On the box that your paper comes in is a color balance recommendation to start with. The Cibachrome book tells a step by step how to begin with color. Because, you first begin with a four square step tablet to learn the bias of your enlarger light to balance against your recommended paper pak. Better to read some instructions rather than through up the ball here, without expressing problems to explain how to balance color is stupid over blind lines of communication. With color, too much cyan or too much magenta is not simply a matter of over or under exposure or development. To balance color takes practice and skill, familiarity with both the enlarger or light source and the chemistry. BTW: Are you printing from reversal or coupler (slides or negative) film? Steve Shapiro, Carmel ----- Original Message ----- From: "Karl Shah-Jenner" <shahjen@iinet.net.au> To: "List for Photo/Imaging Educators - Professionals - Students" <photoforum@ase-listmail.rit.edu> Sent: Tuesday, October 15, 2002 9:18 AM Subject: Re: color printing > Anthony asks: > > I'm just starting with color printing. I have a couple of questions. I > > have a processing drum but don't know how to use it correctly. I'm using > > processing trays for my prints. They keep on turning out all magenta or > > cyan. Does anybody have an online reference that I can look at to determine > > what my filters should be set at? > > > oooh, the wonderful world of colour! :-) > > You will find that the colour filtration is best established by you personally for your > enlarger, your chemistry and your choice of paper. Batches vary, film stock varies, > enlarger dichross sit in different positions and chemistry temperature variations all > contribute to making you personal printing situation different to everyone elses. > > The answer really is to establish the 'starting point' colour filtration for yourself for > a well exposed neg, mark it down somewhere and use that as the basis for fine tunning in > future print sessions. Obtain a 'colour wheel' from somewhere online that shows the > association between colours and tape it on the darkroom wall.. the paterns will become > familiar in time - too much yellow? solution: add yellow, too much cyan? remove both > yellow and magenta in equal quantiuties (or remove red or add cyan). This may make no > sense reading it but once you have a colour wheel, you will see the relationships ;-) > > > > **the paper box said to start with filters: 0C, 60M, and 45Y > > > > ***prints first turned out blue, > (subtract yellow - the opposite of blue) > > >then we made adjustments as directed, and > > then they turned out green > > (subtract magenta- the opposite of green) > > >, then we made more adjustments and they turned > > out red > > add yellow and magenta (the two subtractive colours that make red) > > >or magenta! > > ..or maybe just magenta! > > work with SMALL increments in colour filtration to get yourself started > > good luck! > > Karl > > >
