Brenton C Posted February 14, 2014 Share #1 Posted February 14, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hello again. So the deal this time is the walls of my new office are barren, and whilst waiting for some original artwork to be prepared, I thought I'd put up a couple prints from my last roll of film. (Also a tax deductible way to print and frame my own pix, if they'll spend some time hanging in the office). How big would you recommend I go with Ecktar 100? Also, does any one do proper enlargements anymore for colour, or should I not be worried about the use of colour printers? The lab where I had my film developed has several levels of quality, the two best being Ultrachrome K3, and so called "fine art" prints made on an Epson 9900. Seems a shame to go to the trouble of film photography, only to produce a digital printed product -- but maybe I fret for nothing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted February 14, 2014 Posted February 14, 2014 Hi Brenton C, Take a look here Ecktar 100 -- How Enlarged?. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
CalArts 99 Posted February 14, 2014 Share #2 Posted February 14, 2014 There's really no 'size rule' with Ektar (or with any other film emulsion.) It depends primarily on subject matter. You could ask the lab to make a small test print that is a section of a larger print to visualize how it holds up. Landscapes normally are printed larger for detail and with a large area of film for the resolution of detail (sheet film or medium format) but 35mm can be printed large for other subjects such as candid portraiture, 'street', documentary, etc.. But again, there's no 'rule' and it really depends on the subject and what you are trying to convey, etc. Even the size of the print regardless of subject matter can take on meaning itself (a 'jewel-like' small print versus a 'forceful' large print, etc..) And if you don't want an ink print, then consider a Océ Lightjet, Durst Lambda, or ZBE Chromira print made on true analog RA-4 paper from a digital scan. But with an ink print you also need to consider the substrate used (the paper itself.) That will also have a big effect on the image; there are lots of papers to choose from with ink printing. 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brenton C Posted February 14, 2014 Author Share #3 Posted February 14, 2014 Hi Cal' Thanks for this information. You've given me some things to ponder and look into, and also a definite place to start. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevesurf Posted February 18, 2014 Share #4 Posted February 18, 2014 There's really no 'size rule' with Ektar (or with any other film emulsion.) It depends primarily on subject matter. You could ask the lab to make a small test print that is a section of a larger print to visualize how it holds up. Landscapes normally are printed larger for detail and with a large area of film for the resolution of detail (sheet film or medium format) but 35mm can be printed large for other subjects such as candid portraiture, 'street', documentary, etc.. But again, there's no 'rule' and it really depends on the subject and what you are trying to convey, etc. Even the size of the print regardless of subject matter can take on meaning itself (a 'jewel-like' small print versus a 'forceful' large print, etc..) And if you don't want an ink print, then consider a Océ Lightjet, Durst Lambda, or ZBE Chromira print made on true analog RA-4 paper from a digital scan. But with an ink print you also need to consider the substrate used (the paper itself.) That will also have a big effect on the image; there are lots of papers to choose from with ink printing. +1 on all the above. The plain paper printer setting for many printers can yield results that might seem grainy and lighter blacks. After you have "corrected" your scanned file in your workflow and have your test print, switching to glossy may greatly improve the output as the printer driver for this setting may be more accurate. Be careful to not increase your resolution that may enhance the grain already present in the image. Good luck! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
honcho Posted February 18, 2014 Share #5 Posted February 18, 2014 (edited) .......The plain paper printer setting for many printers can yield results that might seem grainy and lighter blacks..... Excellent advice for printing off the gas bill. Not so good for printing images for the wall. Ektar 100 has very fine grain and scans very well with the right technique. Fine art prints offered by the op's lab will very likely be made on one of the Epson art papers. Potentially (I don't know the lab), their 'fine art' service will (should) produce prints that are superior to hand printed RA4 colour paper. Try to pre visualise a realistic print and frame size for the wall space, if you are starting with a 35mm original the advice above to have a test print made of a portion of the frame is good for big prints at realistic viewing distances. Everything depends on scan quality and file preparation and the lab's diligence in colour mangling their workflow. It would be advisable to obtain a custom profile from the lab for the batch of paper your prints will be made on for soft proofing purposes. If your request is met by a blank stare, find another lab. Edited February 18, 2014 by honcho Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted February 18, 2014 Share #6 Posted February 18, 2014 In my experience, you also need to have a lab that understands how to process Ektar properly and you have to get the exposure spot on. It's very unforgiving for a C41 film. I bought 5 rolls when it first came out and have never bought any since. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
honcho Posted February 18, 2014 Share #7 Posted February 18, 2014 Advertisement (gone after registration) Ektar 100 is fine emulsion, especially for pictorial work. The best C41 film there is for the subject, imo. It would be fair to assume that anyone using it and processing it knows what they are doing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted February 18, 2014 Share #8 Posted February 18, 2014 (edited) It would be fair to assume that anyone ... processing it knows what they are doing. That wasn't my experience, which I am just sharing, that's all. YMMV of course. It was (over) highly saturated in my experience and has a predominance of red, but muddiness at the same time which I found unpleasant. A quick search on flickr shows what I mean. http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=ektar Lots of people seem to like it, which is fine with me. Edited February 18, 2014 by andybarton 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
honcho Posted February 18, 2014 Share #9 Posted February 18, 2014 ......A quick search on flickr shows what I mean. Flickr Search: ektar ...... Your Flickr link is not definitive but it would explain your difficulties with Ektar 100. My penultimate sentence in post #5 might help. It isn't a general purpose C41 emulsion. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sblitz Posted February 18, 2014 Share #10 Posted February 18, 2014 my experience with ecktar is simply that it is great when you expect the exposure spot on, when you don't, no so good. portra is much more forgiving. when, however, you do a landscape in ecktar and get the exposure just right .... it is great.... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeswe Posted February 21, 2014 Share #11 Posted February 21, 2014 IMO, Ektar is superb when printed optically in the old fashioned way, so if you can find someone who still does optical printing I would strongly recommend to give it a try. Actually, I find it prints much easier than it scans ... As far as your other question goes, 30x40 cm printed optically from 35mm is grainless, I haven't gone bigger than that. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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