Camera Hacker

Duplicating Film

In your message, you asked about copying B&W negatives. Interpreting this literally, I would understand that you have a negative, and want to get a duplicate identical negative (maybe larger or smaller) from it. Since you have the duplicator, I will also list other combinations of film-to- film and film-to-paper transfer that you could do. 

Starting with    To get          Use film or paper   Process
-------------    ------------    ------------------  ------------------

B&W Negative     Duplicate       Technical Pan       B&W Reversal
                 B&W Negative

B&W Negative     B&W Slide       Technical Pan       D-19
                                 or Kodak 5302       D-19

Color Slide      B&W Print       Panalure Paper      B&W Paper Reversal

B&W Slide        B&W Print       Ordinary B&W Paper  B&W Paper Reversal

Color Negative   Color Slide     Vericolor Slide     C-41
                                 Film 5072 or
                                 SO-279

Color Negative   B&W Slide       Technical Pan       D-19

Color Negative   Color Print     RA Paper            RA-4

Color Negative   B&W Print       Panalure Paper      Dektol

Color Negative   B&W Negative    Technical Pan       B&W Reversal

Color Negative   Duplicate       Ektachrome Slide    E-6
                 Color Negative  Dup Film 5071

Color Slide      Dup Color Slide Ektachrome Slide    E-6
                                 Dup Film 5071 

Color Slide      Color Negative  Commercial Inter-   C-41
                                 negative Film

Color Slide      B&W Negative    Technical Pan       Technidol

Color Slide      B&W Slide       Technical Pan       B&W Reversal

I hope this covers the combinations. The only ones that you could hope to get done commercially are the Duplicate Color Slide or the Color Internegative. All of the others are strictly do-it-yourself.

You might not be familiar with the B&W film and paper reversal processes. They require additional chemical steps, but they are not difficult.

Are you capable of doing your own processing? If you want information on the processes, please write back.

Ron Speirs
[email protected]
Thu, 12 Nov 1998 10:22:17 -0700 (MST)

Comments & Discussion >> 

>> Color Negative   Duplicate       Ektachrome Slide    E-6
>>                  Color Negative  Dup Film 5071

>It sounds like I will be able to make a duplicative
>negative using the above process. I like to make a
>duplication negative that I can use to get prints
>from my local lab. Will the above process work?

>Let me run though the process to make sure I know
>what you are talking about. (I am new at this.)

>1. Load Ektachrome Slide Dup Film 5071 in camera.
>2. Insert original negative in slide duplicator.
>3. Take a picture of the original negative.
>4. Process the Ektachrome at local lab using E-6 process.
>5. Reprint the duplicate at the local lab normally.

>Did I get it right???

Basically, yes. You will need to arrive at some amount of light filtration on your illumination. I haven't duplicated a color negative, but when duplicating color slides, it required cyan and yellow. Are you using a dichroic light source? If not, you will need a set of graduated acetate filters, such as are used in enlargers. You will find it difficult to judge the color accuracy of your duplicated negative, because it isn't a positive image. You might try testing your filtration on a color slide, one with some neutral grays in the picture. Try to make the duplicated slide as close as possible to the original.

Be prepared for the lab to have a difficult time making a correct print from your duplicated negative. Their machines are set up to expect the ordinary consumer color negative films, and your dup negs will inevitably be different in some subtle respects. It may take them a few tries to get it correct, and you may have to go back to your duplicating process and tweak the colors somewhat.

Good luck,
Ron Speirs
Thu, 12 Nov 1998 17:02:19 -0700 (MST)

Comments & Discussion >> 

>> Are you using a dichroic light source?

> hmm . . . I do not know what is a 'dichroic'
> light source, so I would assume no.

The word 'dichroic' means 'two-color', and describes special glass filters that transmit one color and reflect the complement. They are commonly found in enlarger color heads.

Best regards,
Ron Speirs
Fri, 13 Nov 1998 09:43:07 -0700 (MST)

Comments & Discussion >> 

>> I'm curious, why do you want to duplicate a
>> color negative? Is it for safety, to avoid
>> having a lab damage or lose your original?

> Actually, it stem from a week ago, when a friend
> of mine lend me a negative for me to print. Since
> the negative was his, I am nervious that it will
> be in my local lab's possession for two weeks.
> While I'm sitting at home wondering if I'll get
> the negative back ok, I thought, "hey, would it
> be possible to duplicate negatives using my slide
> duplicator?"

Rather than go to all the work in duplicating a negative, find a good, reputable PROFESSIONAL lab, where they do the work ON THE PREMISES. They should be able to make the print in one or two days. A professional lab is much more responsible than the ordinary consumer-oriented labs. If you need only a small print, a 1-hour lab should be able to make the print while you wait. 

> Apparently, there are a lot of information on
> duplicating slides, but none on duplicating
> negatives. The closest information I got was
> to print the negative, then duplicate the print.

The reason that you find no information about duplicating negatives is that it is rarely done. In the old days, before the invention of papers that would work in the dim light of enlargers, negatives had to be the same size as the desired print. That is why the old-time photographers used those huge cameras. Nowadays, when people want to do the old printing processes (salted paper, gum-bichromate, cyanotype, Van Dyke, etc.) they have to make a large negative. This is usually done in a 2-step process involving an interpositive. Of course, these enlarged negatives were black-and-white only, so they didn't have the color issue to worry about. All color papers are sensitive enough for use in an enlarger, and so the larger duplicate negatives are never needed.

Best regards,
Ron Speirs
Fri, 13 Nov 1998 09:43:07 -0700 (MST)

Comments & Discussion >>

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