P3D Re: making internegatives for prints

[koganlee@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

        I am loathe to get into this discussion because the factors which go 
into making a good color print are so varied and complex that it would take 
too much time to do it justice. I will say that a print from an 
internegative film will be superior to a print from a an internegative on 
pictorial film (even VPS).

Someone wrote:

>> What kind of film and light source combination is good for prints from
>> the average slide?  Mike K. used the word "internegative", but I
>> wasn't clear from context if that is a particular type of film.  Is
>> there a brand or two you could name?

>I was meaning a "special film" which from Kodak is probably called
>by a "numerical name".  It, like the Kodak film I use for slide
>copying, probably would require buying a 100 foot roll which you
>load into cartridges yourself.  You might try checking Kodak's
>web site for info, or better yet, check your bookstore for Kodak's
>book on copying -- great detail and tons of info (but a spendy book
>for a paper-covered book, which is why I haven't bought a copy yet)
>and peruse it quickly at the store.  :-)

        Even though I no longer do custom printing, I am still a Kodak dealer. 
According to the catalog, the film you want is Kodak Commercial 
Internegative Film 5325 available in 35mm in either 80' or 100' rolls. The 
80' roll is going to be a little around $100. I wouldn't suggest that you 
rush right out and buy it, though, because to properly expose it you would 
preferably use a slide duplicator or some other device which would allow you 
to vary the color of the light source as in color printing. If you don't get 
the exposing color right, the resulting print will have what is called 
"color crossover," meaning that when the mid-tones are neutral the light and 
dark tones may be off in opposing directions (e.g. red and cyan, or green 
and magenta, for instance). No amount of correction will alleviate the 
problem. I have seen this often, even when professional labs made the 
internegative. However, if the internegative is made correctly, a good 
printer can make an excellent print from it. If anyone wants to know more 
about this, or can't find anyone to order this film, send me an e-mail or 
call me (831)476-0702. By the way, the book mentioned previously is "Copying 
and Duplicating in Black and White and Color," and is a must for anyone even 
considering doing anything like this. If you're fortunate it will keep you 
from doing it yourself, unless you're ready to make a big commitment to 
color darkroom work. My advice would be to find the best professional lab 
you can and pay them to make 4x5 internegatives (at about $10 each) and the 
resulting prints should be quite good and shouldn't cost too much when you 
have a lot of them done for APEC. Make sure you have them show you a test 
print first, though, before they make 30 of them.

David Lee
koganlee@xxxxxxxxxxxxx




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