4x5 contact printing

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Nebular89

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I’ve been thinking about trying some contact printing with my 4x5 negatives. I have been scanning them but really I need a copy stand, using a tripod is a huge pain.
I’ve made prints before with an enlarger from 35mm negatives but I’m planning on just using a light bulb as the light source, is this a bit of pipe dream?
I wouldn’t need to dodge and burn really, I only ever used contrast filters with the 35mm and I liked the results.

Lastly is it easy to get hold of a 4x5 contact print frame with glass for relatively cheap or could you make one with a photo frame?
 
I did this a very long time ago at the studio I worked for.

We just cut a sheet of 10x8 bromide paper into 4, placed the negative on top (emulsion to emulsion, of course) and put a very clean sheet of glass on top. Then a quick down and up of the darkroom's white light switch and drop the the paper in the developer. I seem to recall that counting "one and two" was generally good enough but you'd need to experiment with your own setup.

If you want to use the contrast filters in your enlarger, you can place the film and paper on the baseboard, set the enlarger to project a light cone big enough to cover them and proceed from there. The exposure will be probably be longer than if you use an ordinary white light, of course.
 
I suspect a lower power bulb will help keep times more consistant, tying to nail a second or two exposure is much harder than getting a five on ten second one the same every time. It'll depend on your set-up though as Andrew says above.
 
AndrewFlannigan said:
I did this a very long time ago at the studio I worked for.

We just cut a sheet of 10x8 bromide paper into 4, placed the negative on top (emulsion to emulsion, of course) and put a very clean sheet of glass on top. Then a quick down and up of the darkroom's white light switch and drop the the paper in the developer. I seem to recall that counting "one and two" was generally good enough but you'd need to experiment with your own setup.

If you want to use the contrast filters in your enlarger, you can place the film and paper on the baseboard, set the enlarger to project a light cone big enough to cover them and proceed from there. The exposure will be probably be longer than if you use an ordinary white light, of course.
Click to expand...
For some reason just using a piece of glass didn’t occur to me. In my head I was trying to bodge a proper contact frame.
I’m familiar enough with the process and I have a garage that I can black out now.
I’ve never used contrast filters though, I was lucky to have a colour enlarger, so that will take some getting used to
 
swanseamale47 said:
I suspect a lower power bulb will help keep times more consistant, tying to nail a second or two exposure is much harder than getting a five on ten second one the same every time. It'll depend on your set-up though as Andrew says above.
Click to expand...
Yea I’d probably get a desk lamp and a wireless led bulb. We have them in our living room, you can pick the brightness and turn them off and on with your phone. Means I could adjust the times without needing more than one bulb
 
Nebular89 said:
I’ve been thinking about trying some contact printing with my 4x5 negatives. I have been scanning them but really I need a copy stand, using a tripod is a huge pain.
I’ve made prints before with an enlarger from 35mm negatives but I’m planning on just using a light bulb as the light source, is this a bit of pipe dream?
I wouldn’t need to dodge and burn really, I only ever used contrast filters with the 35mm and I liked the results.

Lastly is it easy to get hold of a 4x5 contact print frame with glass for relatively cheap or could you make one with a photo frame?
Click to expand...
Have you got an enlarger?

For contact printing, I use the enlarger as the light source, simpy because I can stop the lens down and get the exposure to something manageable.
Paterson used to do 10x8" contact printers with plain glass on the top. Somewhere I think I have one (I hope I do because I too plan to contact print 5x4 soon)
 
PeteNaples said:
Have you got an enlarger?

For contact printing, I use the enlarger as the light source, simpy because I can stop the lens down and get the exposure to something manageable.
Paterson used to do 10x8" contact printers with plain glass on the top. Somewhere I think I have one (I hope I do because I too plan to contact print 5x4 soon)
Click to expand...
No, no enlarger
 
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