Calibrating Digital Negatives
Online with Wendy Constantine
Available spots
Service Description
A repeatable, non-technical workflow for any alternative process Most alternative process printers get stuck at the same place: generating digital negatives that can achieve the full range of tones to match your process and workflow. Get it right and the process becomes repeatable–contrast tuned to your paper and exposure method, with the flexibility to print the same image in any size for any medium (cyanotype, platinum/palladium, salted paper, gum, van dyke brown, kallitype, silver gelatin, photogravure, etc), without saving multiple layered Photoshop files. This online course demystifies the entire workflow in three focused sessions. We’ll walk through the fundamentals of using Quadtone RIP (QTR) and the latest software available to calibrate your digital negatives optimized for the processes you work in, and make it easy to replicate in your own studio. Between sessions you'll print test targets and negatives for any printing method and bring the results back for group review and troubleshooting. Every session is recorded and available for 3 months, and you'll have unlimited access to online materials documenting each step with written instructions and video. You'll need access to a Mac with Photoshop, an inkjet printer (Epson, Canon, HP are standard options), Quadtone Profiler DN or Tirage DN, and a scanner or phone. What you'll learn: - How digital negatives work: from density to DMAX and linearization - Choosing your materials: printers, ink sets, and transparency films that work best - Setting your standard exposure time for each process - Printing and measuring test targets to calibrate negatives iteratively - Building a correction curve or .quad file (QTR) to linearize your negatives for full tonal range - Adapting the same workflow to cyanotype, salted paper, silver gelatin, Van Dyke, platinum/palladium, kallitype, gum bichromate, and beyond Who it’s for: Anyone who wants to have more control over their digital negatives to create historic process prints, and/or leverage their film negatives with the flexibility that digital negatives offer. No prior digital experience is expected, though it is assumed you have familiarity with Photoshop and printing with at least one historic process.
Upcoming Sessions
Cancellation Policy
Policies Online workshops and classes will be recorded and made available to you through a password-protected participants page for 3 months after the session. You may cancel before the start of the session for a refund or request a switch to a different session (when available). Refunds are not provided for missed sessions, but the recording will be available. If you have technical difficulties, please reach out asap. Participants can cancel for a refund, on their own, up to 24 hrs before the start of the session. After 24 hrs, no refunds will be given; however, they will have access to the recording of the workshop for the allotted 3 months.