From: Judy Seigel (jseigel@panix.com)
Date: 06/08/03-01:49:53 PM Z
On Sun, 8 Jun 2003, Nick Makris wrote:
> Judy S has a very interesting article the most recent edition of Post
> Factory (#8?) where a huge collection of info on this subject is synopsized.
> It is very much worth the read, as other, more advantageous alternatives are
> discussed. If you happen to stumble onto the holy grail in your search, be
> sure to let us know.
Thanks for plug, Nick -- and let me add that Dan's book is, as I wrote,
the bible of the topic & Dan our "knight in charming armor." Everybody
should have that book. However my "Advice from a Beginner" does, I think,
fill a gap, or several -- as in charting your own curve. In my experience
of the emulsions and the digital negs for the emulsions, nobody else's
curve is going to match your combo of materials & equipment.
Of course they say you have to "tweak" the ready-made curves yourself...
but I found that more trouble than making my own -- and anyway learned to
TRUST NOBODY ELSE'S curve. However, no book and no article, or none I
could find, actually tells you "How to Chart a Curve." I got to that by a
lot of wasted time, and a lot of trial and error -- tho it seems obvious
by hindsight. The method is shown & described.
(In retrospect, reviewing this list's thread on the topic, I noticed a
couple of folks mentioning their "100 step tables," tho it so happened
that no one elaborated on the point... hmmm !!! I cut my table to 50
steps -- half the trouble, & it worked just fine.)
Plus Dan's book is pretty much geared to getting your negatives by
Imagesetter & Service Bureau, which I flunked. It wasn't just the two
round trips, it was also the fact that each time they seemed to have
different settings and a different operator. (I know you're supposed to
set up a relationship and control that. Lots of luck.)
I also wanted to be able to dash off another neg as needed for a gum print
or in the middle of the night. I think, too, that the new printers -- and
the new substrates -- make printing your own digital negs much
easier/better. (My first choice isn't Pictorico, now apparently the
standard, it's the Kodak backlight film, but these are all relatively
new.)
Incidentally, Christina, on page 39 of P-F #8, under "Substrates," I wrote
that Epson Inkjet Back Light Film is not only much more expensive than the
Kodak Backlit, but blocks most UV light. That from my own tests.
Judy
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