Prints from Slides

[rescue902]

Hello,

I just got back from the lab with 5x7s prints made from slides.

After looking at the slides on a light box and comparing them with

the prints, the colors in the prints seem off. Is this normal,or

does the light box enhance the colors in a way that is impossible to

replicate on the prints? Any insight would be appreciated.

Thank you

Jason

[ravi_swamy]

How far are the colors off? What was the process used to make the prints? There are a lot of variables that affect the print. Was it from an automated machine? Did the operator try to correct your colors manually or automatically? What kind of paper is it on? Is it a Cibachrome? A print from a Lightjet? What is the color temperature of the bulb in the light box? What kind of lights are you using to view the prints? I will generally say that the slide on the lightbox is the best the image will ever look and the print will usually not do the slide justice but start off by reading <a href="http://kenrockwell.com/tech/film.htm#how2print">print from slides</a>

[david_henderson]

You won't get an exact match since the prints reflect light and the slides transmit light. The slide will always tend to have more life and vibrancy.

 

That said its possible to get excellent results from a Frontier or similar digital minilab service, or indeed by scanning yourself and printing on an inkjet. Reputedly, scanning is the weak point of the mini lab systems and if you could scan/create your files at home your photographs would be getting more attention than they're going to get at a minilab. So either try different labs till you find one that does a good job on slides, or do part of the job youeself.

 

I don't think LightJet is relevent to the printing of entire rolls to small sizes- its an expensive custom process. Neither do I think there's much chance that you've been supplied with 7" x 5" Ilfochromes. I think its most likely you have a digital minilab print from someone who hasn't got things quite right.

[steve_dunn2]

<p>It depends on what you mean by "off". If you mean that the colours have more pop on the slide than in the print, that's life; the reflected light from a print can't match the vibrant colour of the transmitted light from a slide. That's one of the reasons some of us really like slides.</p>

 

<p>If you mean that the colours have odd casts to them (blue turns cyan, or white turns yellow, or orange turns red, or things like that), then it sounds like the lab didn't do as good a job as they could have.</p>

[scott_eaton]

If you want prints like this from film, please shoot color neg and stop believing a reflective print can match a color slide.

[gee_willikers]

Reputedly, scanning is the weak point of the mini lab systems and if you could scan/create your files at home your photographs would be getting more attention than they're going to get at a minilab.

 

The film carrier on a digital minilab costs around $5000. There is no noise in the shadows and the scans are awesome. Add built-in Digital ICE and you have a superior setup to any home scanning solution.

[lex_jenkins]

Depends on the lab and operator. I've had very faithful prints made from my Provia 100F slides at a lab that used either a Durst Epsilon or Frontier machine, I don't recall which.

[scott_eaton]

A typical digital mini-lab, while it may have the capabilities to make prints from slides, cannot do so with the consistent quality capabilities of a color neg. The printing and correction range is simply too narrow for the algorithms to compensate for, which is why it's such an operator dependant product. Color neg has generous 'slop' lattitude to play with and typically doesn't require an operator to intervene.

 

This is why you pay somebody $50 to make a drum scan of your favorite chrome, or buy your own film scanner. To expect bulk 5x7's or 4x6's from slides to match either quality prints from negs, or hand scans from slides is absurd, and won't happen. You'll be dissapointed every single time.

 

If you want lots of small prints, either buy a film scanner, or shoot print film.

 

Personally I think a 5x7, even a mediocre one, is more worth looking at than a 24x36mm slide barely the size of my thumb regardless of the pretty colors.

[rescue902]

Thanks for all the input. I just started using slide film so Im stil getting accustomed to it. Im trying another lab tomorrow just to experiment. So a drumscan is the best way to go? For fifty bucks it better be. Also, can anyone tell me what a lightjet is?

[steve_dunn2]

<a href="http://www.google.ca/search?as_q=lightjet&num=10&hl=en&btnG=Google+Search&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&lr=&as_ft=i&as_filetype=&as_qdr=all&as_occt=any&as_dt=i&as_sitesearch=&safe=images">Google can tell you what a lightjet is.</a>

[discpad]

Been there... Done that... Have the t-shirt!

 

Find someone with a Nikon CoolScan 9000ED scanner, and have them scan the chrome in with Digital ICE set to On (Fine), Digital ROC set to zero, and Digital GEM set to 3 or 4. Then, play with the DEE (shadows & highlights) control to nail them down.

 

Finally, find someone with an Epsilon or Lambda, Chromira or LightJet printer (NOT a Frontier) and you'll be as happy as a clam at high tide!

 

I've done this with a 35mm slide and blown it all the way up to 30x45 inches.

 

BY the way, the results are better on the Coolscan than on many drum scanners -- Even PMT scanners -- because of the Digital GEM (grain management)... It really works.

 

Merry Christmas!

 

Dan

[zeke_martin]

In NYC, there's only one place to have prints made from your slides of a consistent high quality: Spectra Photo/Digital. Those folks really know what they're doing when it comes to printing. E-mail your inquiry to info@spectraphoto/digital.com

 

Zeke Martin, NYC

[loren_sattler]

See following comments I just posted on a Kodachrome question.

Loren Sattler Photo.net Patron, jan 31, 2005; 10:44 p.m.

 

I have been shooting Kodachrome since the 1970's. I will admit, I have tried very few other transparency films. I have been disappointed with prints the few times I have ordered them over the years. I tried to scan some recently without success on my low cost Canon scanner. They turned out too contrasty.

 

Recently a friend asked for an enlargement from one of my 25 year old slides. I had a 5 x 7 and 8 x 10 made at a local Meijer store. The print quality was excellent, beautiful Kodachrome colors, sharp and rendered just like the slide. I went back to the store and inquired where the work was done. They had sent the slide to Kodak in New Jersey for the prints. I am starting to look over old slides to get prints made for an album.

 

I thought the prices were quite low, something like $4.50 for the 5 x 7 and $7.50 for the 8 x 10. Try the Kodak lab, you might be pleasantly surprised.

 

I would scan a print and include it here, but I gave them away. Again, the slide does not scan well on my scanner. It is a normally exposed slide of old wood boats in bright sunshine

[rowland_mowrey]

Loren;

 

See my answer on the other thread. It is possible to scan Kodachrome and get beautiful reproductions. It just takes a bit of tweaking.

 

Ron Mowrey