Digital Prints from 645 - How Large?

Hello,

 

I was wondering what's the largest digital prints people have made from a 645 negative?

With a really sharp negative, can a good 24"x30" be made? thanks for your help.

 

Bryan

No problem! A 6x4.5 negative scanned at 4000 ppi would have a native resolution of nearly 300 ppi at 24x30 inches. Actually, if you can get a good 11x14 inch print, you can print to any size. Prints larger than 11x14 are typically viewed at proportionally greater distance than arm's length.

I agree that you could get a good 24 x 30 print from a decent 645 negative. In fact in my view you could get larger if you started with a quality drum scan, good file creation work, and output on a LightJet or Chromira.

 

I don't however agree with the contention that you can make any size print so long as you're happy with a 14" x 11". If you're hanging something on a wall it is very difficult to control the viewing distance for all viewers and it's only that control that allows you to reduce print resolution for bigger prints.

 

I think a better solution is to assume that some people will view even a large print from close distances even if just to see how sharp/detailed it is, and to use the same or only marginally reduced print resolutions for all sizes of print. You can achieve this by using bigger scans -up to a point anyway, and not having to get overly concerned by viewing distances or rely on the fact that peoples expectations vary.

A 30" or bigger print,is quite possible from 645,if you line up your ducks correctly.You must have perfect technique each shot,this includes use of a tripod,carefull focusing and exposure,and the printing has to be done meticulously as well.Also in a normal home place of display,we usually arent standing 5 " from the print anyway.Normal viewing distances for larger prints,is almost always more than double the diagonal of the print.

I have a tack sharp 20x30 print made from a sharp 645 negative. So sharp you can read 12" high signs from 1/8 of a mile away. It's a little grainy (Fuji NPH), perhaps from oversharpening, but I just don't at it closer than 10". I had it printed on one digital machine (forget the name), and then someone asked for it to be printed 24x36, which meant it had to be printed on a Lightjet, in the same shop, with the same Imacon scan. It looks horrible. Soft, and a strange cast. I blame the operator, not the neg.

 

BTW, I did use a good tripod, MLU, self-timer, and f11 or f16.