Matej Maceas
(K=24381) - Comment Date 5/20/2004
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A4 is 3:2, A3 is 4:3, the ones you listed are all 4:5.
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Kerry Keays
(K=126) - Comment Date 5/20/2004
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so when I am printing on A4 with my digital rebel, the photo is actually slightly distorted? What ratio is 35mm and how does this translate to A4?
K
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Matej Maceas
(K=24381) - Comment Date 5/21/2004
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The aspect ratio in 35mm is 3:2 (36x24mm). This means that when you print onto paper that is also 3:2 (such as A4), you can use the entire sheet of paper.
If the aspect ratio of the image and the paper are not the same, you can either crop the image to match the paper's aspect ratio, or you can resize the image so that it fits onto the paper (a portion of the paper will remain unused and you'll have to cut it away, or use it for writing the title). NEVER resize the image in only one dimension, or else the image will become distorted (unless you specifically want such an effect).
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Full frame printing with different aspect ratios (couldn't resist drawing the photos)
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Neil Dolman
(K=26883) - Comment Date 5/21/2004
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Great answer Matej, and i really love your drawings :-) It annoys me that they are better than my photos ;-) LOL Neil
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Kerry Keays
(K=126) - Comment Date 5/22/2004
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Thanks for the explanation and drawings! :) That leads me on to another thought - Are A4, A3 and A2 considered not to be 'fine art' sizes?
I mean when I look in galleries they never seem to refer to their sizes or have sizes as A4, A3 and A2, or am I missing something?
Kerry
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Matej Maceas
(K=24381) - Comment Date 5/22/2004
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I suspect it's more an issue of unit conventions (imperial vs. metric systems) and subsequently what the standard film formats are in the given region.
Anyway, if someone were to tell me that an image doesn't qualify as fine art just because it's printed at 40x60cm instead of some multiple of 4x5", I'd consider them nuts.
Here's an article on paper sizes: http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/iso-paper.html
Apart from all the formulae it has an ISO-to-inch table that may give you a good idea of the relations.
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Kerry Keays
(K=126) - Comment Date 5/25/2004
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OK, so I think I may have a problem. Most of the prints that I will be doing will be from 35mm (ratio of 3:2) but the sizes I'd like to offer are:
4 x 6 inches (10 x 15cm)
8 x 10 inches (20 x 25cm)
12 x 16 inches (30 x 40cm)
16 x 20 inches (40 x 50cm)
The pre-cut mounts that I intend to buy are:
15 x 21cm (aperture 4 x 6 inches)
24 x 30cm (aperture 8 x 10 inches)
40 x 50cm (aperture 12 x 16 inches)
50 x 70cm (aperture 16 x 20 inches)
BUT, as I understand it, prints from 35mm will not fill the paper sizes I listed as they are all 4:5 (apart from 4 x 6 right? My math was always bad) so the mounts will not fit the prints properly will they?
Regards,
Kerry
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Matej Maceas
(K=24381) - Comment Date 5/25/2004
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Apart from the 4x6" with the corresponding mount, the sizes you list indeed won't fit full-frame enlargements from 35mm. You'll have to crop the images to fill the paper. This is not a very good idea, I think, because due to the differences in side ratios you'll effectively be offering a different image at each size (btw, 12x16" is 3:4, not 4:5). So, instead of buying pre-cut mounts you could order custom-made mounts that will fit whatever size you need. You could then print full frame 8x12" images on 12x16" papers, 12x18" on 16x20" papers, etc. No image cropping compromises would then be necessary.
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Kerry Keays
(K=126) - Comment Date 5/25/2004
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Thanks for the advice, I was getting a little confused and that clears it up.
Out of interest then why did 8 x 10 and 12 x 16 sizes come about?
Also, would you recommend me ordering custom mounts or buying the mount cutter and card myself? Can you recommend any good suppliers websites for either of these?
Thanks again for your help.
Kerry
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Matej Maceas
(K=24381) - Comment Date 5/25/2004
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4x5" and 8x10" are sizes that can often be found in large format photography, so papers with 4:5 side ratios would be a natural choice for contact printing and/or enlarging such negatives.
4:3 is one of several standard medium format ratios (6x4.5, 6x6, 6x7, 6x9, and some panoramic formats I'm not familiar with).
I believe both large and medium format have a much longer tradition than 35mm, so it makes sense for papers optimised for these formats to be more widespread, especially in the larger sizes (medium format negs already enlarge *much* better than 35mm, enlarging from LF negs must be totally fantastic).
If you're going to need a lot of mounts then buying the materials in bulk quantities and learning to do the cutting yourself would surely be cheaper in the long run. If you won't need that many, then combining pre-cut mounts (whenever possible) with custom-made ones might be more convenient.
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Kerry Keays
(K=126) - Comment Date 5/26/2004
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That's interesting and I'm learning!
I've come up with the following print sizes that I anticipate printing on an A2 roll leaving a 3 or 4 cm border around each print. Do you think these are a good set of sizes, and are they the correct ratios?
Print Sizes for 35mm:
4 x 6 inches (10 x 15cm) (closest to A6)
6 x 9 inches (15 x 22.86cm) (closest to A5)
8 x 12 inches (20.32 x 30.48cm) (closest to A4)
12 x 18 inches (30.48 x 45.72cm) (closest to A3)
Print Sizes for 645 format:
4.5 x 6 inches (11.43 x 15cm) (closest to A6)
6.75 x 9 inches (17.14 x 22.86cm) (to A5)
9 x 12 inches (22.86 x 30.48cm) (closest to A4)
13.5 x 18 inches (34.29 x 45.72 cm) (to A3)
15.75 x 21 inches (40 x 53.34 cm) (to A2)
I've also come up with these mount sizes (that will all supposedly fit the frames they sell in my local art shop and will have the apertures cut to the print sizes above:
Custom Mounts
8 x 10 inches (20 x 25cm)
10 x 12 inches (25 x 30cm)
12 x 16 inches (30 x 40.64cm)
16 x 20 inches (40.64 x 50.80cm)
23.5 x 31.5 inches (60 x 80 cm)
Does this all make sense?
Thanks for yopur help Matej.
Kerry
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Matej Maceas
(K=24381) - Comment Date 5/26/2004
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Looks OK, but the best way to test if these will work well for you is to print & mount a few and see what they look like, then adjust the sizes if and as needed.
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Kerry Keays
(K=126) - Comment Date 5/28/2004
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Sorry to drag on about this but I just recently saw 120 film print sizes in my local photo shop listed as:
5x4
5x5
7x5
8x6
8x8
10x8
Am I right in thinking they crop the prints to fit these sizes. If the ratio is 4.5:6 then this doesn't work out...
K
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Matej Maceas
(K=24381) - Comment Date 5/28/2004
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8x6" works for 6x4.5cm
5x5" and 8x8" works for 6x6cm
For the other sizes they have to crop if they want to fill the whole paper.
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