C-41 Black & White film printing

[dostacos]

can I use regular B&W paper/enlarger etc to use C-41 B&W negatives. or do I need to use color paper-processing and a color enlarger?

 

[bmattock]

can I use regular B&W paper/enlarger etc to use C-41 B&W negatives. or do I need to use color paper-processing and a color enlarger?

Some chromogenic C41 is made to use B&W paper, others to use color paper. Basically, you can do it, but if the base color of the film is not clear, you may suffer some loss of contrast and have to compensate. At least, that's how I understand it. I have no enlarger, just scan. I scan everything, and convert to B&W if need be, although I prefer 'real' B&W for B&W photos.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[tomtodeath]

im new to print making, and have tried this with little success.. i dont have a sanner and i have alot of c41 black and white negatives i want to make prints with, from before i started using "real" black and white..
i do mostly use ilford mgiv and it seemed like when i tried making prints from my chromogenic negs they came out really flat even with contrast filters.. can you give me any pointers? is one film better for this than the other? ive never tried xp2, it never seems to be in stock, and im too lazy to order it.. thanks alot!

 

[Doug]

Ilford XP2, Fuji Neopan 400CN, and the now-discontinued Kodak T400CN don't have the strong orange mask that the other Kodak chromogenics have, and this makes them easier to print with conventional materials in the darkroom. The orange mask on the current Kodak offerings makes the film easier to print at the one-hour lab on color paper, but is a pain in the home darkroom... especially with variable-contrast papers. The mask color interferes with the use of contrast filters, so it works better with number-graded papers.

 

[Stephan]

Ilford XP2, Fuji Neopan 400CN, and the now-discontinued Kodak T400CN don't have the strong orange mask that the other Kodak chromogenics have, and this makes them easier to print with conventional materials in the darkroom. The orange mask on the current Kodak offerings makes the film easier to print at the one-hour lab on color paper, but is a pain in the home darkroom... especially with variable-contrast papers. The mask color interferes with the use of contrast filters, so it works better with number-graded papers.

BW400CN does have an orange mask, is it not the same film as T400 CN ? If so I've never used t400CN. Anyway, even with the orange mask on variable contrast paper with filters printing isnt much of a problem, I would usually print one to one and a half filter higher to compensate the relatively low contrast, but the results are fine 🙂 I actually like have low contrast negatives though, so that may not be the case for everyone (I prefer BW400CN to XP2).

 

[Nikon Bob]

I don't use a darkroom for B&W C41 film, but would suggest you ask the manufacturer for their recommendation of the type of paper to use. They are usually pretty helpful and that would give you a starting point.

Nikon Bob

 

[Doug]

BW400CN does have an orange mask, is it not the same film as T400 CN ?

Different films... Kodak had three chromogenic B&W films; two had the orange mask, one of which was in the Portra line for professional use, and a consumer version ("BW 400" I think). I don't know what difference there was other than the naming, though the Portra in 35mm only came in 36 exp rolls while the BW400 could be had in 24 exp. The current Kodak chromogenic is the same or similar to these.

The T400CN was different from the other two and the current film in not having the strong orange mask, though there have been disagreements over this! Some have claimed it too has an orange mask. Truly it does have a very pale orange tint, almost clear. This is in contrast to the slightly grey-blue base tint of XP2 and Neopan 400CN.

I've done a lot of darkroom printing from Ilford XP1 (predecessor of XP2) negatives, and some from AgfaPan Vario XL, another ISO 400 chromgenic available in the 80's. I have printed from orange-mask color negs (for which Kodak offered their Panalure paper), but have not myself printed from orange-mask chromogenics, just going on reports from those who have!