work, &
register by eye can solve most problems. If worst comes to worst, I print
half, then mask & print other half.... as long as I can see what's
happening.

I've found, for what it's worth, that the bigger the sheet of paper, past
a certain point, the more it holds its shape -- And if I can't bear fixed
register blind small, would I like it any better big?

best,

Judy


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