piterengel ha scritto:

Like pmk negative is possible print on VC paper, in't easy find the
correct contrast but possible.
Try, and if you don't like results use graded paper.
--

Don't know what you mean by "weak." Low density?
First thing I'd do is soak, refix, and rewash the
negative. Then play around to see what sort of
best print you could get.

Normally for a negative with weak overall densities
I'd selenium intensify, but not sure if you should
do this with a negative degraded from improper fixing.

LIkely Richard would know...

It's a COLOR negative, dummy!

Are you sure the negative is actually B&W?? If not you're going to need to
do a lot get get the contrast right.

There should be some printing on the edge of the film which will tell you
the film type. If you post it here we can tell if it is truly B&W or a color
negative. Richard K has some information regarding redeveloping B&W film. If
we are fortunate he might be able to help us.

I recently printed some old family pictures myself,
colour and black and white, from the early 1960s.

The black and white negatives (Verichrome Pan?)
have all printed perfectly. The colour negatives
(no idea what film they were, except for being made
by Kodak) print just fine too, though some of the
have the characteristic weird colour from using
daylight film indoors, or vice-versa.

As for multigrade paper, think about the colour:
orange = red + green. Red is irrelevant to paper,
but green means low contrast for multigrade. So
if you don't do anything you'll get low contrast.

As others have suggested, there are things you can
try. I'd pick the worst image as a test (I assume
you have more than one) - if it doesn't work you
haven't lost anything, because the negative was
unprintable anyway.

Laura Halliday VE7LDH     "Que les nuages soient notre
Grid: CN89mg                    pied a terre..."
ICBM: 49 16.05 N 122 56.92 W       - Hospital/Shafte

Hi Piter,

You are showing your youth.  There are those among us who have negatives that we
ourselves shot that go much farther back than 30 years.  I am afraid that that
must make us very, very old.

In any case, I have printed negatives my father shot 60 odd years ago in India
during WWII.  No problem, even though some of them have developed a bit of
bronzing.  Standard printing techniques suffice.  I do find that the images I
have been dealing with tend to be high contrast negatives and printing with low
contrast paper (or on VC paper with a lot of yellow filtration) is usually
required.

If the negative with which you are dealing is a color negative and you wish to
print it as a black and white image, then you will need to use a combination of
yellow and magenta filtration and print on Kodak Panalure paper (or its
equivalent) for best results.  No safelight can be used while exposing and
developing this paper as the paper is panchromatic.

Francis A. Miniter

This may be a color negative. Look at the image using a strong
magnifier or under the enlarger. If its a color negative you should see
some reversed color in parts of the image.
Color negatives are best printed on panchromatic paper. AFAIK, the
only one on the market is Kodak Panalure. This is a B&W RC paper of
fixed contrast grade. It is similar to other B&W RC papers except that
it is sensitive to all colors. It must be handeled in total darkness or
under a color safelight (No.13). Other than that it is processed just
like any other B&W paper. The somwhat weak looking image also sounds
like a color negative.
If this _is_ a heavily stained B&W negative you still may be able
to make a decent print on Panalure, otherwise the best procedure is to
make the best copy of the negative you can or to scan it. It is
possible to remove the stain but the procedures have the risk of
destroying the image. Overall dark yellow or orange stains can be
caused by oxidized developer left in the negative. It can also be
caused by insufficient fixing or washing but those more often produce a
blotched stain.
Graded papers are sensitive to blue and UV light so a heavily
stained negative may be difficult or impossible to print. VC paper has
some sensitivity to green light but the stain will affect the contrast
and may still cut off all the light the paper is sensitive to. VC paper
will make prints from color negatives but they are quite inferior to
those made on panchromatic paper.
--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA
dickburk@ix.netcom.com