GOOD IDEAS

By Terry Dennet (Area 20) 

Sooner or later most of us build up a repertoire of short cuts and modifications to the basic methods used within our particular speciality, be it in copying, painting or printing difficult antient glass negatives.

It is probable that many of these ideas are known outside our own department, and indeed some may even be entirely new in general photographic practice even though we have been personally using them for years.

If you think you have some good ideas to pass on to your collegues, send them to us for inclusion in the next subsequent issues. Meanwhile to start the ball rolling here are a few of my good ideas..... 

A SIMPLE ON EASEL DENSITOMETER

Everyone who uses an enlarger Photometer capable of spot reading can turn their enlarger into a highly efficient on easel densitometer and comparison photometer simply by fixing a step wedge (such as the Kodak step tablet) along one edge of the neg carrier, and take readings from it and various values in the neg. With this wedge, which functions as a fixed standard; it is remarkably easy to become familiar with both negative and print density values within the image and to begin to previsualize print values on the enlarger baseboard. Once a set of calibration prints have been made it is possible to match background values or key tones across a range of negatives, measure density ranges and lighten or darken the print with reference to wedge readings alone. 

CIBACHROME CORRECTION MADE SIMPLE

It is not generally realized that the suggested filter pack values given with cibachrome paper (and slide dup film) are tested against a standard 3,200k light source. If we own a colour temperature meter it is a simple matter to calibrate our colour enlarger to 3,200k by dialing in filtration to give a reading of 3,200k. 

In theory the filtration values given on the box of cibachrome should be correct for normal slides, this has been the case with all batches so far us

The filter correction needed to balance the enlarger to 3,200k represents a BASIC CORRECTION FACTOR for your enlarger, its bulb, lamphouse, lens etc, when you change the bulb you may need to adjust the filtration slightly to remove the neutral density as in the example given below: 

Enlarger correction factor was + 30 cyan 

Enlarger correction factor was + 30 cyan
suggested filter pack was..  10y+35m. 
remove neutral density .....  10y+35m+30c. 
final correct filtration ......... 15m+20c 

THE DENNET DIVISION TRIANGLE 

This simple device enables the user to divide a line into any number of parts almost instantly, without recourse to a ruler or mathematics. It was originally devised for working out the spacing between prints and text on exhibition panels but it has many other uses within graphic design and publishing.

This method takes longer to describe than it does to carry out, but the basic procedure is as follows:- 

Suppose you wish to divide a sheet of layout paper into say 5 parts. First place the sheet of paper parallel to line 0 of the triangle and slide it up this line until its opposite edge interacts with the required line 5, all five divisions can now be marked off along the top edge of the paper - the whole operation takes but a few seconds.

Area 3 & 15 News

Editorial

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