Image Quality: Print v. Scan?

[bstar]

Hi everyone, not sure if this belongs in this thread but here it goes...

So I just bought a Mamiya 7II with 80mm lens. I understand the optics on this system is supposed to be phenomenal. I am new to film and am wondering what is the best method to take advantage of the optics with a view to making as large prints as possible. I have access to a Nikon Coolscan 9000 but from what Ive seen so far prints around 30" on the long side look a bit poor. Im wondering if making large prints directly from the negatives are the way to go? Thanks in advance for the help!

B

 

[clayne]

Hi everyone, not sure if this belongs in this thread but here it goes...

So I just bought a Mamiya 7II with 80mm lens. I understand the optics on this system is supposed to be phenomenal. I am new to film and am wondering what is the best method to take advantage of the optics with a view to making as large prints as possible. I have access to a Nikon Coolscan 9000 but from what Ive seen so far prints around 30" on the long side look a bit poor. Im wondering if making large prints directly from the negatives are the way to go? Thanks in advance for the help!

B

You need the glass carrier mount and/or a fluid scanning kit. Traditional prints, however, will always be more aesthetically pleasing.

 

[Al Kaplan]

120 negatives are on a thinner base than 35mm film. Together with the larger negative size film flatness becomes an issue. A glass negative carrier helps a lot. You also need a top quality enlarging lens. I've seen some 40 x 60 inch dye transfer prints made from 35mm Kodachrome II transparencies that were gorgeous! I don't know if any labs are still making dye transfer prints though. It's an arduous process involving making three color seperation negatives of the original, printing them seperately on special film, and then using those to "trasnsfer" the dyes onto the paper while keeping all three colors in perfect register. The dyes, though, are about as fade free as anything.

These days you might have trouble locating any lab that still makes conventional prints, either B&W or color, by traditional wet print methods. Making prints that size yourself would require a huge darkroom with a sink large enough to hold several BIG trays. By the time you equip yourself to handle the large sheets of paper and purchase the paper and chemicals you'd probably be money ahead to use an outside lab. Also, a vacuum easel is pretty much mandatory for keeping those big sheets flat on the baseboard. Ask to see some sample prints before going with a lab, and ask to see their darkroom set-up to make sure that they're really set up to make the prints "the old fashioned way".