Lambda and 'C' digital printing for larger black and white images in the UK

[AnalogueWendy]

Everyones' helpful responses to my recent post about a frustrating photo competion call here has got me thinking about the scale of my prints as well as the quality.
@Joanna Carter 's useful comments about her own printing processes sent me off to explore digital printing options.
So far I believe 'Lambda' and 'c' printing are perhaps the same thing, using a laser to expose silver-based photographic paper.
Does anyone have a uk supplier for this work they would recommend for price, service or both? I think I will be looking for 24x30cm prints initially.
I can , just about, print at this size from medium format negs with my tiny dark-room set-up. It's a precarious process even when it goes well so I'm considering all options right now.

 

[Ian Grant]

C printing can be done with a Mini lab, Enlarger, Lambda.

A Lambda machine can be used with Colour RA-4 paper, B&W papers, particularly the Ilford special high speed made for Laser exposure, and then also B&W negative materials.

I visited Bob Carnie's old gallery and lab in Toronto some years ago, he uses his Lambda for making large negatives on Ilford Ortho film for all sorts of alternative processes. I don't know who offers services here in the UK.

Ian

 

[Dave_P]

The Ilford / Harman lab at their site in Cheshire does C-type printing onto their own b&w RC paper (as opposed to printing to colour paper, as virtually everyone else does). I've used them for some large ~24" b&w prints for public display (in my case in a climbing wall in Leeds) and they looked great and have used them for other sizes too and always been really happy with the quality.

Digital Silver Gelatine Black and White Prints

Professional Quality, Silver Halide, Resin Coated, Black and White Prints As close as you can get to a darkroom print from a digital file.

harmanlab.com

When I went to look round the Ilford factory in 2013 they said there was only one other lab in the UK at that time printing c-type to b&w paper, somewhere in London. I don't know if this is still the case or not.

 

[Joanna Carter]

As well as Ilford/Harman, there is also Metro Print in London but, beyond those two, I couldn't find any more in the UK.

We have several B&W Lambda prints (24" x 30") from Ilford - they are simply stunning.

But… having printed one particular image on our Canon Pro 1000 A2 printer and getting Picto in Paris to make an A1 Lambda print, we are hard pressed to tell the difference, looking at them side by side. We use Canson Baryta Photographique II paper and Picto uses an Ilford Baryta paper.

You can buy the Canon A1, 12 inks, printer for between £2,500 and £3,000 and, using the Canson Baryta paper, you will get prints that are indistinguishable from Lambda prints (unless you have a very strong microscope). Since it costs around £100 for an A1 Lambda print from a lab, if you are planning on doing more than 30 A1 prints, the Canon is well worth considering.

We don't have a need for that volume yet, so we are sticking with our A2 Canon unless we want the odd A1.

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On the other hand, I just checked Ilford's price for an A1 Lambda print at around £35, so I might be using them instead of our "local" lab, even with the extra carriage costs.

 

[Ian Grant]

Technically a Digital C type B&W print is not a conventional B&W paper rather an RA4 B&W paper designed to be used with RA-4 chemistry. That's what Metro Print mention using, they may also offer the Harman option as well.

The Harman Digital B&W RC & FB lab papers are not C-type. They are conventional B&W RC & FB papers, just much higher speed and slightly different spectral sensitisation. Processing is conventional B&W (machine) processing.

The Harman Lab itself uses specially modified Fuji Frontier minilab printers as well as Lambda for larger prints.

Ian

 

[AnalogueWendy]

Received my first 10x10 B&W digital print from Harman Lab today. It's impressive. Not an image I have printed in the darkroom yet, so I can't compare (and it's not an A-list negative either, just one I happened to have scanned and ready to go as a digital file).
Value-for-money it surely can't be beaten and the service, packing and delivery are all exceptionally good. Uploading the file was straightforward and the confirmations reassuring.
I shall use them again for bigger prints, when I don't have and can't find the right darkroom space.
Setting up my computer monitor to match their test print has not been easy, and I'm not sure I've got there even now. I find it difficult to compare the brightness of a screen with the brightness of a piece of paper. Maybe I should try using a light meter next time.
All in all a very good experience - thank you to Joanna, Ian and Dave for pointing me to Ilford-Harman for printing.

 

[Nas]

Setting up my computer monitor to match their test print has not been easy, and I'm not sure I've got there even now. I find it difficult to compare the brightness of a screen with the brightness of a piece of paper. Maybe I should try using a light meter next time.

Hey Wendy, I can talk to you for hours about monitor calibration, colour managed workflows and comparing a printed image to an image on screen because I've spent years doing that as part of my day job – the short answer is to do it accurately it takes investment in equipment that doesn't come cheap. Doing things by eye will always be a compromise.

 

[AnalogueWendy]

Hey Wendy, I can talk to you for hours about monitor calibration, colour managed workflows and comparing a printed image to an image on screen because I've spent years doing that as part of my day job – the short answer is to do it accurately it takes investment in equipment that doesn't come cheap. Doing things by eye will always be a compromise.

I had forgotten that, Nas. Life is full of comprimises . . . and so is my darkroom, come to that.
All help gratefully received

 

[Peter B]

Everyones' helpful responses to my recent post about a frustrating photo competion call here has got me thinking about the scale of my prints as well as the quality.
@Joanna Carter 's useful comments about her own printing processes sent me off to explore digital printing options.
So far I believe 'Lambda' and 'c' printing are perhaps the same thing, using a laser to expose silver-based photographic paper.
Does anyone have a uk supplier for this work they would recommend for price, service or both? I think I will be looking for 24x30cm prints initially.
I can , just about, print at this size from medium format negs with my tiny dark-room set-up. It's a precarious process even when it goes well so I'm considering all options right now.

Not sure if this is a big help Wendy, but this month's Photography Online show trialled 5 well known online printers against each other. The relevant section starts at minute 22.

 

[Joanna Carter]

I had forgotten that, Nas. Life is full of comprimises . . . and so is my darkroom, come to that.
All help gratefully received

Wendy. After many years of printing for ourselves and other photographers, I must reinforce that the most important factor in getting a print to match what you see on screen is to use, what seems like, a very low luminance level. We use 80cd/m² and, whether we are printing ourselves, or sending to a lab, we always get what we setup on the 'puter.

In addition to the labs mentioned in the video, for B&W, I cannot recommend strongly enough Ilford/Harman, mainly based on long experience with them.

On the other hand, the guy on the video said that he gave up on home printing, many because of ink jet and head blocking problems, due to infrequent use. But, he was using Epson printers, which are infamous for such problems. I use a Canon Pro 1000 A2 printer which in three years of infrequent use, sometimes leaving it unused for 3 or so months, has never blocked and prints first time every time. Changing cartridges mid print also doesn't leave any trace on the print, unlike the Epson, which tends to leave a couple of fine lines.

The only time I use a lab is when I want larger than A2 prints., which is not very often. Get in touch directly if you want to have a further chat.