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Re: Mistake


  • From: P3D <ThomGillam@xxxxxxx>
  • Subject: Re: Mistake
  • Date: Fri, 25 Oct 1996 17:32:01 -0400

IN PRAISE OF REALIST PRINTS

Happily the answer is no.  I've related this horror story to help future
printmakers avoid just such a waste of time and effort, because there ARE
solutions.

Perhaps the most important step you can take is to find a lab where you can
talk to the technician, or even better, the BOSS.  Let them know what you
have and what you are after, and if you get ANY RELUCTANCE WHATSOEVER, move
on.  Find a shop where they WANT your business, and are willing to work
with you.

The easiest solution for them is to print your 5P negative with a 4P mask. 
There is then no adjacent frame to throw off the exposure.  Obviously you
lose a portion of your 5P image, and if the operator does not center each
frame, there may be even less you can use, because there is precious little
left in common between your two half pairs!  You will get matched pairs 
ONLY if the operator knows what you need and sets the frame accordingly.

By the way, if you can, get 3-1/2"x5" prints instead of 4"x6": when it
comes time to mount, you will be trimming (or masking with the Q-VU) down
to approximately 3-1/8" (78mm), losing even MORE of your original image! 
Later we will see this as an ADVANTAGE, since we can then adjust the stereo
window to fit the subject, even if your subject is closer than the camera's
built-in window (7' for the Realist).

If you find a REALLY cooperative lab, you may be able to convince someone
to tinker with the 8P mask by inserting cardboard or plastic tabs to adjust
it to a true 5P opening.  THEN you're ready to cook!  You will get back
prints with white areas adjacent to your image, and your exposures will
match to a great degree, most of the time.  If you are bringing in several
rolls of  realist' format, you can show that it's worth the trouble for
them to try this: once they have figured out the mask, they can let the
machine do its automatic thing, and your  bothersome' non-standard format
will require little extra effort on their part (they will probably even do
your prints for the regular price).  Since you will typically be getting
SEVERAL more than 24 or 36 exposures from each roll, they will be making
good money off of you!

One of the simplest and most elegant solutions, however, is to send your
negatives to Grand Photo (1681 Grand Avenue, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55105). 
They return your images as MONOLITHIC PAIRS.  That's right, they have
developed a technique whereby they transpose your negatives and print them
on ONE approximately 3-1/2"x6-1/2" sheet of print paper, accurately
registered vertically, and registered horizontally in such a way that they
are ready to drop into a Q-VU mount!  Not only that, they are among the
finest processors when it comes to color balance and density, often
achieving a rich print rivaling a custom lab.

My apologies for being so long winded.  STAY TUNED for further installments.


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