Re: Digital negs

The real knowledge source for this is Dan Burkholder's book and his
newer electronic PDF update
http://www.danburkholder.com/Pages/main_pages/book_info_main_page1.htm

Most of us print onto "Overhead Transparency Material". Looks like a
sheet of clear plastic. Be careful, there is a front and back (even if
you can't see the difference). The "King" of this material is Pictorico
http://www.pictorico.com/
Unfortunately Pictorico is quite expensive, so lots of folks are
playing with Crystal Clear
http://store.ultrafineonline.com/crclinkjetfi.html
For sme folks (and there ink) this film takes a LONG time to dry. Some
folks are reporting good luck with the Staples house brand.

Much of this confusion comes down to four things:
1) The inks you use, Pictorico will accept more inks and dry faster
than the others (but costs more).
2) The process you use, gum requires a less dense neg (less ink), so is
more forgiving of inkjet material than platinum which require a very
dense neg (lots of ink).
3) The largest size you want to work in, not all materials are
available large or in rolls.
4) The printer you use, some (like mine) work best with colored inks,
others work best with black ink.

The negs are reasonably archival. I don't worry about it, it is simple
to reprint! They are not very physically stable. Finger prints and dirt
are BIG problems. The material itself (not the ink) is somewhat
"sticky". The ink doesn't smear once dry (assuming you've found a match
between your ink and material). Don't get the negs wet (then they will
smear).

Hope that helps.

On Friday, November 5, 2004, at 06:53 AM, Marilyn wrote:

> I am usually a lurker on this list, but I have a question or two to
> ask. I know the questions are elementary, but I am someone who still
> uses a darkroom and I would like to move to digital negs if I can.
>
> When printing digital negs, what material are they printed on?
>
> How stable is the ink on the negs? Can they be handled without
> smearing, etc.?
>
> Thank you for being patient with my very basic questions.
>
> Marilyn
>
>
--------------
Tom Ferguson
http://www.ferguson-photo-design.com
Received on Fri Nov 5 09:30:58 2004