I was ordering from Millers, and they offer "competition print density".  What is this and why is it different from regular print density?

Rachelle, I'm not good at these kind of answers, but I'll give it a try.

When I was using film, Millers developed it and cut the negatives and placed each in a glassine.  On each glassine was different items pertaining to the enclosed negative...+ or - exposure rating and density amount...plus some other things I think...brain can't remember.  The density number needed to be in a certain range.  If properly exposed, it would be.

Now the film gurus are gonna jump on this...so jump away...It has something to do with the amount of silver on the film...dark areas have more, so they are denser.  Millers used that number and the exposure amount to help them determine how to properly expose the film.

For competition prints you want them to really pop, so the developer would take those numbers into consideration and print according to a more competition quality.

I'm not sure what they are doing with digital and density.  Don't really understand film and density.  Hopefully someone will jump on this and correct all my errors

When PPA, possibly others, judge print competitions they view the prints in a set lighting environment that doesn't change. This means that the prints are printed to look good in that lighting, which if I remember right is fairly bright so you would want prints to be a bit darker than normal. |c

Thank you both so much!  I had NO idea it would be that complex.  I guess we learn something everyday!

trwheels:

When PPA, possibly others, judge print competitions they view the prints in a set lighting environment that doesn't change. This means that the prints are printed to look good in that lighting, which if I remember right is fairly bright so you would want prints to be a bit darker than normal. |c

Lowry & cort,

So are  there general settings that  you find work better under those  lighting conditions? 

Do Most, all or FEW competitions use this lighting?  is it always listed in the rules?


By " bright" do you mean  bolder colors or just brighter whites?  

 

Thanks,

Patrick

Patrick:

Lowry & cort,

So are  there general settings that  you find work better under those  lighting conditions? 

Do Most, all or FEW competitions use this lighting?  is it always listed in the rules?


By " bright" do you mean  bolder colors or just brighter whites?  

 

Thanks,

Patrick

Patrick -

The print competitions I have been to were done with at least two and sometimes four high wattage lights from an angle.  If I remember right, I think they were 150 watt photo floods from only about 1-2 feet away.  If the print was printed to normal viewing standards for the average home, it would appear to bright during the competition.   The lab simply prints the entire image darker.

Think of it as a normal exposed image being properly exposed at F8 but you shoot it at F11.  It darkens the entire image.    In this case, the lab changes the exposure time on the printer to make the print appear darker.

Does this make any sense?

Lowry 

I am letting Lowry do this one, I just know that PPA uses set lighting for their print competitions which is brighter than normal, not sure about WPPI and other groups. |c

Thank you both,

so it seems like you cannot do anything different to prepare for a competition like that right?

When you say print darker,    how you YOU alter your settings? or do you tell the lab something ?

Patrick, you expose properly in camera and tell the lab to print Competition Density, they know what to do.

pattyg:

Patrick, you expose properly in camera and tell the lab to print Competition Density, they know what to do.

Exactly.  Most professional labs have a specific section in their price list for this.