User Guide
Introduction to the Berlinova print system
The Berlinova print system was designed to help people who, like me, don't have the space, time, money or commitment to create a complete darkroom. It is a fixed focus enlarger which allows you to print in broad daylight
Features of the Berlinova print system
The Berlinova print system is aimed at making printing fun and interesting to those who've not had previous darkroom experience, as well as to the more experienced printer who's looking to quickly and easily print, sacrificing perhaps a level of control.
The system consists of a number of parts:
- The light and negative holder
- The lens cone
- The cone
- Comes in a version for printing 10x15cm (4x6in) and a version for printing 13x18cm (5x7in)
- The cassette
- The tray
Excited about the Berlinova print system? Available here!
The light source fits on the lens cone in 2 ways, allowing focus at either 10x15cm or 13x18cm. This means that upgrading to a new format is as easy as buying a new cone and cassette.
The lens cone comes with a Berlinar 50mm f4.0 lens. Read here about the lens. The reason we opted to include a lens is that every lens we tested has a different actual distance between the focal plane and the lens, making it impossible to make a fixed focus system work. You can however use the Berlinar lens in other enlargers, as it comes with the standard M39 thread found on enlargers.
Excited about the Berlinar lens? Available here!
Overview of how to achieve a good print
Like in photography the key to a good print is a good exposure of the paper. Unlike film photography however, the specific speed of the paper is not always known (can change from pack to pack). The correct exposure also depends on the density of the negative to be printed. Density is a term which describes how dark the negative is. Therefore common practice is to make a test print, which allows you to estimate the correct exposure time. This is done by progressively exposing the paper
In the above picture for example the paper was exposed in 5 second increments showing where the correct exposure lies. This is also very much a question of personal taste, making it a creative process.
In order to make printing easier, you may want to expose differently compared to exposing for scanning. For printing an even negative with good shadow and highlight detail is preferred, as it allows you to make decisions on what to include in the final print, giving more controll over the final outcome.
Step by step guide to printing with the Berlinova print system
Step 1:
Making a test strip
Making a test strip is the first step in printing your negative as it allows you to verify the correct exposure for a specific negative. Each negative is different and therefore the exposure will likely be different from negative to negative. With experience you will learn to guestimate the correct exposure in the future for similar negatives.
Making a test strip consists of a series of equally timed exposures, each time uncovering more of the negative. This way you can see in steps what the increase in exposure time does for your photo. Take for example the picture below: <> here we chose a step of 5 seconds and used the indications on the darkslide of the BerliNova to expose 5 steps. We see that the darkest area was exposed for 25s therefore, and is too dark. In the 20s area we see that the shadows are still over exposed, but the 15s is clearly under exposed. We can now estimate that a good time would be 17s for this negative.
The process for making a test strip is described below:
- Place the paper in the compartment, using a change bag (available from Jagglé)
- Place a negative of your choice in the carrier
- Select the test strip option in your app, set your times and press start
- Pull the upper darkslide to the first mark and start the exposure using volume down on your phone, at the beep the exposure is complete and you can pull the darkslide to the second mark and repeat.
- When the exposure is complete, push the upper dark slide back in
- Pull out the lower darkslide to drop the processing tray
- Pour chemicals of your choice in the compartment
- Open the tray to see your print!
Step 2: Printing your image.
After making the test strip as described in step 1 we now know the time required for a good exposure from our negative. We load a new sheet of paper in the BerliNova enlarger and follow the steps below:
- Place the paper in the compartment, using a change bag (available from Jagglé)
- Select the test strip option in your app, set your times and press start
- Pull the upper darkslide all the way out and start the exposure using volume down on your phone, at the beep the exposure is complete.
- When the exposure is complete, push the upper dark slide back in
- Pull out the lower darkslide to drop the processing tray
- Pour chemicals of your choice in the compartment
- Open the tray to see your print!
It is often recommended to make notes about the exposure found for (future product!!!) a certain negative, as this will speed up your process when you want to print the same image again. It also helps to have a reference for new negatives
If this text is too abstract we also have a series of youtube videos as well as links to the videos of (influencers) who worked with our product, which explain the workflow in a more visual way
(if you’re in the app click here to be redirected to our youtube for explanation video’s)
(if you’re on the website click here to be redirected to our youtube for explanation video’s)
Don’t forget to share your results and experiences with our growing community on facebook <link> instagram <link> and TikTok <link>