Prntfrmclr

There are numerous books on methods & techniques of colour printing so I will not repeat
the details here, except to mention some of the aids etc. that I have employed and
methods  I consider to be essential for successful results with the minimum of fuss.

Printing from colour negatives can be a very rewarding experience as well as great fun.
You do not need to buy a lot of expensive equipment to start with but there are a few
basic items which I recommend you invest in if you want to make life easier.

1.   An enlarger with a colour head  is preferred  or a filter drawer
     and a set of gelatine  colour compensation filters   (CC filters
     ranging from  025 to 50 in Yellow, Magenta and Cyan). If cost is
     important the  Cyan filters may be omitted since they are hardly
     ever needed.

2.   A stabilised supply  for  the enlarger lamp  is essential if you
     have  a  240V  lamp.   Very  small  variations  of  voltage  can
     have  considerable effect  on  the  colour balance.  An enlarger
     with  a  low  voltage   light  source  is  less  prone  to  this
     problem   but   I   would   still  recommend   the   use   of  a
     stabiliser.   Cold  cathode   type   enlargers   are  completely
     unsuitable for colour printing.

3.   A means of processing a  10 x 8  sheet of paper in about 80ml of
     developer at  a  constant  temperature, in  total darkness.
     There  are  a  number  of  systems  on  the  market,   I  use  a
     Paterson Thermodrum  with a UNO  thermostatic heater and a small
     battery  operated  drinks  mixer  to  agitate  the  water  which
     helps  keep the  temperature constant throughout the  unit.
     Without  the stirrer it  would be necessary to agitate the water
     regularly to ensure even temperature distribution.

4.   A   suitable   safelight.    The  real  big  difference  in  the
     darkroom  when  printing  colour  is that it  is  done in almost
     total  darkness.  I  use  a  Wratten 10H safelight,  at first it
     seems to give  out no light at all,  but when you get accustomed
     to the dark it will be an invaluable aid to locating things.

Colour analyzers can be useful but are by no means essential.
With modern films there is very little variation in emulsions, and
filtering packs can be virtually identical from one film to the next,
only small changes will be required.
Exposure meters are almost useless due to the low light levels involved.

Paper and Processing Chemicals.

There are various types of colour paper on the market now but it is
important to get fresh paper and store it in a refrigerator.  The paper
should be of the type designated process EP-2.  As the paper is the most
variable commodity I buy boxes of 100 sheets at a time, this reduces the
number of times you have to calibrate your system.

Because of the variation in the emulsion of the paper from batch to batch
it is important to make a test print each time a new packet of paper is
used.  The filter pack and exposure can then be compared with the
previous paper and the appropriate adjustments made.

A variety of processing kits are available but I prefer to mix my own
developer and stop bath and buy 5 litre bleach-fix kit.  500ml of
solution will process 6 sheets of 10 x 8 paper using the one shot method.
The developer and stop bath should be used once only but I have used 
the bleach fix for up to 3 sheets for each 80ml, increasing the time by 
about 25% each time.  I have found the following formula for the colour 
developer to work quite well.

EP-2 Colour Developer

         Benzyl alcohol (50% solution)*                         15ml
         Hydroxylamine sulphate                                  1gm
         Sodium sulphite (anhyd.)                                1gm
         Potassium carbonate (anhyd.)                           15gm
         Potassium bromide                                       5ml
         6-Nitrobenzimidazole nitrate (0.2% soln.)             2.2gm
         CD-3                                                  2.2gm
         Water to                                              500ml
* Equal quantities of benzyl alcohol & diethylene glycol

It could be an advantage in certain areas to add 1gm of Calgon.
I make stock solutions of each and mix them together just before use.

           Developer                                   3 min. at 34C
           Stop bath                                          ½ min.
           Bleach                                            1½ min.

It is important (for consistent results) that the developer temperature
and developing time is kept constant.  variations in temperature and
time will alter the colour balance.

Washing prints is always a problem at these temperatures and everyone has
their own ideas.  My system is to use an old electric shower unit which
one section of the heating elements had failed.  The remaining heater
would not on its own be hot enough for a shower but would be more than
adequate for the temperature involved here, the problem is to keep the 
temperature constant at the right value.  This I do by adjustment of the
flow rate in conjunction with a thyristor controller for the power.
The water output flows through a length of polythene tube into one side
of a glass T piece, over the end of a thermometer bulb  and out the other
side into another tube which thengoes into the wash bowl, so a constant
flow at the right temperature is maintained.

One major problem I have is that, because my darkroom is a shed at the
bottom of the garden, the voltage drop when the thyristor unit switches 
on & off causes the brightness of the lights to change.  Therefore it is
necessary to turn off the water heating system whilst making exposures
or measurements with the enlarger.

The sooner you can dry the print the sooner you can assess any change to
filtering etc.  I find a standard flat bed print drier to be quite
satisfactory and only takes a few minutes to dry the paper sufficiently
to be able to observe the true colours.  (Most colour papers tend to
look a little blue when wet).

For processing the film there are a number of kits available but I find
it more economical to have them processed at one of the labs.  (I use
York Photo Labs.) who also provide you with a set of prints from which
you can choose which ones to enlarge.  It is not economical to make
prints significantly smaller than 18 x 8 but a single sheet of paper
could be used tom make a set of contact prints.

Always process 1 full sheet of 10 x 8 paper at a time, do not expect to be
able to process 4 sheets 5 x 4 one after the other and maintain the colour
balance throughout.  The development is based on using up the developer on
an average density/colour subject.

Decide  on  an  average negative as your standard and stick to it for
comparisons when changing batches of paper.  Choose a negative that is 
typical of the majority of your photo`s.

Make sure that the print drum is dry before loading it with paper otherwise
nasty stain marks can spoil your print, and it is always the best print
that suffers.

If you have never tried colour printing before I recommend that you spend
some time in choosing your standard negative and adjusting filter packs &
exposure to get it just the way you want. Then make a set of prints with
2 or three levels of over & under exposure. Also a set of prints with
reductions in each of the filters in turn and increases in each of the
filters in turn.  This will be a good reference to help aid you in
determining changes required to obtain a perfect print.

Do not try to copy the colour balance etc. of a print from another source
(processing lab. etc.) you will most certainly not be able to match it
and you will only become frustrated and tear your hair out, kick the cat,
or worse.  If it looks good to you then it is the best you can expect.

Producing your first colour print is an experience that is difficult to
 escribe but it will be a moment to treasure, and then you will be hooked.