i have recently been asked if i can make a very large print from one of my negatives. i believe i can push my negative to a print size of 40" by 50" but have never printed or displayed on that scale. any idea's on which roll paper and grade is worthy plus mat board of comparable size?

-- joseph brazfield (hoze@hotmail.com), November 22, 2001

Answers

Joseph, I use the Agfa Classic rolls for my large prints - the roll is 50" wide. It is a warm-tone emulsion, multigrade. It is very stiff and sturdy. I roll my 25x50 sheets through the trays. If you use the roll method, roll them (carefully) emulsion side out, after soaking them to remove curl. You will need large trays, or one large tray which you can drain and refill (plug in a corner hole). After final washing and treating in Edwal LFN, I hang them from a clothesline. They dry very well, then I drymount the big print in sections in my small drymount press. (Search threads on this forum for the drymounting method.) Foam Core works well for the backing. Use 8-ply museum board for overmatting something that big. Do not try to cut the window mat yourself. I use Light Impressions.

I hope you are charging a lot for this print.

Cheers, Sandy

-- Sandy Sorlien (sand44@mindspring.com), November 23, 2001.

i have printed in a 36x48 size for years, and have built the darkroom accessories that make it go more or less quickly, though it is still much slower than using cut sheets. the only problem i have not solved satisfactorily yet is getting them to dry with no wrinkling along the edges. here's the process in brief:

o cut 50" roll of ilford multigrade (reg. or warm tone) into sheets using plywood templates in the desired sizes, then store rolled up in long boxes,

o make exposure with printing frame laid over print paper for clean edge on image

o soak the paper in a trough of water by hand rolling it from one edge to the other until it has lost its curl

o unroll the paper in a very large empty tray (face up, obviously)

o pour the developer on with a bucket

o the stop (water stop for me) and fixer are in troughs, hand roll back and forth

o prewash, then wash in homebuilt very large archival washer

o squegee onto large plexi sheet, cover with thick layer of blotter sheets

-- frank day (frankhday@earthlink.net), November 29, 2001.